·        The world premiere recording of Malcolm Arnold’s The Dancing Master has been nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award 2021

·        Released on Resonus Classics, this rare gem is performed by conductor John Andrews, with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Eleanor Dennis (soprano), Catherine Carby (mezzo-soprano), Fiona Kimm (mezzo-soprano), Ed Lyon (tenor), Mark Wilde (tenor), Graeme Broadbent (bass-baritone)

British record label Resonus Classics is delighted to announce that its world premiere recording of Malcolm Arnold’s The Dancing Master has been nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award in the 2021 Opera category.

Originally intended as an opera for television, Malcolm Arnold’s collaboration with film-maker and librettist Joe Mendoza, The Dancing Master, Op. 34, was considered too racy for viewers in the 1950s and subsequently rejected for broadcast and largely forgotten. Conductor John Andrews, with the BBC Concert Orchestra and a stellar cast, breathes new life into this operatic gem, here receiving its first recording.

With its cast of larger-than life Restoration caricatures – the trapped heiress, the scheming maid, the over-protective guardian, and the handsome rake – the opera showcases Arnold’s taste for exuberant satire and tender Romanticism in equal measure.

The project was led by conductor John Andrews, who has conducted over 40 operas with companies including The Grange Festival, Opera Holland Park, English Touring Opera, Garsington Opera, and the Volkstheater Rostock. Renowned for his expertise in Italian bel canto and the English baroque, he has increasingly become known for his championing of English music.

Conductor John Andrews said: ‘It is an absolute delight to be nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award for this project. I have always been passionate about bringing the hidden gems of British opera to the widest possible audience, and Arnold’s The Dancing Master must surely be one of the best! The cast and musicians on this album really bring the comic magic of this work to life and I hope that through this award nomination, more people will come to see the genius behind this hitherto neglected work of art.’

Adam Binks, Managing Director Resonus Classics, said: ‘This opera was a real joy to record. To work with such esteemed colleagues was a true pleasure and due to them, this album is entirely worthy of this nomination. It was very satisfying to have helped bring this neglected work back to life and I wish the artists involved the very best of luck with this award – let’s get voting!’

The album (catalogue Number RES10269) was released on Resonus Classics on 25 September 2020.

Voting takes place through the BBC Music Magazine website www.classical-music.com/awards-2021.