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Best classical and opera this summer

By Claudia Pritchard on 12/5/2024

Country house opera, memorable concerts, and the entire BBC Proms make up a soundtrack for the sun

Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina sings Carmen at Glyndebourne. Photo: Lera Nurgalieva

Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2024

Two new productions and three revivals for Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2024 include a new Carmen, conductor John Wilson and director Cal McCrystal collaborating on The Merry Widow and, of course, Mozart – Glyndebourne's calling card. Bizet’s Carmen opens the festival on 16 May, and there are two casts, the second (1-24 Aug) headed by the go-to mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina (pictured). Tickets are available, and it's always worth calling for returns.

WHEN

16 May 2024 – 25 Aug 2024, Five productions, each with long dinner interval. Start and running times vary

WHERE

Glyndebourne
Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5UU

Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony No 9

Beethoven's mighty, ambitious and idealistic final symphony is performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Christopher Warren-Green with soloists including Katie Bray (pictured) and Samuel Dale Johnson. Opening the programme, the same composer's powerful Piano Concerto No 5, with soloist Danny Driver.

WHEN

Sat 25 May 2024, 7:30PM

WHERE

Royal Festival Hall, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Opera Holland Park's 2024 season includes a revival of Il Segreto di Susanna. Photo: Ali Wright

Opera Holland Park 2024

The terrifying opening chords of Puccini’s dramatic Tosca herald Opera Holland Park 2024, a summer season of operas dominated by the composer, in the year that marks 100 years since his death, and by his countryman Rossini, A long-awaited revival of Stephen Barlow’s highly-acclaimed 2008 production off Tosca stars Amanda Echalaz. They to catch the hilarious Il Segreto di Susanna (pictured) too.

WHEN

28 May 2024 – 10 Aug 2024, Five productions. Start and running times vary

WHERE

Opera Holland Park
Stable Yard, Holland Park, London , W8 6LU

Garsington Opera's magical garden theatre

Garsington Opera 2024

At Garsington Opera, the stupendous garden often blends with the production on stage in the glass-sided theatre where shows unfold in daylight and embrace sunset. Expect a perfect fit, then, with Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a highlight of this season, with Iestyn Davies and Lucy Crowe as Oberon and Tytania.

WHEN

29 May 2024 – 31 Jul 2024, Five productions with long dinner interval. Start and running times vary

WHERE

Garsington Opera
Wormsley Estate , Stokenchurch, HP14 3YG

Grange Park Opera

At the Theatre in the Woods, at West Horsley Place, the main productions, with long dinner intervals are Donizetti's comedy The Daughter of the Regiment, Janacek's searing Katya Kabanova, with Natalya Romaniw (pictured) in the title role, and a new opera, Island of Dreams. The season opens on 6 June with a fascinating double bill: Rachmaninov's Aleko and Puccini's entertaining Gianni Schicchi. Bryn Terfel sings in both.

WHEN

Thurs 6 June to Sun 14 July 2024. Start times and running times vary. Long dinner interval

WHERE

Grange Park Opera
West Horsley Place, West Horsley, Leatherhead, KT24 6AW

75th Aldeburgh Festival

Founded by composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears, this summer festival of music and art is popular with Londoners escaping to the coast. Events include a concert with Braimah, Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason and friends, an opera by master of the King's music, Judith Weir, and a recreation of the festival's opening night in 1948, which includes Britten's enchanting St Nicolas, with tenor soloist Nick Pritchard (pictured).

WHEN

Fri 7 to Sun 23 June 2024. Day and evening events

WHERE

Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Snape Bridge, Snape IP17 1SP, and nearby venues

Bach B Minor Mass

Among the world's greatest interpreters of the music of JS Bach, Collegium Vocale Gent perform a work which reaches into the furthest corners of what it means to be human. With moving solos by artists including tenor Guy Cutting (pictured) and under the masterly direction of conductor Phillippe Herreweghe, this profound work is never to be missed.

WHEN

Fri 14 June 2024, 7:30PM

WHERE

Barbican Hall, Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS

James McVinnie Ensemble: American Minimalism

Southbank Centre artist-in-residence and keyboard player James McVinnie plus friends present a beguiling programme of American minimalist music. Items include Gabriella Smith's invitingly entitled Imaginary Pancake and works by the giants of US minimalism, Philip Glass and John Adams. Be prepared to slow down and tune in to some of the most compelling music of the modern era.

WHEN

Sun 29 June 2024, 6PM (note early start time)

WHERE

Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Quentin Blake's Box of Treasures, BBC Symphony Orchestra

Join Jack, Nancy and Mrs Armitage (plus bike and dog, of course) on a fantastical adventure. Stefano Cabrera’s music and 80 musicians of the BBC Symphony Orchestra go along for the ride, with two films from CBBC’s Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures.

WHEN

Sat 6 July 2024, 3PM. Running time 1hr 15min, with no interval

WHERE

Barbican Hall, Silk Street, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS

Mozart Requiem, London Philharmonic Choir

The perfect evening for lovers of Mozart. To open, the overture from his masterpiece opera, The Marriage of Figaro, then Daniel Lebhardt is the soloist in the Piano Concerto No 21. After the interval, the poignant Requiem, the composer's last work, sung by the LPC and played by the Royal Philharmonic Choir, conducted by rising conductor Lee Reynolds. Soloists include Idunnu Münch (pictured).

WHEN

Sat 6 July 2024, 7:30PM

WHERE

Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX

The Royal Albert Hall is home to the BBC Proms from July to September. Photo: Chris Christodoulou

The 12 best BBC Proms 2024

And finally... the big one, as the world's greatest music festival attracts international artists to South Kensington. Spoilt for choice? Try these, our pick of the BBC Proms 2024. Many are ideal for introducing younger people to live orchestral music, and all promise to be outstanding performances. Booking opens on Sat 18 May.

WHEN

19 Jul 2024 – 14 Sep 2024, 73 events, start and running times vary

WHERE

Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP

Best classical and opera this summer

Country house opera, memorable concerts, and the entire BBC Proms make up a soundtrack for the sun

Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2024

Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony No 9

Opera Holland Park 2024

Garsington Opera 2024

Grange Park Opera

75th Aldeburgh Festival

Bach B Minor Mass

James McVinnie Ensemble: American Minimalism

Quentin Blake's Box of Treasures, BBC Symphony Orchestra

Mozart Requiem, London Philharmonic Choir

The 12 best BBC Proms 2024

Glyndebourne Festival Opera

Garsington Opera

Opera Holland Park

Grange Park Opera

BBC Proms

Nick Pritchard

Natalya Romaniw

After Tár: women conductors to watch in London

Looking ahead: best London concerts and opera in 2024

Soprano Natalya Romaniw interview: 'My mum liked the chorus best!'

Summer country house opera: a survivor's guide

Scotland Unwrapped, Kings Place

Opera Holland Park 2024