CENTRAL ENGLAND: Mike Wheeler's concert reviews from Nottingham and Derbyshire feature high profile artists on the UK circuit - often quite early on their tours.
VIDEO PODCAST: John Dante Prevedini leads a discussion about Youth Involvement in Classical Music - this specially extended illustrated feature includes contributions from Christopher Morley, Gerald Fenech, Halida Dinova, Patricia Spencer and Roderic Dunnett.
The Italian opera composer Lauro Rossi was born on 19 February 1810 in Macerata and died on 5 May 1885 in Cremona. His output includes the operas La casa disabitata (revised as I falsi monetary), La Contessa di Mons, Cleopatra and Il Domino Nero. He was well known at the end of the nineteenth century, and considered a potential successor to Verdi. He had a strong flair for comic opera and opera buffa, and was also director of the conservatories in Milan and later Naples.