Month: March 2014

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra opens a three-city tour of India on Saturday, March 29th, accompanied by composer James MacMillan, violinist Nicola Benedetti and students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In the most ambitious programme of cultural exchange ever undertaken by a British orchestra in India, this tour celebrates the lead-up to the Glasgow…

Just over three years ago, the charity Animal Defenders International undertook an ambitious and highly dangerous operation to rescue 25 lions from a number of circuses in Bolivia, where they had been subjected to a life of appalling misery and cruelty.  The entire rescue operation was filmed by the charity, and in October last year,…

The celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten draw to a close at the end of the 2013-14 season, and one of the closing highlights is the London premiere of David Bintley’s The Prince of the Pagodas by the Birmingham Royal Ballet.  The Prince of the Pagodas was the only full-length ballet…

The Royal Ballet opens its Spring Season at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden this week, with a glorious production of the enchanting Tchaikovsky ballet, The Sleeping Beauty. Produced by Monica Mason (former Director of The Royal Ballet) and Christopher Newton, it features additional choreography by Anthony Dowell, Frederick Ashton and Christopher Wheeldon, with original…

One of Monaco’s most exciting cultural events – Le festival Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo – celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.  This month-long festival, which has just opened, presents a superb array of cultural events from the world of art, music, theatre and dance – featuring an impressive line-up of international artists, from the…

The Martha Graham Dance Company opens its 2014 New York City Season on March 19.  The season features two world premieres, and four Graham masterworks, included in which are the anniversaries of two works which are deeply woven into the Graham legend – the 70th anniversary of Appalachian Spring and the 30th anniversary of The…

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony embark on an 11-concert, eight-city European tour on 14th March.  Taking in London, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Geneva, Luxembourg, Dortmund and Birmingham, the ensemble will be joined by a group of distinguished guest artists – violinist Julia Fischer, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and the St Lawrence String Quartet. The…

This month, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo – under the Presidency of HRH the Princess of Hanover – sets off on an international tour, taking Jean-Christophe Maillot’s LAC to California, New York, London, Lyon and Paris. One of the great narrative ballets for which Maillot – the Company’s Director-Choreographer – is internationally renowned, LAC was a…