Allow me a shameless plug, friends, for my ongoing English National Opera and London Philharmonic Orchestra podcasts. You can reach them by way of the Indy Online, of course, or Itunes, or by simply visiting the websites in question. Essentially they are fully-fledged radio programmes designed to take you behind the scenes and explore the thinking behind the creativity. How did Fiona Shaw and her cast arrive at the beautiful and emotive staging of Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea (which opened last night - see my Indy review)?; what makes the extraordinarily eloquent Vladimir Jurowski, principal conductor of the LPO, tick? What exactly prompted his programming for one of the most adventurous LPO seasons ever? This is priviledged access to the people behind the performances. It sharpens the perceptions no end. Give it a try.

For collectors of operatic idiosycracies, the current revival of the so-called Zandra Rhodes “Aida” at English National Opera has thrown up a real humdinger. In two runs of performances now Claire Rutter has made an extraordinary impression in the much-vaunted and highly challenging title role. She sings the role with great subtlety, finesse, and imagination, making light of the extraordinary difficulties and reminding me, at any rate, of the number of times I have heard major international singers come a cropper in it - not least the notorious Nile Scene where Verdi sets hurdle after hurdle for the lyrico spinto soprano. Rutter didn’t receive nearly enough credit for her achievment, some commentators even suggesting that she had too light a voice for the role. Honestly, some people need a crash course in the basics of vocal fachs. The good news, though, is she is learning the role in Italian for her Australian Opera debut. But she could sing it a lot closer to home than down-under - anywhere in the world, I reckon, including the Royal Opera (take note).

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