04/05/2013

Available for over a year

With Tom Service, including a report from the new Mariinsky II in St Petersburg which opens this weekend and is expected to transform the existing Mariinsky Theatre and Concert Hall into one of the world's premiere performing arts centres for classical music, opera and ballet. Author Philip Eisenbeiss comes into the Music Matters studio to talk about his new biography of the legendary impresario Domenico Barbaja, who dominated European operatic stages for thirty years at the height of the bel canto era, and was responsible for commissioning operas by Donizetti, Weber and Bellini among others. Tom also catches up with Alexander Pereira, for nearly two decades director of Zurich Opera, and since 2011 artistic director of the Salzburg Festival. Pereira talks about the importance of new music for the Festival, how he's dealing with a large budget deficit, and who the Festival is really for, given that ticket prices which are beyond the reach of many people. Producer Emma Bloxham BILLING ENDS.