Ariodante
The Royal Opera should have been staging a new production of Handel’s opera this autumn, but instead is presenting Ariodante in concert. Christian Curnyn conducts a cast that is led by Paula Murrihy in the title role; Chen Reiss is Ginevra, Sophie Bevan Dalinda, Gerald Finley the King and Iestyn Davies Polinesso.
• 20 November, live streamed (£) from the Royal Opera House then available on demand until 20 December
Seven Deadly Sins
Opera North stages Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “sung ballet”, directed and choreographed by Gary Clarke and conducted by James Holmes in a brand new orchestral arrangement for 15 players by HK Gruber and Christian Muthspiel. Mezzo Wallis Giunta and dancer Shelley Eva Haden are the two Annas, who journey across the US, encountering sloth, pride, wrath, gluttony, lust, greed and envy along the way.
• 21 November, streamed live (£) from Leeds Playhouse
Pharmakeia
James Dillon’s music has been a staple of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival for more than three decades, and this year’s online programme ends with a major Dillon premiere, marking his 70th birthday. Pharmakeia is a four-movement instrumental cycle, composed for the London Sinfonietta; the concert also includes the premiere of Dillon’s solo-piano Echo de Angelus, played by Noriko Kawai.
• 22 November, broadcast on Radio 3 and available on BBC Sounds until 21 December.
Elias Quartet
Robert Plane joins the quartet for a performance of what is perhaps Arthur Bliss’s finest neglected chamber works, the rarely performed Clarinet Quintet of 1932; it’s prefaced in this lunchtime concert by one of Beethoven’s string trios, the C minor, Op 9 no 3.
• 23 November, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and streamed free from the Wigmore Hall, London and then available on demand.
A Choral Odyssey
Harry Christophers and The Sixteen continue their series of online programmes, recorded in different architectural settings around the country and presented by Simon Russell Beale. This week’s instalment was recorded in Our Lady of the Assumption, London, and focusses on the Spanish golden-age composer Francisco Guerrero.
• 25 November, available on demand until 31 January (£); series continues until 23 December
