Arias of achievement

You may hum a Christmas carol or two at this time of year, but singing coach Julie Bale says that many of us are hiding an inner Beyoncé that needs to come out! Here’s why…

Glasgow, 1942. The Carl Rosa Opera Company was in town to perform Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Tickets had been snapped up by local people – including many who didn’t really know what an opera was. The

If there is a place in heaven reserved for pianists who have been very, very good, then I am sure it must look a lot like Finchcocks. That’s the name of an awe-inspiring early 18th-century mansion. So

Sun Triptych Maxim Rysanov, Dasol Kim, Roman Mints et al; BBC Concert Orchestra/ Dobrinka Tabakova ECM 4878558 64:61 mins This is the second ECM disc to feature the extremely accessible music of Bulga

Works by Gesualdo & composers of Naples Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini; Monica Piccinini (soprano); Maria Chiara Gallo (mezzo) et al Naïve OP8677 62:13 mins Don’t be deceived – Carlo Gesualdo

I was at one of those gatherings where friends of friends sprawled into groups entirely unconnected from the first, like a suburban town long freed from its planner. “It must be great to be in enterta