Today’s masterclass and discussion celebrates the recent launch of Dame Felicity’s book Il nous faut de l’amour (co-written with Olivier Bellamy).
During the first half of the morning, Phoebe will have the great privilege of interviewing Dame Felicity. We will delve into her history as one of the great exponents of the Strauss and Mozart operatic repertoire (having sung both Octavian and the Marshallin to equally enraptured critical response, she truly is unique!), whilst not forgetting the incredible and palpable effect she has had on our art song heritage; co-creating the Songmakers Almanac with Graham Johnson in 1975. Having appeared as the eponymous heroines of La belle Hélène and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, there is no grande dame of opera that is more closely associated with the works of Offenbach than the Dame herself.
Honoured with a DBE in 1996, Dame Felicity (affectionately known simply as ‘Flott’) has had an unparalleled artistic career spanning both opera and song. A passionate Francophile, Flott was awarded the titles Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1990 and a Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in 2001, both in recognition of her services to music in the French language. Making her debut as Pamina in 1975 at the ENO, she has gone on to interpret many leading soprano roles at The Royal Opera House, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Vienna Staatsoper, to name but a few.
After the break, let us take you back to the Belle Époque, in the presence of the divine Dame Felicity Lott, soprano and chanteuse of international acclaim when Phoebe will have the immense honour of working with her on arias from a range of Offenbach’s oft-misunderstood operettas, La Périchole and La belle Hélène.
This morning’s lecture explores the process of preparing and performing widely different repertoire, from dazzling coloratura roles to dramatic characters, to the intimate setting of a song...
Wagner was obsessed with Beethoven. He arranged the 'Choral' Symphony for piano, wrote a novella in which Beethoven anointed him his successor, and paid elaborate musical homage over his entire...
'La loge' by Renoir is one of the most famous works in The Courtauld’s collection and considered a masterpiece of the Impressionist movement. In today’s lecture recital, Dr de Mille will...
A lecture on Bizet's 'The Pearl Fishers' (1863), a work from relatively early in his career where he first uses many of the techniques that later became his hallmark. It was the first of his operas...
A lecture on Bizet's 'Djamileh' (1870), with its Wagnerian harmony that is rarely associated with Bizet or French opera. Despite its shortcomings as a dramatic piece we will hear some of the most...
A masterclass with the esteemed vocal coach Susanna Stranders, Head of Music at Garsington Opera.
In a world of endless auditions, it is rare to receive any tangible feedback from those making the...
Dame Anne Evans will kindly lead this morning’s event with emerging young singers: Alice Privett (soprano) and three past and present International Opera Awards Foundation Bursary Winners, Ricardo...
The operatic canon overflows with male composers, and there is no shortage of female roles. Today’s lecture explores the relationships between some exceptional women and the composers who, inspired...
Prévost’s L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut made an outrageous appearance on the literary scene in 1731 detailing the exploits of the young, beautiful, and morally...
Join us for a morning with Sarah Crabtree, Senior Producer for the Royal Opera, where she leads the producing team for the Linbury Theatre. Before joining the ROH, Sarah was one of the driving forces...
The Opera Prelude Song Prize Masterclass with Della Jones.
Now in its fourth year, the Opera Prelude Song Prize offers one of our young singers the unique chance of private masterclasses with...
Jenny Miller, singer, director and founder of Barefoot Opera, returns to Opera Prelude to demonstrate the close relationship between instinct, emotional responses, everyday communication and the art...
Stuart Skelton is one of the finest heldentenors on the stage today, critically acclaimed for his outstanding musicianship, tonal beauty, and intensely dramatic portrayals. His repertoire encompasses...
Italian symphonic and operatic conductor, Renato Balsadonna has also held long term positions as Chorus Director at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels and at the Royal Opera House Covent...
In this talk, Ed Ballard (baritone) explores the early history of opera in London. How did this continental invention first arrive? Who were the singers who performed it, where and for whom? Who was...
In this morning's lecture we will have a look at the operatic creation in Portugal and Spain through the ages. Starting one of Europe's superstar composers in the 18th century - Marcos Portugal - we...
Acclaimed tenor Ben Johnson represented England in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2013 and won the Audience Prize. A former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and 2008 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier...
Not only is Jane Austen celebrated on the new £10 note in the bicentennial year of her death: her enduring appeal is further portrayed through words and music by soprano, Sophie Pullen, and...
Sergei Diaghilev was one of the most important impresarios of the 20th century. The central figure in the artistic world of St Petersburg, Paris, London, Rome, Berlin and Madrid, he formed close...
Rosalind Plowright is one of the most celebrated artists of our time. Her career spans more than 35 years. She was acclaimed as one of the world’s great spinto sopranos specialising in roles such...
Taking three of Verdi’s relatively early works we delve into the musical handling of Verdi’s monarchs. In these three operas Verdi’s characters utilise disguise, deception and deceit to fulfil...
Before beginning her current career as soprano and librettist, Becca Marriott read English at Oxford. In this lecture, she returns to her roots, using her extensive knowledge of both literature and...
Following the recent rediscovery of private letters between Giuseppe Verdi and Salvadore Cammarano, Dr Simon Maguire of Sotheby’s will begin this morning’s lecture with the thrilling tale of...
Now in its fifth year, the Opera Prelude Singers’ Prize offers one of our young singers the unique chance of private masterclasses with Della Jones, one of Great Britain’s leading mezzo-sopranos....
Orpheus, the so-called father of song, has reached far from his classical roots to influence music and other art forms right up to the present day. His heady mixture of bravado, passion, charm and...
Alex Otterburn (baritone) is one of Scottish Opera’s Emerging Artists for the 2017/18 season and is described by them as a 'name to watch'. He has most recently played the role of Eddy in their...
In this morning’s lecture, Dr Rosamund Bartlett and pianist Maria Levandovskaya take us back to the glory days of imperial St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, highlighting the composers,...
Opera: the most complete art form, and (most of the time) a stunning blend of music, stagecraft, lighting and passion – but what happens when it all goes wrong? Ask any singer and they will have a...
Tosca, plummeting to her doom from the roof of the Castel Sant’Angelo; Juliette, stabbing herself to be reunited with her dying lover Romeo; Rodrigo, shot in front of his powerless best friend;...
Dame Anne Evans kindly leads this morning’s event with emerging young singers.
She made her debut as Countess Ceprano in _Rigoletto_ in 1967 in Geneva and went on to make her debut in a leading...
