Music

Opera for the Ordinary

Despite popular misconceptions and its aristocratic origins, for part of its history opera was inextricably linked with popular culture – no more so than in the 1920s. 

Reconstructing Baroque Opera

The recently opened Sam Wanamaker Theatre marks an intriguing step forward in the revival of baroque opera, says Mark Ronan. 

Revolution in 18th Century Music

Owain Edwards writes about the sea change in classical music composition - and listenership - as the galant music of the Bachs reached London.

Offenbach

Joanna Richardson describes how after he had moved to Paris, Jacques Offenbach, the son of a cantor at the synagogue in Cologne, created an operatic epitome of the Second Empire.

The Bayreuth Festival

The history of the Bayreuth Festival, the annual celebration of the music of Richard Wagner, is mired in controversy and scandal, as Mark Ronan reports.