January News
To warm up this icy January we enjoyed these opera events:
Joanna Harries, mezzo soprano began the year with our first lecture recital at The Garrison Chapel in Chelsea. An extremely entertaining and informative morning.
New young artist Samuel Stopford, tenor utterly entranced the Henley audience, delving into the technical and emotional they were taken on a journey through the life of a tenor and all Italianate. Feedback included: ‘so well presented and he made me cry’ and ‘Samuel manages to translate emotions from his voice into your heart’
Applause was plenty and Jong Sun Woo on piano gave a very sensitive performance
Claire Ward, soprano who has been performing Handel baroque concerts in and around London, will be bringing her concert to Christ Church in Chelsea with Opera Prelude on February 7th. Along with Opera Prelude young artists Clarie Ward, soprano and Xavier Hetherington, tenor will be musicians Kristiina Watt, theorbo and Miriam Nohl, cello.
Toki Hamano, baritone has been selected into the Serena Fenwick programme by the British Youth Opera.
Peter Edge, baritone returns to touring with English Touring Opera this spring; performing the roles of Petrucci in Lucrezia Borgia, Gelsomino in Il Viaggio a Reims and the title role in the Wish Gatherer.
Samantha Quillish, soprano and Jack Holton, baritone will be back performing in 2023 with the National Opera Studio.
Ben Knight, bass baritone will be performing in a children’s opera ‘Zoo’ with the English Touring Opera if you have any little ones aged 2-5 then see dates etc here
https://englishtouringopera.org.uk/productions/zoo
Alumni news:
Georgia Mae Bishop’s, mezzo soprano new project:
The Jèrriais Song Project is a commission of three Art Songs (Chansons d’Jerri) to be written by Jersey-born composer Charles Mauleverer, and the first time Jèrriais text will be set to music in this way, presented as a Song Cycle for Mezzo-soprano Georgia Mae Bishop and piano.
See https://georgiamaebishop.com/2827-2/jerriais-song-project/ for more details.
Joanna Harries will be playing Lucinda with The Barber Opera Institute in ‘The power of eternal love’ by composer Alessandro Stradella. Also Joanna will performing at The Buxton International Festival playing Medoro in Handel's Orlando and at Holland Park Opera playing Contessa Ceprano in Rigoletto.
Jolyon Loy, bass baritone 2023 engagements include Aye (cover) Akhnaten for English National Opera, Silvio Pagliacci / Marco Gianni Schicchi with The Manchester Camerata & Nevill Holt Opera, Zoroastro Orlando with Liberata Collective & Ensemble Hesperi at Buxton International Festival, a new album of songs tracing Goethe’s Faust legend for Champs Hill Records & the final rounds of the 60th Tenor Viñas Competition in Barcelona, Spain.
Alex Haigh is at The Royal Opera House, in rehearsal for The Barber of Seville , Tannhauser and Rusalka. In Feb/March and covering the messenger in Aida, and also covering the idiot in Wozzeck.
Alex also has Messiah engagements in April (Putney and Oxford) and will be singing a concert performance of Parsifal (singing title role) with New Palace Opera in June.
Mimi Doulton, soprano played Gretel in Hansel in Gretel in Pforzheim Theater, Germany