Category Archives: Opera

Opera!…….ee lad, thats music for posh folk

Posted on October 16, 2017 by kindadukish

Growing up in a working class family in Lancashire in the 1950s and 60s I can’t say that opera was something that I was exposed to, nor did I seek it out as it was considered “music for posh folk.” … Continue reading →

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A “Diva” and a “Lass from Lancashire”……both sublime voices

Posted on June 2, 2017 by kindadukish

A good many years ago (too many to remember) I was given tickets for a Halle concert at the old Free Trade Hall in Manchester. I was very keen to go as the main work was Neilsons 4th Symphony (The … Continue reading →

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La Boheme in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Posted on October 17, 2016 by kindadukish

On my recent rain-soaked visit to Vilnius one of the highlights of the week was to take in a performance of Puccinis La Boheme at the Lietuvos Nacionalinis Operos ir Baleto Teatras with my friend and colleague Renata. I last … Continue reading →

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Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla……front page of “The Times” newspaper

Posted on February 5, 2016 by kindadukish

  Classical music very rarely makes the front page of any newspaper but today The Times here in the UK, features a large photograph of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, the newly appointed Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. There has … Continue reading →

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Meet the new Music Director of the CBSO……its a woman!!!

Posted on February 4, 2016 by kindadukish

  Over the last couple of years I have featured several blogs about an up and coming orchestra conductor by the name of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Well here is the latest news……………….. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra this morning ends months … Continue reading →

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Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla…………..Lithuanian conductor destined for great things

Posted on October 29, 2015 by kindadukish

On Norman Lebrecht’s blog “Slippedisc” there is a debate going on about the relative merits of female orchestral conductors http://slippedisc.com/2015/10/lucernes-summer-of-women-conductors-gimmick-or-breakthrough/, and as usual there is the usual misogyny about how poor female conductors are (please change the record). All of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cklassical music. Female Conductors, Classical Music, Equality, Lithuania, Music, Opera, Vilnius | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings………Jenufa and Opera North

Posted on October 25, 2015 by kindadukish

If you mention the word “opera” to most people they will have images of an elitist art form, usually made up of rather large ladies and overweight leading men trying to convince an audience that they are in the first … Continue reading →

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Arvo Pärt – 80th Birthday

Posted on September 11, 2015 by kindadukish

I came across this composer over 25 years ago as I was beginning to explore some of the “lesser known” composers of the old Soviet bloc. A native of Estonia, Arvo Pärt at first wrote in a style perceptibly influenced … Continue reading →

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Justina Gringyte triumphs as Carmen at ENO………..more Lithuanian music success.

Posted on May 22, 2015 by kindadukish

Calixto Bieito’s take on Bizet’s Carmen is tough, dark, spare and intelligent. There’s little of the vulgarity that can make Bieito’s shows annoyingly embarrassing. But there’s absolutely no Andalucian kitsch either. A Spanish flag in act one, a looming Osborne … Continue reading →

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More Lithuanian music success…………………..

Posted on March 16, 2015 by kindadukish

        The finalists, chosen by Dennis Russell Davies and Plácido Domingo for the Nestle-Salzburg Conductors award are: Jiri Rozen (23), Czech Republic Giedrė Šlekytė (25), Lithuania ( Pictured) Lorenzo Viotti (25), Switzerland Lithuania seems to be producing … Continue reading →

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