THERE is little in the way of festive cheer in Benjamin Britten’s opera The Turn of the Screw, but it is a brilliant and thrilling stage version of Henry James’ famous novella – and we all love a good ghost story at Christmas, don’t we! A new production opens at Bath Theatre Royal’s Ustinov Studio…
ANDREAS Scholl, one of the world’s greatest counter-tenors, is coming to St Mary’s Church, Dorchester, on Monday 5th February, for one of only two UK concerts next year. He will be accompanied by his wife, Israeli harpsichordist, pianist, musicologist and composer Tamar Halperin. Their previous recital in 2020 was a memorable concert and, predictably, a…
THE Fitzroy Quartet comes to Dorset and Somerset for the November tour of Concerts in the West to Bridport, Ilminster, Crewkerne and Uplyme, from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th, with a programme of string quartets by Haydn, Szymanowski and Debussy. The Fitzroys are Dan-Iulian Drutac and Jure Smirnov Ostir, violins, Matthew Maguire, viola, and Michael…
A MUSICAL OFFERING: One of the imposing 18th century sets for The Score, designed by Robert Jones, who also designed the costumes. The play stars Brian Cox as Johann Sebastian Bach and is set at the court of Frederick II (The Great). It runs to 28th October.
HUNDREDS of people from Yeovil and the surrounding area showed their backing for the Octagon Theatre at a meeting at Westlands entertainment centre on 10th October. The Yeovil Town Council was called to discuss a possible partnership with Somerset Council to ensure the future of the project to refurbish the Octagon Theatre and enable it…
PLANS for an ambitious redevelopment of Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre have been put on hold by Somerset Council, because of the impact of rising interest rates on the council’s borrowing to fund the £30 million scheme. Yeovil Town Council called a special meeting at Westlands to discuss the way forward. Councillors on Somerset Council have asked…
A REMARKABLE Pleyel Double Piano will be the focus of attention on Sunday 8th October, when David Nettle and Richard Markham come to Bournemouth Chamber Music for a recital at Bournemouth University at 3pm. Opening the 2023-24 season, they will perform music by Saints-Saens, Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc, and are celebrating 46 years of piano…
TRAVEL 400 years back in time on Saturday 14th October for a musical journey that will take the audience from England’s Chapel Royal to the cutting edge of Venetian musical innovation. The Gramophone-nominated Ensemble Pro Victoria will be giving a concert at St Mary’s Church, Dorchester, at 7pm. Led by Humphrey Thompson and Toby Ward…
SALISBURY’S Autumn vocal festival is all ready to Celebrate Voice again from 19th to 28th October in the city, marking its tenth year by welcoming the BBC Singers to the Italianate church in Wilton, and all other events to the Guildhall. Founder and director, Lynsey Docherty is delighted that the festival, which has recently become…
THE Kronos Quartet, probably the world’s most adventurous string quartet, mark five decades of barrier-breaking, border-crossing music with a 50-date world tour in 2024 – and Bristol’s reconstructed Beacon Centre, reopening in early December, has one of only two UK dates, on Thursday 18th January. The programme, called Five Decades, draws on a fascinating snapshot…