Ross Alley's Weekly Opera Lectures Return
Enthusiasts invited to explore Mascagni's pastoral comedy
Left: Ross Alley. Right: A scene from L’amico Fritz
September 12, 2025
Chiswick Memorial Club will host the first in a new season of weekly opera talks led by Ross Alley, a seasoned music lecturer and long-time Chiswick resident. The opening session on Thursday 18 September, will focus on Pietro Mascagni’s rarely performed pastoral comedy L’amico Fritz, a gentle tale of unexpected romance between a confirmed bachelor and a country girl.
The talks, held every Thursday afternoon from 2.00 to 4.00pm, are designed to appeal to both newcomers and seasoned opera-goers. Using audio-visual presentations, Alley explores the musical structure, historical context, and dramatic themes of each work, often timed to coincide with performances in London or cinema relays.
Ross Alley brings decades of experience to the sessions. A former music lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London, he has delivered over 70 talks at the Royal Opera House and contributed to programmes at English National Opera, Wigmore Hall, the Wagner Society, and The Arts Society. Before moving to Chiswick, he worked as a pianist and music tutor at the Royal Ballet School, where he began giving study-day lectures on ballet scores before expanding into opera.
The weekly talks continue a tradition begun over 20 years ago by Barry Jobling and taken up by Alley five years ago. Attendees include a mix of retired residents, music students, and opera lovers seeking deeper insight into the repertoire.
The cost is £15 per session, payable at the door.
The venue is the Chiswick Memorial Club, Bourne Place, W4 2EL.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |