Ruggero leoncavallo

When did you first hear about Ponte? I discovered Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro when I was 18, and instantly fell in love with it. When I got to know the libretto in English, I realised just h

Of all the affectionate nicknames given to Bologna, ‘La Grassa’ is perhaps the most famous. Already in the Middle Ages, its reputation for the best food led to it being known as ‘the fat one’ and toda

A Chekhovian opera from Colin Matthews and William Boyd

Platée Mathias Vidal, Zachary Wilder (tenor), Marie Lys (soprano) et al; La Chapelle Harmonique/ Valentin Tournet Versailles CVS153 137:47 mins (2CD) Imagine a Monty Python sendup of tragédie lyrique

By and large, we like to fill the pages of BBC Music Magazine with our enthusiasm for composers and performers alike – it’s a wonderful world out there, teeming with musical talent. However, perhaps w

Is a ring of 36 cherubs excessive? Perhaps, but those are only the ones around the southern Italian city of Lecce’s Basilica of Santa Croce’s rose window; I count dozens of additional cheeky winged ba