'The Twelve Days of Christmas' and the cheerful nonsense of English Christmas Carols catholicherald.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholicherald.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It might not be the best time of year for a picnic but Glyndebourne is open this December with its seasonal concert on weekend afternoons. There are just two left (16 and 17 December – returns only) and it's a Christmas concert full of wit, festive delights and – not unexpectedly – some very fine music. It's not a conventional Christmas concert, though, of carols (though there are some in the second half and, indeed, some audience participation). Instead, the first half is almost entirely operatic and includes two tiny tasters of what is to come in the summer season, 2024: the "Vilja" song from Lehar's The Merry Widow (beautifully sung by Inguna Morozova from the Glyndebourne Chorus) and the Toreador March and Chorus from Carmen. This was properly rousing and sung enthusiastically by the Glyndebourne Chorus, joined for this (and throughout the second half) by the delightful Glyndebourne Youth Opera. From the offset, conductor Aidan Oliver promised operati
From the infectious optimism of the Ed Sheeran of carols to gloom-laden classics, gear up for the holidays with our picks of the best traditional songs of the season