This ANZAC weekend, we have some special music to share.
The Juniper Passion is about the Battle of Montecassino in 1944. The work, by New Zealand composer Michael Williams and librettist John Davies in 2011, was performed in Rome in 2013, featuring a cast of New Zealand and Italian singers alongside The Juniper Passion Dance Company and Orchestra del Concervatorio “L. Refice” di Frosinone.
Thanks to Michael Williams, we can share a video of the prologue, as well as a full recording of the work with the libretto.
Another important ANZAC work is Anthony Ritchie’s oratorio Gallipoli to The Somme, performed in October 2016 by by Anna Leese (soprano), Martin Snell (bass), with City Choir Dunedin, Southern Youth Choir and the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Over. Read the programme notes here.
And for something quite different, here’s a beautiful performance by Kiwi baritone Julien Van Mellaerts, filmed in March at the Royal Opera House and shared last week by Classic FM.
