Freddy Kempf at The Sage

Two concerts over Easter from this British pianist who has been attracting much favourable critical comment.

The first, in Hall 2, was a BBC Sunday Morning Concert and will be broadcast on Radio 3 as a Lunchtime Concert towards the end of April. Kempf opened with Mussorgsky's "Pictures from an Exhibition". There was much to admire in this, particularly the dramatic depth of tone but there were a disconcerting number of mistakes. Runs were often smudged, fast passage work shed the odd note along the way, trills were consistently uneven and there was more than the occasional wrong note. The gentler Glinka pieces that followed fared rather better. The concert ended with Balakirev's fiendish "Islamey". This last piece produced some superb virtuosity but again rather too many 'lost' notes for a pianist of this standard.

Kempf returned on Monday evening, this time to Hall 1, to join the Northern Sinfonia in Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto number 2. His playing seemed much more assured in this evening concert although not perhaps quite big-boned enough for this late romantic music. He was not assisted by the Sinfonia's insensitive accompaniment. They were consistently too loud in the first movement leaving Kempf often struggling to make himself heard. Things settled down thereafter but this was not a vintage night.

Royal Opera 2008-9

The Royal Opera have announced their programme for the 2008-9 season.

They start in early September with a strongly cast "Don Giovanni": Simon Keenlyside as Don Giovanni, Marina Poplavskaya as Donna Anna, Joyce Di Donato as Donna Elvira and Ramon Vargas as Don Ottavio, with Tony Pappano conducting.

Pappano is also conducting the revival of "La Fanciulla del West". After seeing Gwyneth Jones's "Granny Get Your Gun" performance a few years back I swore off this opera but Pappano might tempt me back as might Eva Marie Westbroek as Minnie after her outstanding performances as Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Sieglinde. Downsides are Jose Cura as Dick Johnson and Silvano Carroli as Jack Rance: Carroli was in the first run of this production 30 years ago...

I saw the David Alden production of Cavalli's "La Calisto" in Munich so you can read my thoughts about that as recorded in March 2007.

The first must-see of the season comes in October with Rossini's "Matilde di Shabran". I saw this production when it was new in Pesaro in 2004. It is a fascinating opera, with no arias for its leading characters. Nevertheless it proved a wonderful vehicle for Juan Diego Florez, who sings Corradino at Covent Garden, and I will welcome the chance to hear Aleksandra Kurzak as the eponymous heroine.

The presence of Susan Bullock in the cast as Elektra might tempt me to that opera in November. Bullock has not been given her due by London opera companies but she sang a superb Salome for Opera North a couple of years ago.

It is a few years since I have seen "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" but I recall that Rolando Villazon had a great triumph in his house debut in that opera. He returns as Hoffmann with Pappano conducting. Another attractive piece of casting is Gidon saks as the Four Villains. I first noticed him when he sang with Scottish Opera and am delighted to see how his career has progressed.

Not even the combined talents of Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, Colin Davis, Alice Coote, Diana Damrau, Ann Murray, Elizabeth Connell, Thomas Allen and Anja Silja (how old must she be?) will persuade me to give Hansel and Gretel another try.

Korngold's "Die Tote Stadt" is a bold piece of programming for the new year. A friend is already trying to persuade me that it is not to be missed. A little gentle cross-examination revealed that this is based on little more than one aria recorded by Richard Tauber. I shall keep an open mind but remian to be persuaded.

After last year's debacle with the Ring, I am surprised to see Bryn Terfel back in the lists. February brings a new production by Tim Albery of "Der Fligende Hollaender" with Terfel as the Dutchman. Let's just hope none of Terfel's children stub a toe in the new year.

Family issues may also affect the revival of Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" in March. Anna Netrebko is scheduled to sing Giulietta but she is also due to give birth later this year. Joan Sutherland was back rehearsing ten days after the birth of her child but that is not necessarily a pattern to be followed. I hope that La Netrebko is back treading the boards by next spring because I was very impressed with her Violetta recently and this is a lovely singers' opera.

Having just seen Magdalena Kozena in "Dido and Aeneas" at the Sage, I shall feel fully justified in giving this a miss.

I will be tempted, however, by the revival of "Il Trovatore" in April. I rather like Elijah Moshinsky's production, which I have seen in London and in Madrid and I would welcome the chance to hear Sondra Radvanovsky's Leonora and Roberto Alagna's Manrico. I very much like his recording with Pappano. Carlo Rizzi is the conductor of this revival and he should be pretty good too.

Another Moshinsky revival in May with Wagner's "Lohengrin" conducted by Semyon Bychkov and with John Botha and Simon O'Neill sharing the title role. The return of Falk Struckmann (who was outstanding in the recent "Parsifal") and the presence of Petra Lang as Ortrud increase the attractiveness of this.

A new production of Berg's "Lulu" is announced for June and with Pappano to conduct. But the all-important title role is 'to be announced at a later date'. Very strange.

Having fielded an all-star cast for "La Traviata" (Netrebko, Kaufmann, Hvorostovsky, cond. Benini) this season, the ROH are clearly set to match it next. Renee Fleming sings Violetta for the first time in London. I know La Fleming has her detractors but whenever I have seen her she has been absolutely glorious. Her Alfredo is Joseph Calleja and his father is Thomas Hampson. With Pappano conducting this looks a difficult one to miss.

But this is quite closely followed by the one totally unmissable event of the season.: "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" with Keenlyside as Figaro, Florez as Almaviva, Di Donato as Rosina, Corbelli as Bartolo and Pappano conducting. What more need I say? I remember Keenlyside singing Figaro with Scottish Opera some years ago when he juggled three balls as he sang the "Largo al factotum". And Almaviva is one of JDF's very best parts (and not just for the final aria).

After all that excitement the season ends with a good revival of "Tosca", conducted by Daniel Oren and with Deborah Voigt as Tosca, Marcello Giordani as Cavaradossi and Bryn Terel as Scarpia. I saw this production when it was new and liked it a lot and Terfel was a superb Scarpia.

On Pilgrimage with Sr Jeannine (3)

The day we spent travelling from Naples to Rome proved to be one of the highlights of the trip. We first called at Monte Cassino, a Benedictine Monastery founded by St Benedict himself. It is set high in the mountains and was badly damaged during fighting towards the end of World War II. Happily it has been almost completely and very beautifully restored. We arrived to find the place shrouded in mist, which produced great atmosphere. We had our prayer service in the chapel of St Benedict and St Scholastica, which is decorated with stunning mosaics. I sang the Salve Regina to the solemn Benedictine chant. I was pleased to note that the High Altar in the main basilica is arranged for the celebration of Mass ad orientem, complete with big six and crucifix.

We then moved on to Subiaco and the "Sacra Speco" where St Benedict first tested his vocation to the monastic life. Here the notable art is the frescoes, many dating back to the 12th-15th centuries but some even earlier including one said to be 'from the life' of St Francis of Assisi. Again we were surrounded by misty and stormy weather but just as we were returning to the coach shafts of sunlight pierced through the clouds, as if heaven were opening up before us.

After a little talk from me about Allegri's Miserere, Palestrina and Puccini's "Tosca", we arrived in Rome and came down to earth with a bump. The hotel was terrible! It was stuck way out in the suburbs (near to the penultimate stop on the metro line) the bar opened and closed at random times, the food was never better than poor and the rooms were tiny. I was very close to decamping back to the Hassler. I stuck it out however and we were soon all laughing at our spartan conditions.

Our first full day in Rome included a public audience with the Pope. This took place in the Paul VI Hall. The build up is impressive and, however much one tries to resist it, the Pope's entrance as all the lights come on, is a thrilling moment. The rest of the audience was rather tedious as the Pope reads the same speech in six different languages and long lists of pilgrimage groups are read out. Georg was in close attention to His Holiness, sitting on his right and handing him his scripts. But who was the man on the Pope's left? I think we should be told.

After the audience a whistle-stop tour of St Peter's was disappointing, partly because it was so fast but also because the basilica was being prepared for Holy Week so large parts of it were inaccessible or filled with chairs.

The highlight of the day for me was a Mass for our group at St John Lateran. A friend of Sr Jeannine's Fr Bruce Williams OP celebrated (ad orientem) in a chapel to the north east of the High Altar with beautiful wood carvings of saints. It was wonderful to have our own Mass in this great basilica, the Pope's cathedral. During communion I sang the antiphon Tu es Petrus, which I chose considering the venue, considering that we had seen the Pope that morning and that it was the feast of St Gregory the Great.

In the evening I went to the Teatro dell'Opera for ballet. "Raymonda" is not in the forefront of the classical repertoire but it was well danced and I enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed visiting the theatre which is beautifully maintained. Another classical European opera house they dim the house lights by first of all turning off the main chandeliers, then the side lights but still leaving the boxes all lit - a wonderful effect. I was again let down by Rome's night time transport as the Metro was closed by 10.30 so again I had to hunt for a taxi.

The official itinerary for our final day was a visit to the catacombs but I have visited them twice before and wanted to see something I had not seen before. So I devised my own "Tosca Pilgrimage" for the day. I started at the Church of St Andrea della Valle. This includes the Barberini Chapel, which in the opera becomes the Attavanti Chapel around which much of the action of Act I takes place. A very special moment occurred as I was looking round the church and the midday Angelus rang - just as happens in the first act of Tosca! Apart from the opera connection, the church is notable for its brilliant frescoes of the crucifixion of St Andrew.

After a leisurely lunch (what a luxury that was!) of pasta carbonara and a couple of glasses of wine, I went to the Castel de St Angelo. There is much to see as you progress through the castle but the true glory is the stunning view from the top - a complete panorama of Rome. The visit also confirmed what I have long suspected, that productions of Tosca that set the last act right up beside the angel are not accurate. If Tosca had thrown herself from there she would have fallen only about twenty feet and, rather than meeting Scarpia before God, could well have ended up with nothing worse than a broken ankle.

I ended my afternoon with a visit to the extraordinary Pantheon, noting not only the altar set up ad orientem with big six but also with altar cards. What is going on in Rome? After a large chocolate ice cream (a tartuffo?) I returned to the metro via St Maria del Popolo with its two brilliant Caravaggios of the crucifixion of St Peter and the conversion of St Paul.

For our final evening there was a break with tradition. Rather than the customary 'awards' we had an ad hoc cabaret with all invited to perform their party piece. These ranged from singing ("We're a Couple of Swells" and "Che Serra Serra") via a one act play ("The Viper is Coming") to prayers, anecdotes, jokes and poems. One lady recited the alphabet backwards! I had composed a few limericks based around characters and events on the pilgrimage.

A barrister Brit Alnwickian

Sang the chant called Gregorian.

He drank gin in the bar

And talked opera

Till Americans shout 'shut up Ian!'

In the ear of Dionysus sang Jeannine

In Latin the Hail Holy Queen.

Mass facing east in addition;

Has Jeannine found tradition?

In a wimple very soon she'll be seen!

Final reflections? I found this pilgrimage really tough and felt we visited too many places and tried to do too much. Also the hotel in Rome was well below the standard I have come to enjoy on these trips. Having said that we did much that was remarkable and the highs very much out-weighed the lows. My fellow pilgrims kept their good humour through all adversities and were a model of Christian fellowship. It was a great privilege for me to be able to sing in places as special as Monte Cassino and St John Lateran. And it is always special to spend time in the company of the extraordinary spiritual force that is Jeannine Gramick. I leave the last word to someone who had been in the novitiate with Sr Jeannine: 'when I first got to know Sr Jeannine in the convent I thought her one of the most intelligent and most holy people I had ever met. I have known her now for forty years and nothing has changed that opinion.'

On Pilgrimage with Sr Jeannine (2)

I was apprehensive about our overnight trip on the ferry from Catania to Naples but it turned out to be fine. The cabins were comfortable with en suite showers and there was a reasonable bar and lounge area. We set off shortly after 11pm and I went up on deck to watch the coast of Sicily and the stars in a clear sky: magical moments. After a reasonable night's sleep our arrival in Naples was even more magical, travelling up the Amalfi coast between Capri and Vesuvius in the morning sunshine. A morning coach tour of Naples brought us to the view over the bay of Naples, surely one of the great sights of the world. Unfortunately the rest of our 'tour' consisted of sitting in Naples traffic jams.

After booking into our hotel I headed off to the opera house for a performance of Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle". The Teatro San Carlo is a magnificent theatre following the classic European layout of stalls surrounded by six layers of boxes. Like everything in Naples it is slightly shabby and run-down, so all the row and seat numbers in the stalls had disappeared. I was glad to have had the opportunity to visit this theatre where Bellini had his first great success and to see a fine performance with Laszlo Polgar as Bluebeard, Ildiko Kamlosi as Judith and Jeffrey Tate conducting.

The itinerary for the next day was a visit to Pompeii but I forewent that. I have been to Pompeii before and I needed a break from the relentless pace of this trip. So instead I had a leisurely breakfast and headed off to Naples's Archaeological Museum. This contains many artefacts taken from Pompeii and Herculaneum when they were first discovered. There are remarkable sculptures, frescoes and mosaics, perhaps the most memorable being the huge mosaic of Alexander and Darius in battle. On my way back to the hotel I visited the Cathedral of San Gennaro. I was interested to note that the cathedral bookshop had the Liber Usualis on sale.

In the evening we were scheduled for a trip to a Pizzeria for an authentic Neapolitan Pizza. Unfortunately there had been a huge Mediterranean downpour, drenching many of my fellow pilgrims. As a result few of them were willing to venture out again. As a result I led Sr Jeannine and Gerda Kennedy through the rain for a pizza takeaway. I stayed to eat mine in the restaurant for the authentic experience. With strip lights overhead and policemen in uniform (and with guns) on the next table, it was certainly an authentic Naples experience, I can't say the pizza was much better than Sainsbury's though.

Staying in Naples was an interesting, at times exciting, at times frightening experience. One of our party had her purse stolen on the bus. The traffic was mad, noisy and never-ceasing. Crossing the road involving just walking out into the traffic: 'they won't hit you' instructed Elke. At times it put me in mind of being in a north African City. I certainly found it difficult to believe that we were in the third largest city of a major European country.

On Pilgrimage with Sr Jeannine

My third pilgrimage with Sr Jeannine Gramick SL, this one bore the title of "Along Italian Roads, Ancient and New".

I met my fellow pilgrims (25 Americans) at Rome airport and from there we flew on to Palermo in Sicily. Met off the plane by our tour guide the irrepressible Elke Lehmann, we were straight onto a coach and the sight-seeing began! Our first destination was the Monreale Cathedral, just outside of Palermo. This was the creation of William II, the last Norman king of Sicily, in the late eleventh century. The Cathedral is notable for its splendid mosaics, including much gold. The designs include patterns and scenes from the old and new testaments, reflecting the fact that the work was carried out by workmen from the Islamic, Jewish, Catholic and Byzantine traditions. Outside the cathedral is the cloister of the old Benedictine Abbey remarkable for its surrounding of double columns, many topped by intricate sculptures of scenes from scripture and history.

We spent our first night in Palermo and I was able to pop over the road for a late drink to the Grande Hotel Palme, where Wagner stayed while writing significant parts of "Parsifal". Next morningwe set off driving through mountainous scenery with roads lined by citrous trees to the ancient city of Agrigento. Here we visited the Valley of the Temples, a series of remains or reconstructions of temples from the period when Sicily was occupied by the Greeks. Some of these temples were stunning. I was asked by Sr Jeannine to provide a 'spiritual moment' and so on the steps on the best preserved of all the temples the "Concordia" I sang the Kyrie eleison from the Mass Orbis Factor.

We then moved on to Siracusa, which was to be our home for two nights. We were booked into the Church of St Rita for a prayer service (no priest on this pilgrimage so no daily Mass, which was a big miss). The Church itself was disappointing, a large modern building where I had been hoping for some Sicilian baroque, but we were received very warmly by the Parish Priest. He produced an image of a Weeping Madonna, gave us each a pink rosary and then led us in singing Ave Maria.

The next day we went to the Archaeological park of Siracusa with its Greek remains, including an amphitheatre. We were also taken to the "Ear of Dionysus" a cleft cut into the rock which has produced a magical acoustic. I sang the opening of the solemn Salve Regina from one end and Sr Jeannine responded by singing the simple Salve from the other. We then moved on to the old town of Siracusa and held our prayer service in the Cathedral. This is based on an ancient temple whose columns are incorporated into the modern building. All very historical but still no sign of Sicilian baroque. Our prayer service was conducted amongst the loud babble of tour guides showing visitors around. In the afternoon I went to the actual shrine erected to Siracusa's Weeping Madonna. This is a large brutalist concrete structure - by now I was beginning to despair of ever finding any Sicilian baroque.

After a morning prayer service at St Rita's (no further appearance by the flamboyant priest) we set off for Mount Etna, Italy's tallest peak and the largest active volcano in Europe. The mountain was covered in snow, its top disappearing into the mist as we approached. We were able to drive up above the snowline and snow was actually falling as we left. We then moved on to the picturesque hill town of Taormina, which includes an impressive Greek theatre from the third century BC. I had said a few words on the coach about the composer Bellini who was born on Sicily and I took the opportunity to sit in this theatre looking out over the sea and listen to an aria from his opera "Il Pirata".

After dinner in Catania (Bellini's birthplace) we embarked on the overnight ferry to Naples.

A Stolen Night in Rome

I was due to start a pilgrimage, meeting the other pilgrims (who were flying in from the USA) at Rome Airport on Wednesday 5 March. The timings were a bit tight to get to Rome in time by flying out that morning so I thought I would treat myself to an extra night in Rome beforehand.

I consulted a colleague who recommended the Hassler Hotel, described in my guidebook as having a 'mood of timeless luxury': just what I was looking for. Set at the top of the Spanish Steps, next door to the Chiesa Trinita del Monti, the Hassler lived up to its reputation and provided me with a cocoon of luxury for 24 hours. I had lunch overlooking the Spanish Steps before retiring for a siesta.

In the evening I took the opportunity of visiting Rome's new concert hall, the Auditorium Parca della Musica. This building, opened about five years ago, houses three halls, and I went to a concert in the largest of them, the Sala Santa Cecilia. This is a large hall seating more than 2,500 and laid out in the terraced style favoured by many modern European halls. The acoustics are good without being outstanding, there are a lot of stairs and not many bars or 'arrangement rooms'.

The concert featured the hall's resident Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by the distinguished Russian conductor Yuri Temirkanov. The first work was Beethoven's fourth piano concerto played by Nelson Goerner with just the right balance of delicacy and bravura. This was followed by Ravel's piano concerto played by veteran Martha Argerich. So warmly were both pianists received that we then had two piano duets as encores. The second half of the concert was Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony. In this Termikanov really put the orchestra through their paces, taking the outer movements at thrilling speed. The players responded magnificently, with the leader at times up off his seat.

A slight downside came at the end of the concert, when the only taxis available were those that had already been booked, leaving me with a thirty minute walk to find a taxi rank. Then it was back to the Hassler for a late supper and a night in a luxurious bed before pilgrimage conditions started the next day...