Rare Opera

A couple of sightings of rare opera coming up in the new year. On February 5th East London Metropolitan Opera and the Haydn Chamber Orchestra will be presenting a concert performance of Rossini's Armida at St. John's Smith Square. This will feature Emma Dogliani in the title role and will be conducted by Robin Newton. The opera is perhaps best known for the trio for 3 tenors, the only time that Rossini seems to have written for this combination. The opera was written for Naples where the opera house had 3 major tenors, and most of his operas for Naples feature significant numbers of tenor parts. The title role was written for then muse, Isabella Colbran.

Then between 22nd and 26th February you can sett a production of Albert Lortzing's Zar und Zimmerman at Haslemere Hall in Haslemere. This will be presented by Opera South, directed by Ian Gledhill and conducted by Tom Higgins, with the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. The opera will be sung in English and is being presented as Peter the Great or Tsar and Carpenter. The opera was written in 1837 and remains Lortzing's best known work, it features a disguised Peter the Great getting involved in shennanigins in a Dutch shipyard. The opera is still performed in Germany but is quite a rarity in the UK.