March News
We hosted two lecture recitals this month. The first was an exploration into the dichotomy between fallen women and virtuous heroines – two opposing tropes that female characters in opera are often characterised under. Catherine Hooper, soprano, delivered the recital to an eager audience at the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea, who were impressed by her performances of arias from Manon, La Traviata, Carmen and more; and the consideration with which she approached difficult ideas centring around gender in our art form. Later in the month, Catherine made it to the finals of the Marie Kraja Competition in Albania – congratulations to her!
Catherine Hooper at The Garrison Chapel, Chelsea
We were joined in Henley by Patrick Alexander Keefe, baritone, who presented a lecture on the theme of the Baryton-Noble, the voice of opera's lords and aristocrats which was the starting point of many of the 20th century's great Verdi baritones. Sometimes called the ‘kavalier-baritone’, Patrick explained how this voice type is either fully lyric or dramatic, but was rather often used as a steppingstone on the bath to Verdi. We were lucky enough to hear Patrick sing arias by Gounod and Tchaikovsky, before the culmination of the recital in his performance of Roderique’s Death Sequence from Don Carlos.
We were glad that both Catherine and Patrick could be joined by the wonderful Brendan Musk on the piano for their recitals!
Young Artist News
Outside of our own events, our Young Artists had some exciting events lined up. Claire Ward, soprano and Peter Edge, baritone joined the chorus of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra for performances of Brahms’s Ein deutches Requiem at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The choir was credited by Bachtrack as having “amazing power” – congratulations to Claire and Peter for the contributions to this concert.
Joanna Harries, mezzo-soprano, appeared as a soloist in a number of concerts this month, including a Gala concert with the Orpheus Sinfonia at St George’s Hanover Square, Vivaldi Gloria with the Sine Nomine Singers, and Mozart Requiem with Bermondsey & Southwark Choral Society.
Many of our Young Artists appeared in Easter-themed concerts, including Passions, Messiahs and Requiems. Bridget Esler, soprano, gave her first performance as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah at Kimbolton Castle. We also want to congratulate her for being awarded the Outstanding Canadian Musician Award at the ROSL Arts Overseas Awards! Michael Temporal Darrell, baritone, appeared as a soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Royal Free Singers; Annabel Kennedy, mezzo-soprano, performed with Solihull Choral Society for their performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle; and James Gedit, baritone, appeared as a soloist in Swansea Philharmonic Choir’s performance of the St John Passion at Brangwyn Hall, under the baton of Jonathan Rogers.
What a great month it’s been!