1 The Knife Of Dawn
Hannah Kendall’s chamber opera is built around the life of the Guyanese poet and activist Martin Carter, imprisoned by the British for his fight for his country’s independence. John Walton directs.
2 The Beethoven 1808 Academy Concert
One of the most famous concerts in history took place in Vienna on 22 December 1808. It featured the premieres of four of Beethoven’s groundbreaking works, the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Fourth Piano Concerto and the Choral Fantasy. Now, Thomas Dausgaard and the BBC Scottish Symphony recreate the whole thing, all three-and-a-half hours of it.
City Halls, Glasgow, 2 October
3 The Sirens Cycle
The world premiere of Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös’s work for coloratura soprano and string quartet, co-commissioned by the Wigmore Hall, should have been sung by Barbara Hannigan. Yet she has been forced to withdraw from this debut with the Calder Quartet; Piia Komsi takes her place.
4 Suor Angelica
With productions of two parts of Puccini’s great trilogy already in its rep, Opera North completes Il Trittico with a new staging of Suor Angelica, performed alongside the first piece, Il Tabarro.
The Grand Theatre & Opera House, Leeds, 1-26 October
5 Antony And Cleopatra
Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra revive a French rarity – the sumptuous score that Florent Schmitt composed in 1920 as incidental music to André Gide’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy – which will be performed in the context of scenes from the play itself.
