Latest news with #BantamOfTheOpera
BBC News
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lesley Garrett 'honoured' to sing in Bedford Proms 2025
Opera singer and performer Lesley Garrett said she was "honoured" to be invited back to an outdoor concert series to restart a Proms 70, will perform at Proms in the Park, alongside Russell Watson, as part of the Bedford Summer Sessions on Sunday 6 July. The event was last held in the town in 2023 and has returned after requests from members of the public, organisers said. Garrett said it could be the last Proms she performs in, but "I will give it my all, which is still considerable". "Singing isn't something I do for a living, it's what I am", she said. "I do it because that's what I was born to do.""It's an exciting time in my life. I no longer have to prove anything. I'm not looking to grow my career, but enjoy the legacy of being in the profession for 45 years, as I started in 1980."After the Proms, her next role will be Heidi Schiller in Stephen Sondheim's Follies for the Northern Ireland Opera Company in September. Then she will help plan a November concert for Bantam of the Opera, a choir she is involved with, before undergoing a hip replacement. Garrett said music was in her soul, and she would "carry on until I can no longer perform"."The big criteria is whether I'm still good enough - I still have singing lessons every week with Joy Mammen, my original singing teacher," she said. "We will then decide together to hang up those chords. I would hate to start disappointing people. You never know if the next one is going to be the last."Garrett last came to the town to sing in 2018 and said she could not wait to return to Bedford to perform in the Proms with her "old friend" Russell Watson. "If it's my last Proms, I'm thrilled it's going to be with him," she continued. "I'm honoured to be asked to restart the Bedford Proms, I will give it my all, which is still considerable." Mark Harrison, promoter at Cuffe & Taylor, said the absence of the Proms from the Summer Sessions in 2024 "left many feeling disappointed". "We have listened to the general public's wishes, and we are delighted that we have been able to bring it back for 2025," he last Proms was held in 2023, in a slightly different format as West End Proms. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
New platform's opening gives Bradford more trains
A new £24m platform at Bradford's Forster Square Station has opened - boosting rail services in the city. The investment means operator LNER will run seven services each way between Bradford and London King's Cross on weekdays and six on Sundays, an increase from the current two services. Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said it would provide much-needed extra capacity during the City of Culture year. The milestone is being marked with an event which will include performances from the Bantam of the Opera choir, which is made up of Bradford City fans. A specially-liveried LNER Azuma train, one of the new Bradford services, will also be unveiled ahead of it leaving the platform at 11.17 BST. Bradford's poor rail links have long been seen as a factor holding the city back from reaching its full potential. When rail minister Huw Merriman announced the government-funded scheme earlier this year, he said it would futureproof the station for generations to come while reducing delays and improving access into the city for passengers, commuters and tourists. Ahead of the opening, volunteers and railway staff spent time last week cleaning and picking up litter from the station, car park and surrounding area Parts of the station, which is operated by Northern, have also been repainted and upgraded. In the 1890s, the station had six platforms and a large canopy roof. There was a major rebuild in 1993, when the Victorian station was demolished and a new terminus built with three platforms. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. New £24m platform to boost city train services City to get more daily trains to London
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bradford gets more London trains as city's new platform opens
A new £24m platform at Bradford's Forster Square Station has opened - boosting rail services in the investment means operator LNER will run seven services each way between Bradford and London King's Cross on weekdays and six on Sundays, an increase from the current two Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said it would provide much-needed extra capacity during the City of Culture milestone is being marked with an event which will include performances from the Bantam of the Opera choir, which is made up of Bradford City fans. A specially-liveried LNER Azuma train, one of the new Bradford services, will also be unveiled ahead of it leaving the platform at 11.17 poor rail links have long been seen as a factor holding the city back from reaching its full rail minister Huw Merriman announced the government-funded scheme earlier this year, he said it would futureproof the station for generations to come while reducing delays and improving access into the city for passengers, commuters and of the opening, volunteers and railway staff spent time last week cleaning and picking up litter from the station, car park and surrounding area Parts of the station, which is operated by Northern, have also been repainted and the 1890s, the station had six platforms and a large canopy roof. There was a major rebuild in 1993, when the Victorian station was demolished and a new terminus built with three platforms. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
A guide to The Big Brass Blowout in Bradford
The latest event planned as part of Bradford's City of Culture year takes place this weekend when The Big Brass Blowout comes to town.A celebration of brass music, the event will feature mash-ups of classic songs and some of the best-loved brass place from Friday to Sunday, The Big Brass Blowout will feature a mixture of free and ticketed performances. What is the Big Brass Blowout? Three days and nights of music will take place across Bradford as part of The Big Brass Blowout."From traditional tunes to afrobeat rhythms, much-loved classics to one-off collaborations, expect the unexpected as we spotlight the power, versatility and all-round brilliance of the great British brass band," a spokesperson for the event said. Who is performing? Some of BBC radio's biggest names, including Jeremy Vine and Zoe Ball, with be in Bradford for the will also be music performances by artists such as Richard Hawley and Vine will broadcast live from the city on Friday, with a performance from the Bantam Of The Opera choir taking place on the Zoe Ball will host a Radio 2 Loves Brass concert live from St George's highlights include a special performance of the soundtrack from the Oscar-winning family favourite Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers on Saturday. Where can I get tickets? Some events are already sold out, but tickets for the free events and some other performances are available on the Bradford City of Culture website. What else is happening? As part of the Radio 2 Loves Brass! series, Tony Blackburn explores Bradford's history of brass in a new mini-documentary available on BBC Sounds.
