The Audland Talks
Exploring the world of opera with the European Opera Centre
Leading experts are invited to Liverpool for a series of entertaining and thought-provoking talks on opera at distinguished waterfront venues. Join us in our inaugural season, introduced by the European Opera Centre’s Curator, Dr Sophie Redfern, as we uncover the world of this extravagant art-form.
Italian Opera: A British Obsession
Nigel Simeone
In the 19th century, the British public developed an insatiable thirst for Italian opera, with even the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden being renamed the Royal Italian Opera. From performers commanding astronomical fees, to Italian composers turning to the work of Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott for inspiration, Nigel Simeone tells the engrossing, and often amusing, story of the relationship between Britain and Italian opera.
Nigel Simeone is a writer, musicologist and broadcaster. Author of numerous books on 19th- and 20th-century music, he is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.
