The June Guide

It’s Jubilee time, the Olympics are coming up, and even the classical music world is finding ways to respond with happiness in spite of all the political, economic and social gloom that seems to engulf so much of the world-wide news. This month there is a huge amount that should give endless pleasure for those fortunate enough to be based in London.

To begin with song, there are great operas taking place at the Royal Opera House, and at the English National Opera, and equally it is the season of that extraordinary British phenomenon, the country house opera. At the ROH, there are very promising performances of Richard Strauss' Salome, based on Oscar Wilde's shocking play from the beginning of the 20th century, that includes the famous Dance of the Seven Veils. It is conducted by Andris Nelsons – one of the most exciting young conductors anywhere, and stars the glamorous Angela Denoke as the biblical femme fatale. The classical world is still being represented by performances of Berlioz's Les Troyens, a five-hour epic opera that tells of the founding of Rome by Aeneas and his escape from Dido, the Queen of Carthage. Sung by the great Jonas Kaufmann, and conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, this will be an unmissable and thrilling musical event. Over at the Colosseum, there is the London premiere of Damon Albarn’s new opera Dr Dee. I am not sure how I am going to enjoy this 'crossover' event, but I will most certainly give it a try – and the subject of the opera, with all its necromantic mysticism, certainly fascinates me. At Glyndebourne, La Cenerentola – Cinderella – a manic opera by Rossini, has had fantastic reviews, and runs right through June, as does Janacek's pastoral opera, The Cunning Little Vixen. Both nights sound like extravagant outings, more than worth taking, as do trips to Garsington Opera – just north of London, in the gardens of Mark Getty, where I am particularly riveted by the prospect of performances of Vivaldi's opera, L'Olimpiade and Offenbach's La Perichole. Vivaldi is a composer as remarkable in his way as his contemporary, Handel, and Offenbach's musical comedies have melodies and a sense of fun that is always, for me, beyond compare.

Meanwhile, back in London at the Wigmore Hall, Christine Brewer is doing a programme of Spanish and American songs with a touch of Cabaret too. An unmissable voice, if you have a chance to hear her. There are endless other concerts at the Wigmore Hall during the month of June – just go to the website if you have a spare evening and want to hear music. That is what I do and I am seldom disappointed.

Meanwhile, at the Royal Festival Hall and at the Barbican, there is an extraordinary line-up of the world's greatest conductors coming to London. On the South Bank, there are wondrous figures such as Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting Brahms, Sir Simon Rattle conducting French impressionist music, Andras Schiff playing and conducting Mozart, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting Mahler's monumental Resurrection Symphony and, to top it all, a visit by the now-legendary Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. No longer really a youth orchestra, but certainly a phenomenon, they come with their charismatic leader, Gustavo Dudamel to do a series of concerts from the 23rd to the 26th. At the Barbican, the veteran Bernard Haitink conducts the Concertgebouw orchestra of Amsterdam in Schubert's 9th Symphony and Bruckner's 7th Symphony. Both should be monumentally perfect performances. Simon Rattle again is with the Vienna Philharmonic on the 17th in a beautiful classical programme of Schumann and Brahms, and on the 9th of June there is a concert that I am longing to attend, but I know I will miss, where Martin Creed joins up with Britain's leading contemporary music group, the London Sinfonieta, for what is sure to be an evening of sound-fireworks. The motto has to be, in spite of the Jubilees and Olympics, 'Stay in London, never leave!'