Classical and Jazz: Latest News > July 7
Published: 7 July, 2011
by SEBASTIAN TAYLOR
Themes from John Milton’s Paradise Lost form the basis of the eagerly awaited first opera by composer Luke Bedford getting its London premiere at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio on Tuesday. Seven Angels is a two-act opera with libretto by poet Glyn Maxwell. Production designs are by Tadasu Takamine, a Japanese visual artist and performer noted for his focus on sexuality, humanity and the body. There’s a strong “climate change” element to the piece. When seven angels fall to rest on a desert landscape, they imagine the creation of a legendary garden that once flourished there and its destruction through greed and neglect. It features seven singers and a live chamber orchestra and Luke Bedford’s music is said to be dark but seductive, tense but lyrical.
• There are two delightful concerts at St George’s Bloomsbury next week. On Sunday, Alisa Hunter, Huw Evans and Mark Packwood perform an Elgar sonata for violin and piano and a Brahms trio for horn, violin and piano. On Tuesday, the exciting Consortium5 recorder ensemble is exploring words behind the music and the music behind the words.