1 Mendelssohn at Syde
Cheltenham music festival opens with a feast of chamber music in the Cotswolds. The Carducci Quartet, with pianist Charles Owen and baritone Marcus Farnsworth, take up residence for two days of Mendelssohn’s piano music, trios, quartets and songs, ending with his joyous teenage Octet.
At Syde Manor, Cheltenham, 7-8 July
2 The Dream of Gerontius
English National Opera closes its season with an interesting experiment, moving from the Coliseum to the Festival Hall for a concert staging of Elgar’s masterpiece. Directed and designed by Lucy Carter, it features Gwyn Hughes Jones, Patricia Bardon and Matthew Rose as the principal singers.
At Royal Festival Hall, SE1, 7-8 July
3 The World Was Once All Miracle
The Manchester international festival will mark the centenary of famous Mancunian composer and writer Anthony Burgess. Both his vocations are extolled in the BBC Philharmonic’s concert.
At Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 4 July
4 Igor Levit
Most pianists include only a selection from Shostakovich’s recent monument of the piano repertoire, 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op 87. But, in Birmingham, Levit will be playing the whole cycle, composed as a homage to Bach.
At Town Hall, Birmingham, 5 July
5 Macbeth (1847)
As usual, the operas in the Buxton international festival are a mixture of existing and bespoke stagings. This new production of Verdi’s first attempt at a Shakespearean opera is directed by Elijah Moshinsky, with Stephen Gadd as Macbeth.
At Buxton Opera House, 7-21 July
