Allan Clayton News
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2024-03-29
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The 2022 Cliburn finalist has been awarded a 2024 Avery Fisher career grant
2024-01-29 09:41:00
What happens when a conductor best known for his operatic work, conducts Mendelssohn's Elijah: Sir Antonio Pappano & the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican with Gerald Finley
Mendelssohn: Elijah - Sarah Connolly, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Antonio Pappano, Gerald Finley, Allan Clayton, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra - Barbican Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)Mendelssohn: Elijah; Gerald Finley, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Sarah Connolly, Allan Clayton, Guildhall Voices, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Antonio Pappano; Barbican HallReviewed 28 January 2023A satisfying, well-thought-out performance of Elijah with a consummate account of the title role from Gerald Finley, plus chorus and orchestra on thrilling formIt is tempting to think of Mendelssohn's Elijah as an opera manqué. But like Handel in some of his more dramatic oratorios, Mendelssohn took full advantage of the non-operatic presentation which meant that dramaturgy could be creative, he could rely on the audience being able to fill in the gaps by reading the libretto and most importantly, large choral numbers could expand considerably.So what happens when a conductor best known in London for his operatic work, conducts […]
2023-12-30 09:32:00
2023 in concert reviews: Gavin Higgins x2, Allan Clayton's Samson, Reginald Mobley in Bayreuth, the Pink Singers & Brixton Chamber Orchestra both party and Bitches Brew is back
Gavin Higgins: Beano Concerto - George Jackson, Colin Currie, BBC Concert Orchestra - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: BBC / Mark Allan)Our list begins and ends with community events. The year began with a fragment of my own musical history, the Pink Singers, an ensemble I directed for five years in the 1980s, celebrated their 40th anniversary. Then in December, our local ensemble, the Brixton Chamber Orchestra certainly put us in party mood.Both Handel and Bach feature, of course. In April Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra explored the original Dublin version of Messiah, whilst in December, Wild Arts presented a more traditional edition in an imaginative, intimate semi-staging. Allan Clayton joined Lawrence Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music for Handel's Samson at the Proms. We heard Bach's St Matthew Passion with the choir of Kings College, London and Bach's Easter Oratorio from Florilegium. Vox Luminis brought sheer musicality to […]
2023-12-29 08:43:00
2023 in Opera and Music Theatre: historically informed Berlioz & Wagner, dramatic Handel, a G&S rarity, RVW, Zandonai in Berlin, new Jonathan Dove
Purcell & Pountney: The Masque of Might - Andri Björn Róbertsson, Xavier Hetherington, Matthew Brook - Opera North (Photo: James Glossop)One particular highlight this year was Berlioz' Les Troyens at the BBC Proms with Dinis Sousa conducting the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Wagner was something of an ongoing theme for 2023, including Dresden Music Festival's historically informed Das Rheingold and a remarkable performance of Die Walküre from London Opera Company. Handel masterpieces included Jephtha at Covent Garden with Allan Clayton and Saul at the Komische Oper, Berlin with Luca Tittoto, plus more of a rarity, Arminio, from the Jette Parker Young Artists at Covent Garden.We also caught Allan Clayton in a remarkable reinvention of Britten's Peter Grimes at the Paris Opera. Gilbert & Sullivan also featured with Iolanthe returning to ENO, and a rare revival of Princess Ida from John Wilson and the OAE.New opera included the premiere of Jonathan Dove's […]
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