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Harry Christophers on the Spanish RenaissanceSaturday 7 April 2007 12:15-13:00 (Radio 3) On Easter Saturday, Harry Christophers helps Tom Service to take a closer look at Spanish Renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, one of the most admired European composers of church music in his day. Duration:45 minutes In this programmeRoberto Alagna
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World famous tenor Roberto Alagna has been feted for many years not just for his flawless performances, but also as one half of opera's most famous couple, with his wife, Angela Gheorghiu. But at the end of last year, Roberto fell spectacularly from the rarefied perch of the star tenor. Booed from the start of a performance of Verdi's Aida in a new production at La Scala in Milan, he walked off the stage after his first showpiece aria. Tom talks to Roberto about why he felt he had no chance but to abandon the performance mid-flow and how he deals with the pressures of being part of opera's most high profile couple. 
In the late nineteenth century Frederick Delius was sent to explore the orange plantations of Florida as a business proposition for his father, but the young Delius's heart was never in business, and during his stay, he became entranced by the singing he heard on the plantations; the spirituals sung by the black workers. This music inspired his opera Koanga, which is receiving a rare staging at Sadler's Wells this week by the Pegasus Opera Company. They're using an all-black cast for this story of an African Prince enslaved in America, who takes revenge on his owners, but at the cost of his own life, and that of his lover. Tom talks to the singers in the lead roles, about how they feel about the cultural and racial politics of the piece. And Delius experts, scholar Jeff Driggers and conductor David Lloyd-Jones talk to Tom about how Delius' experience of black music changed his entire approach to composition. 
Boosey and Hawkes can boast relationships with some of the greatest names in musical history, from Stravinsky to Strauss, to Birtwistle and Steve Reich. Helen Wallace's new book: 'Boosey and Hawkes: The Publishing Story', tells the story of 75 years of the legendary publishing house. Helen talks to Tom about the intrigue and in fighting that began back in 1930, and of course the infamous falling out with one of their star recruits, Benjamin Britten.