“Prima la musica e poi le parole”

First the music and then the words –title of an opera by Salieri

I’m frequently asked: how do we find our rarities? In 2018 I tried to answer this for an article published in Classical Music magazine entitled ‘Lost and Found’: as the sub-title explained, Bampton ‘has dedicated itself to dusting down forgotten works and presenting them in fresh new colours before today’s intrepid audiences.’ I’ve mentioned above our unfamiliar versions of Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro, Falstaff and Romeo and Juliet, and to these we might add Bertoni’s Orfeo and Isouard’s Cinderella (both UK premières). Bampton has long been committed to undermining the glib adage that “operas are forgotten for good reason.” The risk-adverse programming strategies of most

Sisters’ Jenny Stafford and Aoife O’Sullivan fight it out in Cinderella, 2018 (photo AH)