Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera

Please note: Band A+, A and B ticket holders enjoy the best seats in the house and receive a complimentary glass of Sparkling Rosé Nosecco Special Edition and Belgian chocolates to create a truly unforgettable concert experience.

Following their ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and sold-out shows in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,

"a most enchanting concert" (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Edinburgh Guide)

"A ripping good yarn. Sim and Shiel both are masters of their crafts." (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Binge Fringe Magazine)

"profound" (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Corr Blimey)

"crowd-pleasing tunes and showmanship" (⭐⭐⭐⭐Three Weeks)

"exhilarating hour of music - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!" (Fringe Review)

Moonlight Concerts return to Edinburgh with a musical show inspired by Halloween.

Storyteller and concert pianist Matthew Shiel, international opera singer Ines Mayhew-Begg and acclaimed Shanghainese Disney illustrator Emma Yitong Shen collaborate on a new show inspired by the greatest ghost story every told - Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera (1910).

Venetian masks, operatic arias, dramatic silhoettes and the most haunting piano pieces ever written meet alongside romantic candlelight recitations of Gaston Leroux's original novel and an ethereal digital art exhibition designed by acclaimed Chinese artist and Disney illustrator Emma Yitong Shen – to create a simultaneously thrilling and terrifying musical experience designed to seduce your senses - and lure you away to the phantom's lair!

"Christine, you must love me!"

Ines Mayhew-Begg

Ines Mayhew-Begg is a Scottish soprano with a Master in Vocal Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2022 she made her European debut in Germany as Adele in Lyric Opera Studio Weimar’s production of Die Fledermaus. In the summer of 2023 she toured around Scotland with Opera Bohemia as Kate in Madame Butterfly and was regarded as “both vocally and visually very persuasive” by Edinburgh Music Review.

Ines has performed many solo operatic roles for Scottish Opera Young Company including at the Beacon Arts Centre. Her Amore received praise for having ‘confidence, consistency and fluency’ by Andrew Clark in Opera Magazine, 2019. She has performed in various opera scenes at the RCS and in the chorus of their recent production of Chabrier’s L’étoile.

Ellie Donald plays Christine

Please note: Ellie Donald has kindly agreed to replace Ines Mayhew-Begg as Christine at this performance.

Scottish soprano Ellie Donald graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2022, where she studied with Linda Ormiston and Wilma MacDougall. Her interest in music’s role in our development and within society led her to progress onto the master's program, “Music Psychology in the Arts” at the RCS. She is continuing her vocal development under the tutelage of Wilma MacDougall.

Since her studies, she has performed as a soloist with Haddo House Choral and Operatic Society, the Glasgow Bach Cantata Project, and attended the Oxford International Summer School where she received masterclasses with Susan Bullock, Malcolm Martineau, Joan Rodgers, and Marie McLaughlin. She has enjoyed recent recitals at the Burrell Collection in Glasgow and St Andrews Cathedral, Aberdeen.

Ellie looks forward to moving to London in September, generously supported by The Royal Academy of Music, to continue her development on the Opera course, under the tutelage of Mary Nelson.

Matthew Shiel plays The Phantom

'Matthew Shiel shone' (Three Weeks) and 'Matthew Shiel 'composed' a most enchanting concert. 5 stars!' (Edinburgh Guide) - reviewers are applauding Matthew for his unique, creative and fresh approach to music performance which push the boundaries of what a piano recital can be. Matthew Shiel is an award-winning concert pianist, Usher Hall and Live Music Now Scotland emerging artist who has performed at Usher Hall, The National Portrait Gallery of Scotland, St Gile's Cathedral (Edinburgh), The Glasshouse International Centre for Music (Newcastle) and Glasgow City Halls. Matthew is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has collaborated with festivals including the Åben Festival (Copenhagen), Music at Paxton (Berwick) and a sold-out show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

PROGRAMME

Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2)– Rachmaninoff

Nocturne in E-flat major (Op. 9, No. 2) – Chopin

O Luce di quest’anima - Donizetti

Moonlight Sonata – Beethoven

Lullaby – Brahms

Funeral March – Chopin

Chi sa, chia sa qual sia – Mozart

Einst träumte meiner Sel’gen Base – Weber

Quando m’en vo – Puccini

Fantasie-Impromptu – Chopin

I want magic – Previn

Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem

Moonlight

Moonlight is a performing arts company that creates immersive classical music experiences, concerts, shows and exhibitions. It celebrates interdisciplinary collaboration with writers and storytellers, visual artists, dancers and filmmakers (and beyond) to push the boundaries of what a classical concert can be and create the 'performance of the future.'

Our ambition is to blend high-art conservatoire performance standards with experimental and boundary-pushing attitude of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Moonlight is also inspired by our relationship with Live Music Now Scotland, a charity who challenge musicians to reach audiences who would not normally have access to classical music.

Our aim is to make classical music accessible for all and to make classical music (which is often performed in 19th century etiquette and presentation) appealing to the demands and expectations of a 21st Century audience.

moonlightconcerts.co.uk