Upcoming Performances


Other Love Songs
Nov
26
7:30 PM19:30

Other Love Songs

  • The Ian Potter Southbank Centre (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Presented by Songmakers Australia

This concert is a celebration of friendship, artistry and music making.
All core members come together for a program of old and new masterpieces for vocal quartet and piano.

From Robert Schumann's fascination with Spanish poetry, to the more eclectic folksong collection in Brahms' walzes, through Hough's many facets of 'other love', this program encompasses the universality of love in poetry and music.

PROGRAM
SCHUMANN Spanisches Liederspiel op 74
HOUGH Other Love Songs
BRAHMS Neue Liebeslieder Walzer op 65

ARTISTS
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Brenton Spiteri, tenor
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano
with Alan Hicks, guest pianist

Tickets on sale here

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Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle
Oct
12
5:00 PM17:00

Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle

Neither small nor especially solemn, the ironically titled ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’ is the last major work of the 19th century Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, better known both then and now as an exponent of the secular opera buffa. Rossini himself queried on the final page of the manuscript: ‘Have I just written sacred music, or rather, sacrilegious music?’

While he did later orchestrate the piece, the composer was known to prefer this original chamber version, scored unusually for piano, harmonium, four solo singers and small chorus, which brings the theatrical flair and colour of his operatic works to the sacred text of the Latin mass.

Songmakers Australia
Soprano | Merlyn Quaife
Mezzo | Christina Wilson
Tenor | Christopher Watson (guest artist)
Bass | Nicholas Dinopoulos
Piano | Andrea Katz

Polyphonic Voices
Artistic Director | Michael Fulcher

Harmonium | Donald Nicolson

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Romantic Songs: Beautiful Paths
Jul
27
7:00 PM19:00

Romantic Songs: Beautiful Paths

Songmakers Australia presents a program of songs and piano music inspired by one extraordinary woman, Clara Schumann. Her husband Robert wrote his Heine Liederkreis op 24 as an engagement present, during his “wondrous year of song”, 1840.
Her friend Johannes Brahms was facing his own mortality when he composed his Four Serious songs, stricken by grief after her death in 1896, on texts collected from the Scriptures.
The poignant and whimsical Papillons op 2 is in itself a cycle, based on a short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, one of Schumann's favourite writers.

Tickets available here

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Bastille Day Spectacular
Jul
14
3:00 PM15:00

Bastille Day Spectacular

Songmakers Australia, presents a wonderful collection of French songs, duets and piano music, performed by Merlyn Quaife AM (soprano), Nicholas Dinopoulos (bass-baritone), and Andrea Katz (piano).

The year is 1863 and Emperor Napoleon III has decreed that all paintings rejected by the Salon’s judges can be exhibited in a nearby room “wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of the artists’ complaints”. Thus was born the first Salon des Refusés and the seed of Impressionism was planted.

Using five famous paintings as focal points, this program explores French poetry and music inspired by them through songs by Debussy, Fauré, Duparc and duets by Chausson.

Looking to future generations of painters and composers, we pay tribute to Poulenc with a performance of his monumental song cycle Le Travail du peintre.

Tickets available here

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Voyage a Paris
Jun
1
3:00 PM15:00

Voyage a Paris

Australia’s leading vocal chamber ensemble, Songmakers Australia, presents a wonderful collection of French songs, duets and piano music, inspired by life, love and death during ‘La Belle Époche’ in Paris (1880-1925).

The ensemble pays homage to Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947), two of the greatest song composers of the time, whose timeless musical significance is now unassailable.

Tickets available here

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A Crown of Dreams
Mar
17
2:00 PM14:00

A Crown of Dreams

This performance in Primrose Potter Salon presents passionate works from Wagner and Berg. Love is the greatest inspiration for poetry and songs. ‘To the Angel who has lifted me so high’ – with those words Wagner dedicated his only song cycle to his muse, poetess and paramour, Mathilde Wesendonck.

Berg’s Seven Early Songs were also inspired by the love in his life, his wife Helene. Emotionally and musically attached to the great German Romantic style, it reflects Berg’s obsession with driving back to the beginning.

ARTISTS
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Andrea Katz, piano

PROGRAM

Richard Wagner
Wesendonck Lieder WWV 91

Alban Berg
Piano Sonata Op.1
Sieben frühe Lieder

Tickets on sale here

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Wagner & Baudelaire
Sep
23
7:00 PM19:00

Wagner & Baudelaire

  • Sydney Conservatorium of Music (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
During his years of exile, Wagner tried, unsuccessfully, to ‘make it’ in Paris.
His influence on composers was almost non-existent, but he gathered great support by other artists with similar aesthetic ideas about the correlation between words and music. Charles Baudelaire was a great admirer of Wagner and would have great influence on a later generations of composers who would embrace the greatness in a very French way.
For Baudelaire, Wagner’s work embodies “an awareness of the magical power of suggestion of music”, which replicated the musicality of many of his own poems in ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’ (The Flowers of Evil).

More information here

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To the Sun!
Sep
3
3:00 PM15:00

To the Sun!

Presented by Art Song Canberra

Songmakers Australia presents a program of quartets by Schubert and Brahms, and a rarely performed extended version of Schumann’s ‘Spanisches Liederspiel’ including gems such as the breathtaking ‘Hoch, hoch sind die Berge’ and the cheeky ‘Der Contrabandist’.

Tickets available here

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The Beautiful Miller's Daughter
Jul
19
6:00 PM18:00

The Beautiful Miller's Daughter

This performance in Primrose Potter Salon celebrates 200 years of Die schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill), a song cycle based on 20 poems written by Wilhem Müller.

‘I feel myself to be the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world. Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and who in sheer despair over this ever makes things worse and worse, instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have perished, to whom the happiness of love and friendship have nothing to offer but pain… My peace is gone, my heart is sore, I shall find it never and nevermore… I may well sing now, for each night, on retiring to bed, I hope I may not wake again…’ With these poignant words Schubert described his state of mind after writing Die schöne Müllerin.

Tickets on sale here

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1863: The birth of Impressionism
May
5
7:00 PM19:00

1863: The birth of Impressionism

  • Trinity College | University of Melbourne (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

The year is 1863 and the Emperor Napoleon III has decreed that all paintings rejected by the Salon’s judges can be exhibited in a nearby room “wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of the artists’ complaints”. Thus was born the first Salon des Refusés and the seed of Impressionism was planted.

Using 5 famous paintings as focal points, this program explores French poetry and music inspired by them through songs by Debussy, Fauré, Duparc and duets by Chausson.

Looking to future generations of painters and composers, we pay tribute to Poulenc with a performance of his monumental song cycle 'Le Travail du peintre'.

Tickets on sale here

View Event →
A Crown of Dreams
Mar
21
6:00 PM18:00

A Crown of Dreams

This performance in Primrose Potter Salon presents passionate works from Wagner and Berg. Love is the greatest inspiration for poetry and songs. ‘To the Angel who has lifted me so high’ – with those words Wagner dedicated his only song cycle to his muse, poetess and paramour, Mathilde Wesendonck.

Berg’s Seven Early Songs were also inspired by the love in his life, his wife Helene. Emotionally and musically attached to the great German Romantic style, it reflects Berg’s obsession with driving back to the beginning.

ARTISTS
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Andrea Katz, piano

PROGRAM

Richard Wagner
Wesendonck Lieder WWV 91

Alban Berg
Piano Sonata Op.1
Sieben frühe Lieder

Tickets on sale here

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Nostalgia
Mar
7
7:00 PM19:00

Nostalgia

fortyfivedownstairs Music Series

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.

Tickets on sale here

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Nostalgia
Feb
19
2:00 PM14:00

Nostalgia

Music at McClelland

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.

Tickets on sale here

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Port Fairy Spring Music Festival
Oct
14
to Oct 16

Port Fairy Spring Music Festival

  • Port Fairy Spring Music Festival (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

After a three years hiatus, the 2022 PFSMF hosted 3 Songmakers Australia concerts: Nostalgia (homage to Piazzolla and Argentinian music), Lauris Elms Tribute, and Closing Gala celebrating Vaughan-Williams anniversary with a performance of Serenade to Music.

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Swan Song
Aug
1
1:00 PM13:00

Swan Song

Schubert's last song cycle was published after his untimely death at the age of 31. It comprises songs by Ludwig Rellstab, the only 6 Heine settings by Schubert and his very last song, Die Taubenpost, a fitting message of love to all of us.
Schubert’s intentions for the publication of these songs, including the order for their performance, is not clear. Hence, Songmakers conception for a cycle after Schubert’s earlier models – a journey there and back again, traversing an emotional gamut ranging from love hopeful and/or renewed, fearful foreboding to bitter disillusionment.

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The Australian Connection
Jul
19
6:00 PM18:00

The Australian Connection

As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, this performance in the Primrose Potter Salon celebrates fearless soprano Merlyn Quaife’s life, career and unwavering love and support of Australian Art Song.

Featuring four stunning cycles by Johanna Selleck, Richard Mills, Luke Severn and Keith Humble, the performance represents aspects of her vast influence and commitment spanning three generations of composers.

Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Andrea Katz, piano

PROGRAM
Selleck: The prospect and bower of bliss
Mills: Here where death and life are met
Severn: 2 Goethe Songs
Humble: Cabaret Songs

Tickets on sale here

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Oblivion
Apr
30
7:30 PM19:30

Oblivion

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.

Ginastera Cuyana

Gardel y Lepera Mi Buenos Aires querido

Piazzolla y Ferrer Balada para un loco

Villoldo (arr. Bacalov) El choclo

Cobián y Cadícamo Nostalgias

Mores y Discépolo Uno

Piazzolla y Ferrer Oblivion

Piazzolla Tzigane Tango

Piazzolla y Ferrer Chiquilín de Bachín

Piazzolla y Ferrer Balada para mi muerte

Ziegler Sandunga

Ziegler y Balducci Rojotango

Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone

Andrea Katz, piano

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Nostalgia: Piazzolla 101
Apr
3
8:00 PM20:00

Nostalgia: Piazzolla 101

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.

Tickets on sale here

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Myrtle and Roses
Feb
21
6:00 PM18:00

Myrtle and Roses

Leading vocal ensemble Songmakers Australia captivates with a garland of songs, dedications and serenades. The delightful collection of flower-inspired songs features duets and trios by great masters, including Robert Schumann’s romantic Mit Myrten und Rosen (With Myrtles & Roses), and English and Australian classics, such as Percy Grainger’s lovesick Willow, Willow. Dedicated to its fans and newcomers on the 10th anniversary of Songmakers’ debut, this enchanting concert is a perfect fit for the intimate beauty of the Primrose Potter Salon.

Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano

PROGRAM
Schumann: Mit Myrten und Rosen
Schumann: Du bist wie eine Blume
Schumann: Herbstlied
Schumann: Aus den oestlichen Rosen
Schumann: Die Lotosblume
Schumann: Ich bin dein Baum

Mendelssohn: Herbstlied
Mendelssohn: Maiglöckchen

Mozart: Due pupille amabili, K.439
Mozart: Mi lagnerò tacendo, K.437
Mozart: Più non si trovano, K.549

Linda Phillips: Plum tree
Roger Quilter: Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
Roger Quilter: Blossom Time

Alan Tregaskis: Vision
Benjamin Britten: The Salley Gardens
Percy Grainger: Willow, Willow

Massenet: Le poème des fleurs

Tickets on sale here

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MDCH presents : Summer Sunset
Dec
4
8:30 PM20:30

MDCH presents : Summer Sunset

A beautiful collection of songs and duets by Brahms, Dvořák, Roger Quilter and Cole Porter in a special summer sunset program for a warm and beautiful Melbourne twilight.

Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano

PROGRAM
Brahms: Spannung Op. 84 No. 5
Brahms: Feldeinsamkeit Op. 86 No. 2
Brahms: Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen Op. 32 No. 2
Brahms: Sapphische Ode Op. 94 No. 4
Brahms: Unbewegte laue Luft Op. 57 No. 8
Brahms: Die Mainacht Op. 43 No. 2
Brahms: Weg der Liebe Op. 20 No. 1

Dvořák: Four Moravian Duets from Op. 32

Porter: Love Song Medley
Wood: The Roses of Picardy
Quilter: Summer Sunset
Quilter: Windy Nights

Tickets on sale here

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Port Fairy Spring Music Festival: The Shepherd on the Rock
Dec
1
8:30 PM20:30

Port Fairy Spring Music Festival: The Shepherd on the Rock

Festival favourites, the sensational Songmakers Australia, return to bring us a heart-warming exploration of great repertoire written for one of music’s most winning combinations – clarinet, soprano and piano. In the midst of German vocal and chamber music tradition, they present Francis Poulenc’s mellifluous clarinet sonata, as well as showcasing the beautiful work of prolific Australian composer Margaret Sutherland, before concluding with Franz Schubert’s much-loved Shepherd singing his song of longing for a distant sweetheart, consoled only by his dreams of a Springtime reunion.

ARTISTS
Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano
Andrea Katz, piano
David Griffiths, clarinet

PROGRAM
Spohr Six German Songs op 103
Poulenc Clarinet Sonata
Sutherland The Orange Tree
Schubert The Shepherd on the Rock

Tickets on sale here

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Interpretation and Performance of Lieder and Art Song 2020
Apr
9
to Apr 11

Interpretation and Performance of Lieder and Art Song 2020

  • Hawthorn Presbyterian Church (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

This seminar is specially designed for singers and pianists who are in the final stages of preparing repertoire for performance, competitions and exams.

You will work with international expert Andrea Katz and fellow members of Songmakers Australia soprano Merlyn Quaife AM and mezzo-soprano Christina Wilson on in-depth study, analysis and performance of Lieder and Art Song repertoire.

Their combined expertise will cover all aspects of performance, language and pronunciation, relationship between singer and pianist, balance and sound projection for a complete preparation of your competition and performance repertoire.

'Thank you for an amazing 3 days of workshops! I am so full of new knowledge and rich experience that I will always cherish - you've taken me to a new level and I feel pumped - even had a breakthrough in my vocal freedom as I was singing on the way home!!' Helen Ling, 2016 participant.

GLOBAL SCHEDULE

Thursday April 9 - 10.00am to 5.00 pm

Friday April 10 - 10.00am to 5.00 pm

Saturday April 11 - 10.00am to 1.00 pm

Attend full-time from Monday to Wednesday, or select those days that suit!

Final concert will take place at the Camberwell Uniting Church on Saturday April 11 at 5pm.

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Melbourne Digital Concert Hall: Songmakers Australia
Apr
2
8:30 PM20:30

Melbourne Digital Concert Hall: Songmakers Australia

Nick and Andrea revisit some of their favourite songs in this special
broadcast as part of the new Melbourne Digital Concert Hall series.

Quirky vignettes by Poulenc sit alongside some of the most heroic and beautiful Schumann settings of poems by Heinrich Heine.

The program also includes Franz Schubert’s final settings in the lieder genre and a selection of beloved English Art Songs.

Nicholas Dinopoulos - Bass-Baritone, Teaching Artist & Conductor
Andrea Katz, Pianist Down Under

PROGRAM
Benjamin Britten: The Salley Gardens
Roger Quilter: Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
Francis Poulenc: Le Bestiaire
Robert Schumann: Die beiden Grenadiere
Robert Schumann: Three Heine Settings (from Mythen, op. 25)
Franz Schubert: Six Heine Settings (from Schwanengesang, D. 957)
Franz Schubert: Die Taubenpost
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Silent Noon
Charles Villiers Stanford: Homeward Bound

Tickets on sale here

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Swan Songs: Schubert & Owens
Mar
29
3:00 PM15:00

Swan Songs: Schubert & Owens

  • 59 Healesville - Koo Wee Rup Road Healesville, VIC, 3777 Australia (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

In a recital from the formidable Bass-baritone Nicholas Dinopoulos, accompanied on piano by the Artistic director of Songmakers Australia Andrea Katz, the duo returns to Healesville to perform a collection of "Schwanengesang" or "Swan songs" from poems by German poets (Rellstab, Heine, Seidl) set to music by Schubert; these are enhanced by several lied by local wunderkind composer & performer Alexander Owens using poems by Heinrich Heine (who provided material for Schubert). This Autumn concert will fasten upon the passionate 19thC Romantic era of "Sturm und Drang".

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2020 3MBS Marathon
Feb
23
4:45 PM16:45

2020 3MBS Marathon

3MBS Fine Music Melbourne celebrates the 250th birthday of one of the world's most recognised and influential composers, Ludwig van Beethoven.

Concert 4 includes a selection of Scottish Songs op 108, performed by Artistic Director and pianist Andrea Katz, and 2019 Young Songmakers Development Program members, soprano Emilia Bertolini, tenor Alastair Cooper-Golec and baritone Stephen Coutts.

Tickets available here.

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Crossing the Bar
Feb
18
7:00 PM19:00

Crossing the Bar

Fabulous British ensemble The Gesualdo Six meets Songmakers Australia on their very first tour Down Under

The ensembles will present some of their favourite repertoire individually, and join forces for performances of Brahms' Zigeunerlieder op. 103 and Calvin Bowman's Crossing the Bar.

PROGRAM
The Gesualdo Six:
Johannes Brahms Nachtwache Op. 104 # 1
Franz Schubert Die Nacht
Max Reger Nachtlied

Songmakers Australia:
W.A. Mozart 6 Notturni for 3 voices and piano

The Gesualdo Six & Songmakers Australia:
Calvin Bowman Crossing the Bar
                                     
~ Interval ~

The Gesualdo Six:
Owain Park Fantasia on English Children’s Songs

Songmakers Australia:
Antonin Dvorak Die Vöglein
Robert Schumann Ich bin dein Baum, o Gärtner
Felix Mendelssohn Herbstlied

The Gesualdo Six & Songmakers Australia:
Johannes Brahms Zigeunerlieder op 103

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Schubertiade
Oct
5
to Oct 6

Schubertiade

A festival celebrating the music of Franz Schubert!

A weekend filled with some of his most beloved songs, including Gretchen am Spinnrade, Du bist die Ruh, An die Musik, his most famous song cycle, Winterreise, and some chamber music gems such as The Trout Quintet, his haunting Fantasie in F for piano 4 hands and his last composition, Shepherd on the rock.

Songmakers Australia core members Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano, Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano, Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone, are joined by guest Rachael Beesley, violin, Simon Oswell, viola, Luke Severn, cello, Damien Eckersley, double-bass, Blake Cutler, clarinet, and Alan Hicks, piano, curated by pianist and Artistic Director Andrea Katz.

it is part of the Schubertiade tradition to nurture young talent giving the audience the opportunity to make some exciting new discoveries and our 4 Young Songmakers will join in with joyous duets and quartets.

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The Tragedy of Mignon
Aug
29
6:00 PM18:00

The Tragedy of Mignon

Melbourne Recital Centre - Local Heroes Series

Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano

Let us take you on a guided tour of German, French, and Russian songs of the nineteenth century from the perspective of Mignon, Goethe's tragic heroin, one of the most beguiling and mysterious figures of modern literature.

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5 FRIDAYS IN AUGUST: La Serenata
Aug
16
7:00 PM19:00

5 FRIDAYS IN AUGUST: La Serenata

Victorian Opera - 5 Fridays in August

Merlyn Quaife, soprano

Brenton Spiteri, tenor

Andrea Katz, piano

Soprano Merlyn Quaife AM and tenor Brenton Spiteri, together with pianist and Artistic Director Andrea Katz, explore the songs of opera composers Rossini, Dvorak, Puccini and Donizetti, together with less known repertoire by de Falla, Weill and Duparc, culminating with some Operetta gems by Lehar and Kalman.

Tickets on sale here.

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