Astra Desmond News
British opera singer
- contralto
- United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- opera singer
Last update
2024-03-26
Refresh
2024-03-13 09:06:00
Contemporary music for St Patrick's Day: Belfast-based choir Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Matthew Quinn, makes its London debut
Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Matthew QuinnThe Belfast-based choir Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Matthew Quinn, makes its London debut on Saturday 16 March 2024 presenting a concert of Celtic music at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden on the eve of St Patrick’s Day. Celtic Celebration includes music by Sir James MacMillan and Charles Wood, along with rising stars Seàn Doherty, Eoghan Desmond. Áine Mallon and Anselm McDonnell [read my review of McDonnell's recent disc, Kraina]. The works by Doherty and McDonnell are London premieres, and Quicksilver by choir member Anita Mawhinney is also a London premiere. The programme also includes Philip Stopford's Ave Verum Corpus, composed when he was Director of Music at St Anne’s (Anglican) Cathedral in Belfast as a gift to St Peter’s, the city’s other Cathedral (Catholic), whilst the performance of Dublin-born Charles Villiers Stanford's The Blue Bird commemorates the centenary month of his death.Full details from St Paul's Church's website.
2024-01-30 09:23:00
The one and the other: NI Opera in new production of The Juniper Tree written jointly by Philip Glass and Robert Moran
In 1985, Philip Glass collaborated with fellow composer Robert Moran on The Juniper Tree, a chamber opera based on a tale by Brothers Grimm. The two composers collaborated almost equally, alternating scenes and sharing the responsibility for writing the transitions. The result is an intriguing hybrid, which comes after Glass' great trilogy of early operas (Einstein on the Beach, Satygraha, and Akhnaten) yet before better known chamber operas Northern Ireland Opera (NI Opera) is presenting a new production of the opera, directed by Cameron Menzies (NI Opera's artistic director) and conducted by Frasier Hickland in the Grand Theatre, Belfast's Studio Theatre from 21 to 24 February 2024, with a cast drawn from emerging singers who have been working on NI Opera's artist development programme including James Cooper, Mary McCabe, Rachael Heater, Jenny Bourke, Petra Wells, Desmond Havlin, Ryan Gamham, Paul McQuillan and Niamh Lavery. Further details from NI Opera's website.Also as part […]
2023-10-10 21:07:30
The legendary alto saxophonist Paul Desmond once likened his distinctive tone on the instrument to that of a dry martini. That precise image consistently came to mind as I listened to Philippe Bianconi’s new Ravel cycle. His highly articulated symmetrical style relates to etchings rather than to oil canvases, emphasizing line over mass, clarity over […]
2022-10-05 03:19:34
It was the night of November 12, 1967 and Dave Brubeck was pissed. He had a sold-out show to play at the Konzerthaus in Vienna and his saxophonist, Paul Desmond, was AWOL. Desmond’s battle with the needle was an open secret by this time, but he’d always been able to manage his addiction. This time, […]
or
- timeline: Lyrical singers (Europe).
- Indexes (by alphabetical order): D...