An evocative plainchant of Hildegard von Bingen begins each half of this journey through a millennium of creation stories. Fauré’s late song cycle, La Chanson d’Eve (The Song of Eve) tells the genesis story through the eyes of Eve. We hear a little-known Mozartian gem about belief and conviction which you’re…

'‘The storytelling genius of Schubert needs no introduction, and we are blessed to have one of his great native interpreters with Austrian mezzo, Sophie Rennert. Her voice is that of red velvet. The Disappearance of Lisa Gherardini was inspired by the audacious, real-life theft of the Mona Lisa from the…

‘Have you ever been to a 100th birthday party? As part of my research for this festival, I attended György Kurtág’s 100th birthday concert in Budapest. The Maestro gets around in a wheelchair these days, but his eyes are crystal clear. “My mother tongue is Bartók,” Kurtág says, “and Bartók’s…

'We celebrate a fresh song cycle by two Adelaide women: Anna Goldsworthy and Anne Cawrse. In Snapshots, Goldsworthy’s poetry reckons with love in a nontraditional way, observing how ‘failed’ relationships morph into new and different futures for families today. With splashes of humour and deep sincerity, this is like Schumann’s Frauenliebe und…

‘The Chamberfest team unites and expands into a mini orchestra for Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) and the exquisite Rosenkavalier trio (arranged especially for us by James Ledger). I’ve sung the part of Sophie in this opera on some of the great stages of Europe, but tonight I’ll debut the elegant Marschallin…