2.5 hours
St Cecilia’s Hall: Concert Room & Music Museum, The University of Edinburgh
Starting at GBP 16
Sat, 14 Feb, 2026 at 07:00 pm to 09:30 pm (GMT+00:00)
St Cecilia’s Hall: Concert Room & Music Museum, The University of Edinburgh
50 Niddry Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This ticket is a 2 for 1. This ticket allows entry to both:
'Debussy's Romantic Piano by Candlelight' - 7 - 8pm
'Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera' - 8.15 - 9.45pm
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.
Early birds recieve 10% discount when booked at least one week before showtime!
Following their ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and sold-out show in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,
"Matthew Shiel has ‘composed’ a most enchanting concert, relating amusing, enlightening stories to introduce each piece; his eloquent performance expresses a dramatic, emotional mood from sad and sorrowful to light-hearted and lyrical, oozing a joyful sense of romantic love." (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Edinburgh Guide)
"A ripping good yarn. Sim and Shiel both are masters of their crafts." (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Binge Fringe Magazine)
"Matthew Shiel shone" (⭐⭐⭐⭐Three Weeks)
Moonlight Concerts return to Edinburgh with two musical show inspired by Valentine's Day: 'Debussy’s Romantic Piano by Candlelight – ‘Clair de Lune’ and 'Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera.'
In 'Debussy’s Romantic Piano by Candlelight – ‘Clair de Lune,' we join acclaimed concert pianist and storyteller Matthew Shiel for a romantic tour of the piano as he exposes the secret love affairs of the great composer’s hearts that have shaped the history of classical music including: Chopin’s scandalous elopement with the French author George Sand and Brahms’ secret affair with his best friend’s wife, Clara Schumann.
Tonight’s musical programme includes several of the most romantic piano pieces ever composed: Liszt’s Liebestraum, Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude and Debussy’s Clair de Lune – performed by intimate candlelight.
This concert will also feature a new romantic piece composed specially for tonight's artist by Matthew's Italian friend and composer Dr Alfredo Caponnetto – Notturno VI alongside a digital art exhibition and light installation designed by acclaimed Chinese artist and Disney illustrator Emma Yitong Shen – to create an immersive musical experience designed to fill you with romantic inspiration and open your heart to live and to love.
In Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, 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 musical mystery 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 (including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata) 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!"
Patricia Hammond
Described by the Sunday Times as “a leading lady of the retro party scene”, Patricia Hammond is a singer who can go from cathedral to cocktail bar, and change from Handel to hot jazz in the same night.
Her album of Belle Epoque French Salon songs was chosen by the editor of American Record Guide as one of his favourite classical vocal albums of 2007, and in 2011 Sir Michael Parkinson praised her CD of 1920s, 30s and 40s pop songs as “a music-box of vintage treasures, beautifully sung by a remarkable woman.”
Since then, she has headed up candlelit vintage evenings at Covent Garden Concerts in 2022/23, been a soloist alongside Dame Emma Kirkby and Helen Charlston for Voces8’s Live From London series in 2021, featured on BBC Four TV making a wax cylinder and an Edison Tone Test in 2018, in the Fox/Searchlight movie “Tolkien” in 2017, and in the Bundestag in Berlin for Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron for the centenary of the end of the First World War.
Patricia has been featured on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3, and Radio 4’s “Midweek” with Libby Purves.
Matthew Shiel
'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.
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
Also check out other Music events in Edinburgh, Entertainment events in Edinburgh, Arts events in Edinburgh.
Tickets for Valentine's Double Bill - 'A Candlelight Night at the Opera' can be booked here.
| Ticket type | Ticket price |
|---|---|
| Band D | 28 GBP |
| Band D - Concession | 22 GBP |
| Band D - Under 26 | 16 GBP |
| Band C | 33 GBP |
| Band C - Concession | 27 GBP |
| Band C - Under 26 | 22 GBP |
| Band B | 38 GBP |
| Band B - Concession | 33 GBP |
| Band B - Under 26 | 27 GBP |
| Band A | 49 GBP |
| Band A - Concession | 44 GBP |
| Band A - Under 26 | 31 GBP |
| Band A+ (Front Row) | 54 GBP |
| Band A+ (Front Row) - Concession | 49 GBP |
| Band A+ (Front Row) - Under 26 | 33 GBP |