Ten of the best events around Europe for fans of classical music and opera
If you are looking for a winter getaway in a mild Mediterranean setting, this relative newcomer to the festival scene looks very tempting, with some of the best contemporary Baroque exponents on the bill. Inaugurated in 2013, the Valletta International Baroque Festival seeks to capitalise on its Unesco World Heritage status. Valletta hosts the coveted European Capital of Culture in 2018 the line-up looks to reflect that prestige in the calibre of the performers with performances by the Dunedin Consort and The Sixteen amongst others.
Famous as the birthplace of one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the pretty Austrian town, Salzburg honours its famous son with a week of events around his birthday on January 27. There are morning coffee concerts, afternoon recitals in his childhood residence, as well as gala evening events. The Vienna Philharmonic is in town for three concerts with tenor Rolando Villazon and cellist Stephen Isserlis. Salzburg is in the heart of a major skiing area and there are great resorts within 50km of the town so you could manage a day on the slopes before the ‘sound of music’ in the evening.
David McVicar’s new production of Debussy’s opera Pelleas and Melisande for Scottish Opera is much anticipated. The cast includes soprano Carolyn Sampson and Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize winner Andrei Bondarenko. Performances at Theatre Royal Glasgow and Festival Theatre Edinburgh. If flights into Edinburgh are pricey, check out fares to Glasgow. With less than 50 miles between the two cities, either city is easily accessible from both airports.
Heidelberg with its picturesque baroque old town and riverside location is one of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. Visit during the annual Fruhlingfest and you can combine sightseeing with enjoying some top class performances. Igor Levit joins the Irish Chamber Orchestra to perform a programme of Mendelssohn and Mozart on March 28. The Friends of the ICO are organising a five-day escorted trip including flights from Dublin, hotel stay, excursions and a ticket for the concert.
Leipzig’s Bach Festival held annually in honour of their famous resident, Johann Sebastian is a solid sort of festival.
Over the 10 days or so, more than 100 concerts are scheduled in venues around the city. This year the theme is Reformation to tie in with the Martin Luther anniversary. A less solemn face of the festival is offered by the Bachmosphare, a weekend of free live music when the central market square is converted to an outdoor cabaret venue. Note that Bachfest overlaps for one weekend with the Handel-Festspiele in nearby town Halle, birthplace of GF Handel where our Proinsias Ó Duinn will conduct a performance of ‘Messiah’.
Members of the Vanbrugh String Quartet cited this frenetic Finnish fortnight as their favourite overseas festival. A lakeside setting and clear northern light is a big part of the appeal. Performers and punters travel about on bicycles (even the cellists). This year’s theme is summed up as ‘zap’, slang for channel surfing so expect quirky offerings among the traditional favourites of Beethoven quartets and Mozart quintets. No direct flights from Dublin. About 600km north of Helsinki, the best travel option is a connection to nearby Kajaani from Helsinki.
The walled capital of Croatia is well known as a popular wedding destination and a Mecca for Game of Thrones fans. What is less well known is that during July, the city hosts a terrific summer arts festival. The compact nature of the stone city means you are very likely to meet the performers as you stroll around the citadel. Visiting in 2015, a performance by Gregory Porter on the medieval ramparts and a performance by Slovenian doyenne of the piano, Dubravka Tomsik and the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra in the courtyard of the Rector’s Palace lives in my memory.
Verona is perhaps Italy’s best known outdoor opera experience but the Puccini Festival at the seaside hamlet of Torre del Lago in Tuscany is very accessible to Irish travellers with excellent links to nearby Pisa airport. Now that Marty Whelan of RTÉ Lyric FM has blazed a trail there, I expect it will increase in popularity for Irish fans. Chill out at the nearby Italian Riviera seaside town of Viareggio and bus it over for the weekend performances. This year the works include, La Rondine, La Boheme and Madame Butterfly.
Cheltenham may be synonymous with horses for most punters but the annual Cheltenham Festival promises 12 days of musical manoeuvres with some winning draws on the card. Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under new director Mirga Grainyte-Tyla are the big names on this year’s programme which offers an alternative to the London centred classical experience in a Cotswolds setting. Other concerts include a Mendelssohn themed concert weekend with the Carducci Quartet (featuring Cork couple Michelle Fleming and Eoin Schmidt-Martin), cellist Guy Johnston and friends.
More accessible than the opera festivals Bayreuth and Salzburg, the Bavarian State Opera present most of their current season over one month at several bases in Munich. In addition to the main house presentations, there will be a live screening in Franz Joseph Platz, celebrity recitals with Thomas Hampson, Christian Gerhaher, Anja Harteros and Simon Keenleyside. A premiere of a new work Stigmatized by Franz Schreker features a big cast including Clare tenor Dean Power and Cork soprano Niamh O’Sullivan.
