At the Studio Theatre. City of Manchester Opera showcase their chorus of talented soloists in a fully-staged contrasting triple-bill with piano and organ accompaniment. Sicilian rustic chivalry in the one-act Cavalleria Rusticana, sung in Italian with surtitles, contrasts with the cosmopolitan sophistication of both Act I of Così and Act III of Figaro, both performed in English. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Theatre. Features unplugged performances from Jarvis Cocker, Badly Drawn Boy, I Am Kloot and Stephen Fretwell plus special guests and featuring DJ Mark Riley. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Theatre. Raw, intense and cynical The Threepenny Opera is credited to be one of the greatest theatrical works of the twentieth century. This masterpiece is a tale of justice, greed, charity, pretension and misused love. Written by Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill based on The Beggars Opera by John Gay. This musical satire set in the gritty underworld of London’s Soho is sure to be a celebration of Brecht’s most famous and highly acclaimed pieces. There is a signed performance on the 21st & 2.30pm matinee on the 25th. « back to top » « close panel »

Described by conductor Sir Roger Norrington as ‘a wonderfully talented young quartet’, the Chiaroscuro Quartet, led by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Alina Ibragimova, specialises in performing music from the Classical period – that’s roughly Haydn to Schubert. Tonight’s concert opens with one of the most prolific writers of chamber music, Luigi Boccherini. His music is full of Rococo charm, lightness and optimism, coupled with hints of the guitar sounds of his adopted Spain. Completed on the last day of 1782, Mozart’s quartet is the first in a set of six dedicated to Haydn. The music sparkles with energy and colour. According to Beethoven his String Quartet in F minor was ‘written for a small circle of connoisseurs and is never to be performed in public.’ Why? because the piece would have been quite out of character in 1810 and experimented with compositional techniques he was to use much later in life. This performance has been prepared during an Aldeburgh Residency. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Concert Hall. Trumpeter Mathias Eick, in the first album released under his own name, focuses all the qualities that have made him a musician to be reckoned with in and around jazz of the last decade. The Door, on the ECM label, is distinguished by a vaulting lyricism and clear-edged melodies, a strong sense of ambient space in the writing, plus a lot of edge and excitement. The 28-year-old Norwegian cites Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Kenny Wheeler, Tomasz Stanko, Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvaer as his influences, yet The Door also confirms that Eick has found his own characteristic and readily-identifiable voice. « back to top » « close panel »

At the Studio Theatre. Anything Goes is a 1930s musical comedy set on board the “SS American”. With a lively cast, some of Cole Porter’s most memorable tunes including You’re the Top and I Get a Kick out of You, a hilarious script and spectacular musical numbers, you’ll certainly be entertained on this transatlantic voyage. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Concert Hall. Two masterpieces lie at the heart of this programme – Bach’s so-called Double Concerto and Mozart’s Symphony No 25. Bach’s concerto demonstrates the composer’s inventive gifts, with its two solo lines ducking and diving around each other with a natural, playful ease. Mozart’s Symphony, celebrated in the opening titles of the film Amadeus, is one of his inspirational G minor works, its colours amplified by four horns and large winds. Trumpet fanfares by Schmelzer and a series of dance movements by Muffat add to the European flavour of this celebratory programme. The RNCM Collection of Historic Musical instruments will be open between 5.30pm and 7.00pm. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Theatre. Lisa Hannigan is an Irish singer, actress and multi-instrumentalist. Her music has led to much success, critical praise, airplay and award nominations in her native land and, more recently, in the United States. Hannigan is best known for having accompanied the highly successful singer-songwriter Damien Rice. Since leaving him, she has begun her own career with her debut album Sea Sew spawning the hit single "Lille", a Choice Music Prize nomination, two Meteor Music Awards nominations and praise from fellow musicians. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Theatre. Best known for her songs Brand New Key and What Have They Done to My Song Ma, Melanie has performed and recorded since the 1960s and sold a staggering 80 million records. Her warm and passionate voice has graced the great stages of the world – the first rock soloist to perform at Carnegie Hall and at the Metropolitan Opera House. An appearance at the original Woodstock Festival cemented her reputation and her fans started the cult of holding aloft candles and matches. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Theatre. Naturally 7 bring together gospel, doo-wop, beat-boxing and soulful R&B, and call the results ‘vocal play’ - their astonishingly versatile voices provide not just the lyrics, melodies and harmonies, but every musical instrument in every spectacular performance. YouTube has been their major showcase - their exuberant vocal display on the Paris metro has already been seen by over two million people - but finally they're touring Britain with a new album Wall of Sound. « back to top » « close panel »

At the Studio Theatre. The North of England 1964 - Mary, nineteen and expecting a baby, is sent to an institution for unmarried mothers. As she tries to make friends with the other girls, she must also face the harsh realities of coping with the decision of giving her baby up for adoption. This is a moving, often humorous and acutely written piece of drama set to a soundtrack of sixties girl groups such as The Shangri-La’s and The Ronettes. « back to top » « close panel »

At the RNCM Theatre. Michael Berkeley and Ian McEwan’s new opera for Music Theatre Wales is a thrilling tale of dark obsession and misplaced passion. Coming to Manchester after sell-out shows at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio, at the centre of For You are Maria and Charles: she, the deluded Polish housekeeper - all disquieting diligence and dangerous desire; he, the maestro - charismatic, egocentric and completely oblivious to the growing turmoil around him and the utterly operatic chaos about to be unleashed at the very heart of his household… « back to top » « close panel »