Based upon the life and ambitions of a real-life American showman, Phineas Taylor Barnum, Barnum has been entertaining audiences since the early 1980’s, when the role of Barnum was played by Michael Crawford, of the Some Mothers do have ‘em fame.

Founded under the auspices of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the label has built a catalogue that consistently rescues, restores and reilluminates corners of the RVW repertoire that the bigger labels have long overlooked. Rise, Heart is another exemplary addition to that enterprise and one of the most rewarding Vaughan Williams discs of recent memory. The premise is characteristically thoughtful: every track here is a first recording of the work in the version presented. At its centre stands the Five Mystical Songs, those luminous settings of George Herbert first heard in 1911, given in Vaughan Williams's own arrangement for voice, piano and string quintet, made around 1925 and seldom performed.

A Matthew Bourne dance production is best summed up by the lady to my side: “Bourne is for people who think they don’t like ballet!” And whether they came for The Red Shoes, the glorious sets and costumes or Bernard Herrmann’s music, it was clear that there was an air of silent admiration in Bradford’s Alhambra last night, as New Adventures returned in style following their Covid cancell…

There’s also a sense of lived-in joy running through the album. Snippets of everyday life and understated details give it a human touch, grounding the polished production in something real. It makes the listening experience feel less like a performance and more like an invitation into her world.

With five wins under their belt, France is pretty high up on the leaderboard of Eurovision winners. However, their last win was nearly 50 years ago – when, in 1977, Marie Maryam took home the trophy for the iconic L'Oiseau et l'Enfant.

Chandos has performed a genuine service in assembling all four of Arvo Pärt's symphonies on a single disc. Complete recordings of Pärt's symphonies are rare, and the works themselves bear little relationship to one another, each representing a distinct phase of a restless and searching creative life.

What a fabulous show! An improbable subject for a musical but Operation Mincemeat is a true story about real people and actual events that shaped the outcome of the second World War. Penned by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoe Roberts on behalf of Spitlip, the music and lyrics are refreshingly both catchy and intelligent.

A powerful theatre production addressing violence against women and girls is set to tour primary schools across Tameside from 20th April, reaching more than 1,150 young people. Created by Rochdale-based production company Breaking Barriers, Blind Side is a monologue and workshop programme designed for Year 5 to 8 pupils.

Did she fall or did she jump? Accident or suicide? This novel begins in the court room as the Coroner tries to determine the answer. Lisa Wright was a talented violist who fell – or jumped – from a cliff top while out on a training run.

Trio Gaspard continues to set exacting standards in its ongoing Haydn Piano Trio cycle, and Volume 5 shows no sign of any slippage. The disc opens with Trio No 22 in a mesmerising performance — articulate, beautifully phrased and lightly inflected, each player contributing musicianship of the highest order. The playing is expressive, sensitive, and stylistically perceptive; the ensemble's chemistry is as solid as ever, and the communication between the three musicians is instinctive and entirely natural.