Sopranos Charlotte Bowden and Jessica Cale will make their debuts at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music at Gateshead in a complete performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of Royal Northern Sinfonia’s season opener on Saturday 14 September.
theglasshouseicm.org/whats-on/mendelssohns-midsummer-dream/
Charlotte also made her debut at Waterperry Opera this summer as Governess, The Turn of the Screw and Jessica will join us for our Samling Artist Showcase at Wigmore Hall on 7 November when she’ll be singing Les illuminations by Benjamin Britten.
Another of our most recent Samling Artists Hugo Brady makes his company debut with The Mozartists at Wigmore Hall on 18 September when he replaces Stuart Jackson in their programme to mark the 250th anniversary of the death of composer Niccolò Jommelli.
mozartists.com/jommelli/
Wigmore Hall have announced their season for Spring 2025. Ema Nikolovska and Kunal Lahiry give a recital on 4 January on the theme of ‘Devotions’ and Nicky Spence gives a masterclass with students from London’s conservatoires on 21 January.
Other Samling Artists appearing in concerts across the season include: Louise Alder, Benjamin Appl, James Baillieu, Jessica Cale, Lucy Crowe, Stuart Jackson, Joseph Middleton, Michael Pandya, Nick Pritchard and Jonathan Ware.
Ahead of her appearance at the Edinburgh International Festival singing Gustav Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Catriona Morison talked Presto Classical about her journey to becoming a classical singer, her experiences in Germany, her new duet album and of course winning Cardiff Singer of the World in 2017.
prestomusic.com/classical/articles/
Gramphone Awards
Samling Artists appear on ten of the recordings that have been shortlisted for this year’s Gramophone Awards, including four out of six in the choral category:
Chamber: A Lionel Tertis Celebration (Timothy Ridout viola, James Baillieu, piano)
Choral
The Dream of Gerontius conducted by Paul McCreesh, with a trio of Samling Artist soloists (Nicky Spence, Anna Stéphany and Andrew Foster-Williams) and some of our Academy Singers in the Gabrieli ROAR chorus.
Parry: Scenes from Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound with the Crouch End Festival Chorus and London Mozart Players directed by William Vann, with soloists including David Butt Philip.
Stanford: Requiem, with the CBSO conducted by Martyn Brabbins and soloists including Ross Ramgobin
Tippet: A Child of Our Time, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Andrew Davis with soprano Pumeza Matshikiza.
Opera
Fausto by Louise Bertin, directed by Christophe Rousset – Nico Darmanin (Valentino)
Janáček: Káťa Kabanová (Blu-ray) Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Jakub Hrůša with David Butt Philip (Boris)
Voice and Ensemble
Portraits of a Mind: Venables and Vaughan Williams – William Vann (piano) with Alessandro Fisher and Navarra Quartet
End of My Days: Ruby Hughes with Manchester Collective
Song
but I like to sing — Carolyn Sampson and Joseph Middleton
You can explore the shortlisted recordings at prestomusic.com – Gramophone Awards 2024 Shortlist
New Recordings
Nick Pritchard appears on ‘The French Album’ a collection of French sacred choral and solo vocal music with London Choral Sinfonia directed by Michael Waldron.
Jennifer France sings ‘And once I played Ophelia’ on ‘Rooms of Elsinore’ – a collection of works by Brett Dean on the theme of Hamlet, with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, directed by the composer.
