"Dudamel was on tour with his Simon Bolivar Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival and I was initially somewhat put out to hear that it would only be possible to photograph him from behind! In the circumstances, I was delighted to capture this highly animated moment." Credit: © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL; Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"The greatest lieder singer in the world singing Mahler’s Kindertoten Lieder. I feel his body and expression are a perfect reflection of the emotion in the words and music he is singing." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"If ever a photo demonstrated the incredible qualities of digital photography, especially for low-light work, this is it! I have photographed this scene from the Royal Opera’s production three times since it was new in 1993. In this digital photo one can see for the first time how every single individual in the photo is completely engaged in the drama, their faces are so clear and visible. Amazing." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"The beauty of this photo to my eyes is the way it reflects an instant of stillness in the music with such intensity and concentration. I was actually concentrating on the singers in the foreground when I noticed this behind and beyond them." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"Domingo’s expression is so still and focused that you might think the photo was posed but it was not. This is the precise moment when Canio decides he must kill his rival. The look in his eyes says it all." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"A unique image which, try as I have done on many subsequent occasions, I have never come anywhere near to recapturing. The combination of Tomlinson’s expression, the angle of the spinning wall and the spread of the smoke are unrepeatable." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"This was taken during a rehearsal of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition with the Philharmonia and for me represents the quintessential Muti, here in matador mode! I got to know Muti during the years when he was the musical director of the Philharmonia, and this concert recreated his first appearance as Music Director twenty-five years earlier in 1982." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"Taken at the Royal Albert Hall early in my career this image has always seemed to me to epitomise the inexpressible ecstasy that music can induce in both the listener and performer." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda / ArenaPAL
"This is a historic photo in that it was taken at the dress rehearsal of Barbiere Di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House before DiDonato broke her leg on the first night and played the rest of the run in a wheelchair! Someone has since pointed out that the music she is holding is actually from Eugene Onegin." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"I just adore this photo which seems to connect one with a bygone age of gentleman musicians. The elegant suit for a normal rehearsal, the poise, the billiard cue baton. I feel so lucky to have just caught the tail end of the inter-war generation of musicians of whom Sir Adrian was such a magnificent specimen." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"The London Philharmonic were about to rehearse at the Lambeth Mission and I was waiting for the orchestra to settle when I suddenly realised that for the first time ever it looked as if there might, quite literally, be no place from which I could take my pictures. The hall was packed to bursting. No doubt seeing my despairing expression one of the first violins beckoned me over and sat me down right in front of Svetlanov. He seemed very relaxed about it and proceeded to conduct, without a break, the most sensational performance of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony, completely oblivious to my presence." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
"When preparing the exhibition I was thrilled to come across this photo. It shows such an intimate moment between the young Plácido (aged 31) and the more experienced Caballé during a recording of Giovanna d’Arco. Not a picture that could have been used at the time for publicity purposes but looking back, so tender and full of meaning, especially for opera lovers." © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL. Photograph: Clive Barda/PR
