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We are delighted that the bass baritone Neil Balfour has joined our artist roster for worldwide representation. Neil is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and the National Opera Studio. A former Britten-Pears and Concordia artist, he is the first opera singer to be booked by the Glastonbury Festival and the first to beatbox in an opera at Longborough Festival Opera.

Future highlights include Prince Yamadori Madama Butterfly for Welsh National Opera and Texy in the premiere of Alex Groves’ Back into the World for English Touring Opera.

Nazan Fikret is the soprano soloist in Our Dark Side and the Moon: a night time duet, part of 8bit for the Royal Opera.

Reflecting on our relationship to the moon, with text by Elayce Ismail and music by John Barber, take your device to a window or outside space and watch the moon as you listen.

8bit is a digital series of eight newly-commissioned experimental pieces, bringing together contemporary artists in five short films, two audio performances and an online experiment, all of which can be enjoyed from your own home. It includes well-loved repertory in ways you have never experienced before and world premieres of new short works.

The 8bit experience is available to watch from 30 April on the Royal Opera House’s social media channels: YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

John Gilhooly has today announced Gweneth Ann Rand as an Associate Artist at Wigmore Hall. As an Associate Artist Gweneth Ann will feature regularly in Wigmore Hall  programming, with at least one concert each season over a five year term.

Her recent Wigmore Hall appearances include Messiaen’s Harawi and a programme of Barber, Messiaen and Wagner, both with collaborator pianist Simon Lepper, with whom she will perform An Imperfect Tapestry, on 3 June 2021 as part of Wigmore Hall’s 120th Anniversary celebrations.

“Rand’s sumptuous voice, technically brilliant, verbally agile and expressive…”
(Fiona Maddocks)

“This was an authoritative, polished performance, piano and voice capturing the music’s quicksilver changes
of mood and colour together.”
(Erica Jeal)

This afternoon Nazan Fikret and pianist Rebecca Cohen will perform a world premiere, commissiond by the BBC on Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ drivetime show, hosted by Sean Rafferty.

The new work Plango: A Cure Lament, written by film composer, vocalist and educator Ella Jarman-Pinto to a text by the poet Jo Brandon, explores the emotional impact of the pandemic on women and looks at finding comfort and empowerment in expression.

Gweneth Ann Rand and Ailish Tynan will perform as part of Wigmore Halls recently ammounced concert series in the run up to Easter.

2 March
Gweneth Ann Rand and Simon Lepper will perform a programme of Barber, Messiaen and Wagner.

12 March
Ailish Tynan will perform Der Hirt auf dem Felsen with Steven Osborne and Jean Johnson as part of Steven Osborne’s 50th Birthday Concert.

17 March
Ailish Tynan, Robin Tritschler and James Baillieu will perform in a special concert for St Patrick’s Day, including some of the most beloved traditional folksongs which reflect the cultural ties between the two nations. Adrian O’Neill, the Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain, will introduce the concert with a message of friendship from the Irish government.

All concerts are available to watch online on the Wigmore Hall website and YouTube channel on the day of performance and for 30 days.

Gweneth Ann Rand performs Mrs Grose in a film version of The Turn of the Screw for OperaGlass Works. Performances were due to have taken place early in 2020 at Wilton’s Music Hall, but were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Selina Cadell and Eliza Thompson have adapted their stage production for this filmed version, which is conducted by John Wilson with the Sinfonia of London.

The spine-chilling film will be available exclusively on Marquee TV from 30 January 2021.

Linda Richardson’s debut solo recording, ITALIAN OPERA ARIAS, is released on 8 January by Chandos Records.

The recording with the Sinfonia of London, conducted by John Wilson, features arias from operas including La traviataLa forza del destinoAnna BolenaLa bohème and Madama Butterfly.

Linda Richardson writes: ‘I have had the privilege of performing many of the great leading soprano roles in the operatic repertoire, but as my career progressed, I found a special love and affinity for the roles that stood as pillars in Italian opera. The beautiful melodic lines, dramatic language, and the overall musical craftsmanship of these Italian composers make their characters especially thrilling. I chose these particular arias because they show the huge variety of heroines that can be found in the greatest Italian operas. Although most of the arias are expressions of love and loss it is the individual emotional journey of each character which I find so compelling.’

Italian Opera Arias
Label: Chandos
Code: CHAN20155
Release date: 8 January 2021

Nazan Fikret is delighted to be returning to Glyndebourne this autumn for semi-staged performances as The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. This new socially distanced production is directed by Donna Stirrup and conducted by Leo McFall, with the Glyndebourne Touring Orchestra and Chorus.

A limited number of tickets are available for a socially distanced audience, with performances taking place from 1 to 21 November 2020.

Following their performance of Harawi for the Oxford Lieder Festival last year with a glowing review in The Guardian by Fiona Maddocks, Gweneth Ann Rand and Simon Lepper made it into the Observer critics’ review of 2019 for the best classical music of the year.

They are delighted to be bringing Harawi  to Wigmore Hall on 18 October to a socially distanced audience. The performance will also be streamed on the Wigmore Hall website and YouTube channel on the day of performance and for 30 days.

Trevor Eliot Bowes sings Benoît in English National Opera’s Drive & Live La bohème, opening at Alexandra Palace on 19 September. This stunning socially distanced production with the ENO Orchestra and Chorus is directed by PJ Harris and conducted by Martyn Brabbins and Chris Hopkins.

If you can’t get to Alexandra Palace, tune in and watch on Sky Arts, Freeview Channel 11, 23rd September at 8pm!

We are delighted that Samuel Pantcheff will return to the Salzburger Landestheater for the 2020/21 season, this follows the abrupt end to last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His roles will include Kaluna in Paul Abraham’s Die Blume von Hawaii, Valentin in Faust, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and Miles in the Austrian premiere of Stuart Macae’s Anthropocene.

Ailish Tynan returns to Wigmore Hall on 17 June for a lunchtime concert with pianist Iain Burnside. Their wide-ranging programme includes arrangements of Irish songs by Herbert Hughes and Grieg’s stormy Six Songs. Their finale is a song that has recently become popular as an anthem to staff of the NHS working on the front line against the Coronavirus pandemic.

This concert at Wigmore Hall forms part of a series of lunchtime concerts every weekday in June, in collaboration with BBC Radio 3. Performed to a empty auditiorium, audience members can listen live on radio, or watch a live stream on the Wigmore Hall website.