Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela headline the Royal Festival Hall's 08-09 season

The Southbank Centre has announced the line-up for its 2008-09 Shell Classic International Series.
Featuring several of the world's greatest orchestras, conductors and soloists, it will see the Royal Festival Hall play host to several of the same orchestras as this season as well as a mouth-watering visit from the Vienna Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez conducting his Ensemble Intercontemporain and Gustavo Dudamel leading the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuala.

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/rfh-preview-0208.shtml

Fleming and Hvorostovsky in Decca's DVD of Eugene Onegin from the Met; The Mikado opens at ENO; The London Philharmonic announces the 08-09 season

Wonderful new DVD of Eugene Onegin from the Met:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/dvd-onegin-0208.shtml

The LPO announces 08-09:
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/lpo-preview-0208.shtml

Sarah Tynan and Robert Murray in ENO's The Mikado:
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/eno-mikado-0208.shtml

Madam Butterfly opens at ENO; La traviata cast B at Covent Garden; LSO Live's new Mozart Requiem; Lang Lang on the South Bank Show

Judith Howarth has opened in the ENO revival of Anthony Minghella's production of Puccini's Madam Butterfly:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/eno-butterfly-0208.shtml

Norah Amsellem and Charles Castronovo star in Cast B of the ROH's revival of Verdi's La traviata:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/roh-traviata-b-0108.shtml

Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra's new recording of Mozart's Requiem:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-lso-mozart-requiem-0208.shtml

News that Lang Lang will feature on the South Bank Show next weekend:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/news-langlang-0208.shtml

Opera Review: ROH The Magic Flute / Die Zauberflöte

First night of David McVicar's production of The Magic Flute, now back at Covent Garden for the third revival:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/roh-flute-0108.shtml

Simon Keenlyside is always magnificent as Papageno, but it felt a bit like some of the other singers were resorting to stock gestures and to walking through the production.

The chorus didn't sing as lustily as is usual for them, and somehow there just wasn't the fire or warmth that Mackerras brought to the piece last time.

Tomorrow: an interview with Sarah Tynan and Robert Murray about The Mikado at ENO.

An interview with Sarah Chang

Our latest interview is an in-depth chat with the violinist Sarah Chang about her career to date, her forthcoming appearance with the London Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto, her new recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and her love of London.

Read more here:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/interviews/chang-0108.shtml

Also, don't forget to read our latest CD reviews, which include:

Gerald Finley's new Ives CD on Hyperion

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-finley-ives-0108.shtml

Simon Rattle's new recording of Pictures at an Exhibition on EMI

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-rattle-mussorgsky-0108.shtml

Mozart's Davide penitente on Naxos

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-davide-0108.shtml

Tippett's Complete Piano Music on Hyperion

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-tippett-osborne-0108.shtml

Coming this week:

The Magic Flute

Madam Butterfly

LPO/Adam Fischer

An interview with Simon Keenlyside about The Magic Flute

An interview with Britain's leading baritone, Simon Keenlyside, about forthcoming appearances in The Magic Flute, Don Carlo, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Wozzeck, plus his new disc of operetta arias.

Quite a number of tickets remain for the Covent Garden Flute performances, so now's your chance to witness Keenlyside at work in one of his greatest roles, Papageno.

Read the full story here:

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/interviews/keenlyside-0108.shtml

BBC SO axes Composer Weekends in favour of Composer Days

In a surprise move, the BBCSO has announced that it will no longer continue its annual January Composer Weekends beyond 2008.

Instead, there will be Composer Days scattered between January and March, next year focusing on Stockhausen, Murail and Xenakis.

More here: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/bbcso-composer-0108.shtml

Any reactions to this decision?