WHAT'S NEW IN MY WORLD

 

December 2018 saw Alastair travel to Japan to make his debut as an opera director!

 

With the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under their chief conductor Jonathan Nott, Alastair directed the semi-staging of two performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in addition to singing the roles of both Dr. Bartolo and Antonio. In this multi-tasking he was in fact emulating the very first performances of the opera in May 1786 where the same singer, Francesco Bussoni, sang both roles and acted as stage manager. The performances were a resounding success with standing ovations for the cast and orchestra and glowing press reviews:

 

“Alastair Miles, who undertook the two roles of Bartolo and Antonio and directed the production, must be said to be the main pillar of the performance. With regard to the direction, all the singers movements and facial expressions were highly detailed, and the flow of the action, the smoothness of movement, and the naturalness of the acting made one forget this was a concert version rather than fully staged. Nevertheless, because of the concert setting, the audience’s attention seemed even more heightened so that every dramatic nuance and expression stimulated the imagination and was arguably more appreciated. As a singer of both Bartolo and Antonio, including the change of costume and character, Miles sang and performed splendidly.”

 

Kyosuke Hasegawa

ameblo.jp (translated from the Japanese)

 

 

 

 

Award nomination

 

The production of Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande for Scottish Opera in which Alastair sang the role of Arkel, has been nominated for an award by the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society. The award ceremony takes place on Wednesday 9th May - fingers crossed! See the shortlist.

 

CD Release of Elgar's oratario Caractacus

 

It has been announced that the concert of Elgar’s oratorio Caractacus with the Huddersfield Choral Society on 13th April will be recorded by Hyperion records for release on CD later in the year. 

 

This will be the second time Alastair has recorded the role of the Roman emperor Claudius in Caractacus: the first was with the London Symphony Orchestra under Richard Hickox for Chandos back in 1993...