Opera Prelude: Standing at the Cross-Roads

"The most expensive solution would be to blow the opera houses up!" (Pierre Boulez)

Conductor Mark Austin and accomplished pianist of integrity,offers an accessible exploration of opera in the 20th century with the urgent search for post-Romantic musical languages. Beginning with Strauss and concluding with Mark-Anthony Turnage (for whose latest opera, Coraline, Mark Austin was assistant conductor at the Royal Opera House) and with a field including Puccini, Debussy, Janacek, Gershwin, Berg, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Britten, Adams, Glass and more, Mark will particularly attempt to distil and demonstrate the musical language of each of these important figures to illustrate the evolution of opera over the century. Accompanied by Opera Prelude’s young artists.

Mark has accompanied singers at venues including Kings Place, Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, Leighton House (Dame Felicity Lott), Holywell Music Room, Colston Hall, Champs Hill, Opera Bastille, Paris and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre.

Opera Prelude is a small charity about supporting young professional opera singers who give lecture recitals in London. These friendly and inclusive events will introduce you to the international opera singers of tomorrow by way of recitals, concerts and masterclasses.