Spectres of the feast

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

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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

French artists have appropriated alfresco dining ever since Édouard Manet scandalised Paris with his Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe , yet many charming scenes were painted in Britain, too, and are worth rediscovering, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee

‘I’ve never been a particularly esoteric person,’ Nicola Benedetti tells me as we sit down to talk following the press launch of her third Edinburgh Festival. And yet, as she explains the theme of thi

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