Kensington-based conservatoire the Royal College of Music (RCM) is set to premiere Opera Scenes, two evenings of music from some of the world’s best-known operas sung by the college’s performers.
Singers from the RCM will perform a variety of operatic masterpieces around the themes of isolation, separation and resolution. Both productions will be directed by Olivia Fuchs, with Michael Rosewell and Audrey Hyland conducting, and accompanied by a chamber ensemble.
Due to social-distancing rules, with the scenes recorded rather than performed in front of a live audience, the staging is unlike any previous production from the RCM. Filming took place in a variety of locations, including the college’s Britten Theatre, as well as newly built spaces and outside in Hyde Park.
Opera Scenes 1: Separation and Reconciliation takes place on this evening, with Opera Scenes 2: Separation and Reconciliation tomorrow. Both concerts start at 7pm and will be premiered on RCA’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. The videos will also be available to watch on-demand afterwards.
The two evening’s programmes will include scenes from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppaea, 1643), Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (Dialogues of the Carmelites, 1957), Handel’s Tolomeo (1728), Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (1867), Offenbach’s La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen, 1864), Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1960) and Mozart’s Don Giovanni (1787).
The productions are free to watch, but audiences can donate to support the college’s scholarship programme.
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Royal College of Music singers bring to life short excerpts from well-known operas for Opera Scenes, two evenings of music.