The London Opera Company to perform Götterdämmerung this October

Following sold out and critically acclaimed performances of Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre [see my review] and Siegfried [see Tony's review], the London Opera Company (LOC) returns to Sinfonia Smith Square (formerly St John’s Smith Square) on Sunday 19 October with a full orchestra for its most ambitious concert yet - Götterdämmerung

The production features a cast of seasoned professionals including Katie Lowe, who made her Royal Opera House (ROH) debut in Die Walküre earlier this year, and Philippa Boyle, who returns as Gutrune following a wonderful Sieglinde for the London Opera Company in 2023. Philippa also performed for the first time at ROH in their award-winning Festen. Harriet Williams sings Waltraute. Neal Cooper takes on the role of Siegfried (currently singing Thibault at ROH) and Cara Mchardy following her excellent reviews for Siegfried and Die Walkūre with LOC continues her role as Brünnhilde.

They are joined by voices fresh to Wagner and an orchestra with a core of professionals playing alongside the best post-graduates from London’s top music colleges. LOC Orchestral Bursary offers a yearly prize and paid opportunity for a talented musician nurturing young talent.

Peter Selwyn conducts the orchestra. This follows his recent success with Opera Holland Park’s Der Fliegende Holländer [see my review], and see my 2022 interview with Peter Selwyn, 'From Bayreuth to Grimeborn'.

The Wagner Tubas and Stierhorn, kindly loaned by the Royal Opera House, will, as with the Company’s much celebrated production of Die Walküre, bring a special grandeur to the performance. 

Further details from Sinfonia Smith Square's website.

Clarinet & strings: Coleridge-Taylor & a new Jago Thornton piece in the Sacconi Quartet's Sunday concert at Conway Hall with David Campbell

Jago Thornton

Jago Thornton, Shostakovich, Coleridge-Taylor; Sacconi Quartet, David Campbell; Conway Hall Sunday Concerts
Reviewed 28 September 2025

Coleridge-Taylor's early masterwork paired with a new piece for clarinet and strings by Jago Thornton, commissioned as a pairing and inspired by the cityscape known to both composers.

The Sunday concert at Conway Hall on 28 September 2025 featured the Sacconi Quartet (Ben Hancox, Hannah Dawson, Robin Ashell, Cara Berridge) and clarinettist David Campbell in programme that culminated in Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Clarinet Quintet in F sharp minor and began with the premiere of Jago Thornton's Study in Submersion for clarinet and string quartet, commissioned as a partner for Coleridge-Taylor's quintet. Between the two, the quartet played Shostakovich's highly personal String Quartet in C sharp minor Op. 110. Before the concert, I gave a preconcert talk looking at Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's early life and training with background to the creation of his quintet and his best known work, Hiawatha.

Named for outstanding twentieth-century Italian luthier and restorer Simone Sacconi, the Sacconi Quartet celebrate they 25th anniversary next year, and still feature the original line up. The four players first got together whilst studying at the Royal College of Music.