Events
Past events are here. Coming up next:
The Enigma of Edward Elgar - new date
Sunday, September 20th 2026, 3.00pm, St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5HN
Tickets £15.
A musical drama about Elgar, focusing on his relationship with his beloved wife Alice
Written and performed by Michael Lunts
The friends who inspired the famous ‘Enigma Variations’ are also brought to life as, following the death of Alice, Elgar’s senior by a number of years, the composer muses on the origins of that first acknowledged masterpiece, a work that put him on the musical map, and which may never have seen the light of day but for Alice’s encouragement and inspiration.
But what of the other women hidden within the work’s ‘musical portraits’?
And who, ultimately, was Edward Elgar? Was he the real ‘enigma’?
In this performance, the Enigma Variations are played live in a special piano transcription made by Elgar himself, as well as the ever-popular ‘Salut d’Amour’, dedicated to the composer’s wife.
Michael Lunts has written and performed a number of acclaimed one-man shows about key moments in the lives of composers, in all of which he has integrated the music that emerged from these critical events into the action.
‘The Enigma of Edward Elgar’ is the latest of these dramas, and the first in which Michael has portrayed a British composer, one whose music and the enigmatic character reflected in it, have long fascinated him.
A Pocket Opera
Saturday, 24th October, 7.30pm, St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5HN
A Pocket Opera - a comedic concert presented as a play, with costumes, props and a storyline roughly following Bizet’s Carmen, but told from her point of view.
CarmenCo’s “A Pocket Opera” is more than a concert: It is a performance of Spanish and Spanish inspired music presented as a play, with costumes, props and a storyline which roughly follows the story of Bizet's opera Carmen. Dare you consult the cards with her? What does she think of the men in her story? Did she foresee her gruesome ending? And does she like the opera Bizet wrote about her?
"A buffet of musical morsels, served with an infectious mixture of respectful reverence and impish send-up; an evening that will linger long in the memory. In short – unique."
- Carlisle Music Society review, September 2024
CarmenCo will have the audience in turn laughing out loud, and listening with absolute silence to the immersive and evocative music. It's a brilliantly accessible and fun way to present classical music.