opera

Vivaldi:  Four Seasons; Summer - III. Presto

Johann Strauss II - The Blue Danube Waltz

Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek will return to the Royal Opera House to sing the role of Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. It's a return she's extremely excited for:

'I think Cavalleria rusticana is one of the most wonderful operas ever written. It's so passionate, real and exciting', she says. 'It has you on the edge of your seat.'

'Santuzza is a woman who's been betrayed by a lover. She then betrays him and it goes horribly wrong. To sing these big duets is just amazing. It's very dramatic.'

2015 is Cavalleria rusticana-filled for Eva-Maria as in the spring she warmed up for her London performances of the opera with a run of a different production in New York:

'I'm really excited to sing Santuzza at the Metropolitan Opera and at Covent Garden. It's really interesting to reinvent yourself with Santuzza in each production. I feel extremely lucky.'

Eva-Maria's last Royal Opera House performances were as Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chénier — like Cavalleria rusticana, a verismo opera:

'Verismo is my favourite style of opera. I love it so much because it demands a lot of emotion, trying to stay true and giving a lot of yourself. It's less controlled in a way — I can go wild, which I love!'

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Eva-Maria Westbroek on Cavalleria rusticana

Ballet/Classical/Dance/Symphony Orchestra



SAINT-SAËNS: Aquarium from "Carnival of The Animals"

SAINT-SAËNS: Dance Macabre (Waltz)

English composer Philip Venables makes his Royal Opera debut with this adaptation of Sarah Kane’s powerful final work, the first time the work of this radical British playwright has been set to music.

Venables explains how ‘I chose 4.48 Psychosis because it feels like a really musical text. Of all Kane’s plays it feels like the one where she’s written some music on the page. There’s an amazing contrast of styles of text in the piece, which has been a dream to work with: it just lends itself so well to musical forms’.

No recording of 4.48 Psychosis was available at the time of recording, so excerpts of other works by Venables are used in the interview:
Klaviertrio im Geiste (0:35 and 2:10)
ANIMA (1:26)
The Revenge of Miguel Cotto (3:08)
numbers 76–80 : tristan und isolde (3:53)
numbers 91–95 (4:31)

Philip Venables on Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis - 'It lends itself so well to musical forms'

Russian dancer Vadim Muntagirov joined The Royal Ballet as a Principal in 2014, having danced with English National Ballet as a principal after training at The Royal Ballet School. At this ROH Insight, he talks about his career in ballet so far.

Aged seven, Muntagirov began dancing in his home city of Chelyabinsk before moving to Perm State Choreographic College two years later, an overnight train journey away. It was tough living far from home, he recalls, but like many children in Russia, ‘we didn’t really have a choice because [ballet] was such a typical Russian discipline. Crazy, angry teachers were smacking you and you had to work 200%’.

Moving to London to study at The Royal Ballet School was a big change. ‘It was completely different compared to Russia,’ he says, ‘because in Russia we would have bigger jumps and concentrated on turning, but in England it’s more about the small technique’. The English tradition, built on the rich heritage of Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan, is known for its sharp and intricate footwork. ‘Russia is very famous for classical ballets, when you do pirouettes and jumps. But I think for every Russian dancer it’s a dream to dance MacMillan and Ashton ballets.’

Royal Ballet Principal Vadim Muntagirov: 'It's a dream to dance MacMillan and Ashton ballets'

Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a. III. Waltz of the Flowers

English dancer Matthew Ball was born in Liverpool and trained at The Royal Ballet School. He graduated into The Royal Ballet in 2013 and has quickly made a name for himself, dancing roles including Romeo in Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, and creating a role in Christopher Wheeldon's new ballet Strapless. In 2016 he was named Best Emerging Artist (Classical) at the Critics' Circle Award. He speaks to BBC Merseyside about his career so far.

Ball began ballet at the age of six, encouraged by his mum: 'She danced herself and she took all of me and my siblings to dance class – my sister did it until she was 16, my brother did it for two weeks and I just took to it'. Moving away from home aged 11 to study at The Royal Ballet School was hard but 'I was quite insistent that this is what I wanted to do and had to do'.

On his feelings about winning Best Emerging Artist Ball admits 'I was so happy to be nominated for it even. To have that kind of recognition… it's a real confidence boost'.

English dancer Matthew Ball on what it takes to dance with The Royal Ballet

Antonin Dvorak~ Symphony No. 9 in E minor op. 95 "From the New World" 

Antonin Dvorak ~ Symphony No. 9, 4th movement - Allegro Con Fuoco

George Bizet - Carmen - Habanera - Instrumental

Antonio Vivaldi - Winter (Full) - The Four Seasons

I produced this track using midi and EW Gold Pianos in order to perfection the performance as I imagine it.

W.A.Mozart - Rondo Alla Turca

This is one of my favorite waltzes.  Here is my take on this waltz for solo piano.  Enjoy :)

Shostakovich Waltz No2 for Piano

The Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden is home to The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet.

Eva-Maria Westbroek on Cavalleria rusticana

The Royal Ballet and Opera

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