It has been some time since my last news post and Christmas is always a good time for reflection. After the first year of the pandemic, I am so very grateful for the opportunities I have had to perform and make music again in 2021.
In March (and despite the UK’s terrible second wave), over a period of two days in Oxford we recorded Joseph Phibbs’ opera Juliana for Resonus Classics. This disc is due for release shortly on 7th January 2022 and will be available on all the usual channels (Amazon, Spotify and iTunes). Thrillingly, in April I sang Schubert Lieder (orchestrated by Brahms) with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, jumping in at the very last minute – it was such an honour to sing with this glorious orchestra. Later in the year, the postponed Leeds Castle Concert opera gala could finally go ahead and I sang with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to an audience of thousands.
As part of Barbara Hannigan’s great initiative “Momentum: Our Future Now” I was invited to share the stage with Roderick Williams and Susie Allen in two English Song recitals. Also on the recital platform, I performed more English Song with pianist Mark Packwood at King Charles the Martyr, Tunbridge Wells and with Simon Lepper as part of the Rye Arts Festival. I sang music by Mahler and Poulenc at the Oxford Lieder Festival (“The Carnival of the Animals”) and for the London Song Festival (“Baudelaire: An Obsession with Hedonism”).
It was wonderful to return to majestic spaces to sing my first ever Verdi Requiem at Winchester Cathedral, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem at the fabulous Saffron Hall, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni (as Masetto) in concert at the beautiful Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford. I performed Haydn’s Creation at Harpenden and Fanny Mendelssohn’s Cholera Cantata at Hackney both conducted by John Andrews, and an opera gala for Oxford Opera conducted by John Warner. I also performed new music by Luke Styles alongside Britten’s Canticles as part of the Cheltenham and Presteigne Festivals conducted by George Vass.
Rather unexpectedly, I was a finalist in the International Handel Singing Competition, performing Handel’s music in his church (St George’s, Hanover Square) with the London Handel Orchestra directed by Laurence Cummings. The final is still available to watch on YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/eaGZm_M16y4
Looking ahead to 2022 and aside from the forthcoming CD release, I am hugely looking forward to performing Papageno in The Magic Flute for Oxford Opera in April (directed by Paul Carr) and excited to be making my debut with Welsh National Opera in Will Todd’s Migrations in the summer and autumn.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ❤️