Limelight has learned of the death of former lawyer, ABC journalist and impresario Andrew McKinnon, aged 70.

The editors of Limelight share their selection of the most exciting classical music, opera and theatre events coming soon.

As he prepares to tour Australia, Joseph Calleja explains how singing is his superpower, why he no longer goes spearfishing, and why Andrea Bocelli deserves special praise.

In this month's features we explore three new productions of Swan Lake, pay tribute to Ralph Vaughan Williams on his 150th, investigate a new opera about Olive Pink and publish an extract from Andrew Mellor's new book The Northern Silence about Nordic music and culture.

A revival of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, a Verdi blockbuster, two musicals and a visit from Les Arts Florissants.

Lorelei gets a second life, Opera Australia's digital Aida comes to town, and Simon O'Neill stars in Tristan und Isolde.

When Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor was premiered in Naples in 1835 there was as much drama off stage as on. The San Carlo opera house was on the verge of bankruptcy and the musicians hadn’t been paid. His diva, Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, was miffed that the tenor Edgardo’s death scene comes after hers – this in spite of the fact that he stabs himself when he hears her death knell! To make things even worse the glass harmonica player, so vital for the mad scene, quit and the composer had to rescore it with a second flute. Fortunately conductor Jesús López-Cobos seems to have had a much easier time with this fine new release starring German soprano Diana Damrau and the popular Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja. Recorded from live concert performances in Munich over four nights, this is a good if not exceptional production. The two leads make a handsome vocal couple but there are occasional ragged edges that would have been airbrushed out in a studio recording. In the big duet Verranno a te sull’aure, for example, Calleja finishes well before Damrau.  However, these are minor flaws. The ensemble singing in the sextet is a standout and Damrau shines…

Following his homage to the people’s tenor Maria Lanza, it makes sense for Calleja to come up with a recital ranging from Leoncavallo and Tosti to Morricone and Edith Piaf. Although there are songs in no less than six languages, the Maltese tenor is obviously most at home in his mother tongue, Italian. Many critics have commented on the ‘golden-age’ quality of his voice, his ease of production and his wish to remain a man of the people. However for all of the ease and honeyed legato, one often yearns for geater involvement with the text. One also wishes more care had been taken in the choice of repertoire and the lush orchestrations. The sheer beauty of the voice is almost enough to justify Time to Say Goodbye but the rounded Italianate vowels are too much for as simple a tune as You Raise Me Up. Similarly Piaf’s La Vie en Rose remains an odd choice as it is so strongly associated with the feminine (though here his French vowels are far more agreeably idiomatic). Equally odd is the vocal take on the Adagio from Rodrigo’s Concerto De Aranjuez though it’s nice to hear Calleja in Spanish. His German and…

The UK's prestigious classical recording awards honour Joseph Calleja as Artist of the Year.

Kiri Te Kanawa, Mirella Freni, Ben Heppner and more reminisce about their most cherished albums.

Two of opera’s biggest stars have left the Met in the lurch for Tokyo performances. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in