Features

'My heart was broken all the time': Robert Alagna was born in France to a Sicilian family and always felt like an outsider

Roberto Alagna: 'Opera was my secret love'

His life story is as colourful and tear-jerking as any of the roles he's sung. So will the heart-throb tenor ever find serenity?

Inside Features

Observations: Martinu benefits from BBC Symphony Orchestra's championship

Friday, 2 October 2009

It takes courage to programme six symphonies by a composer who has always struggled for even a sliver of attention. But Bohuslav Martinu, the 50th anniversary of whose death falls this year, is about to benefit from the BBC Symphony Orchestra's championship under the baton of his fellow countryman Jiri Belohlavek – and not a moment too soon.

Joyce DiDonato - A diva with joie de vivre

Friday, 25 September 2009

The irrepressible mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato didn't let a broken leg upstage her at the Royal Opera House this summer. She talks to Jessica Duchen

Observations: All hail Sir John Tomlinson, opera's king of bass

Friday, 18 September 2009

Help! – is there a bass-baritone in the house?

English National Opera podcast: Turandot

Friday, 18 September 2009

Edward Seckerson talks to Director Rupert Goold and principal singers Kirsten Blanck and Gwyn Hughes Jones about ENO's new production of Turandot

The legacy of Leonard Bernstein

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

As the Southbank Centre prepares to celebrate the work of Leonard Bernstein, Boyd Tonkin reflects on the impression left by the composer – and recalls a memorable encounter with the great man himself

Nigel Kennedy - Still playing the rebel

Friday, 4 September 2009

Nigel Kennedy is back and he's showing no signs of mellowing

ENO podcast: Le Grand Macabre

Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Gig at the end of the earth: The brilliant cellist Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road-inspired Prom has been 10 well-travelled years in the making

Sunday, 30 August 2009

The Silk Road faded away centuries ago. But cellist Yo-Yo Ma is trading in new treasures along this fabled highway: the wonderful and hidden music of Central Asia. Michael Church anticipates a Prom with a difference

Observations: Art therapy for strung-out Brits

Friday, 28 August 2009

Reports this week have suggested a surprising surge of interest in classical music: apparently, recession-battered Brits are seeking a source of "tranquility". Artists have always pointed out the spiritual value of music, but it can take a world financial crisis to make the message hit home.