1 The Vanishing Bridegroom
Folk tales from a range of cultures have provided Judith Weir with the starting points for all her operas. Inspired by Scottish lore, Weir’s libretto for The Vanishing Bridegroom, first performed in 1990, links together three stories from the Highlands to create a compact family saga. It’s one of the two works in British Youth Opera’s autumn season.
Peacock theatre, WC2, 2-9 September
2 Proms at…
The contemporary music in the main Proms series has been rather unadventurous, with any really interesting new work reserved for the late-night concerts or included in the Proms at... series. The final two concerts in that strand promise to pack a punch, though.At Wilton’s Music Hall, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group’s programme ranges from a Handel piece to Peter Maxwell Davies’s now classic Eight Songs for a Mad King; while down in Tate Modern’s Tanks space, Exaudi and the London Contemporary Orchestra combine for a night of improvisation and electronica.
Wilton’s Music Hall, E1, 2 September; Tate Modern, SE1, 6 September
3 Prom 70
The Proms is always a long haul for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. With the end now in sight, it gives its final serious programme of the summer under Karina Canellakis. Jeremy Denk is the soloist in Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto, which Canellakis follows with Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony. The concert opens with the European premiere of the orchestral version of Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia.
Royal Albert Hall, SW7, 6 September
