The next Chelsea Opera Group concert is on Sunday 25th March at the QEH, when they are doing the first, St. Petersburg, version of Verdi's La Forza del Destino, with Gweneth Ann Jeffers as Leonora and Peter Auty as Alvaro, plus Donald Maxwell as Melitone and Brindley Sherratt as Padre Guardiano. A very strong cast indeed plus the chance to hear Verdi's first thoughts in the opera, where the final act is significantly different. (And no, the piece is no less rambling!).
Further ahead, on Sunday 27th May they are doing Donizetti's Maria Padilla with Nelly Miricioiu in the title role, conducted by Brad Cohen. They have also announced their 2012/13 season. There's still no Meyerbeer but we do have Massenet's Don Quichotte on 25th November plus Wagner's Die Feen on 17 March 2013 and Verdi's Alzira on 2nd June 2013 (all three at the QEH). I look forward to the Massenet immensely. It will be interesting to hear Wagner's early opera, its probably hardly worth staging but COG provide a valuable service in allowing us to hear it. Similarly the Verdi, which was based amazingly on a play by Voltaire, but did not have conspicuous success in Verdi's lifetime. It comes between Giovanna d'Arco and Attila but it seems that Verdi took his eye off the ball, at least that is the judgement of history, COG give us a chance to find out.
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