From Heaven's joys to arena's sands

By Dominic Lowe, 26 February 2016

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“an original and thought-provoking programme”

Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 25 February 2016

Vaughan Williams, 4 Hymns for tenor, viola and piano

Wagner, Wesendonck-Lieder

Gounod, Roméo et Juliette: L'amour! - Ah! lève-toi, soleil!

Mascagni, Cavalleria rusticana: Mamma, quel vino è generoso

Berlioz, La Damnation de Faust, Op.24: D'amour l'ardente flamme

Bizet, Carmen: "The Flower Song" La fleur que tu m'avais jetée

Bizet, Carmen: C'est toi! C'est moi!

Bryan Hymel, Tenor

Irene Roberts, Mezzo-soprano

Krzysztof Chorzelski, Viola

Julius Drake, Piano

Bumpy love songs from Roderick Williams and Julius Drake at PCMS

Cameron Kelsall, 12th February

A fully produced performance of Brahms' Die schӧne Magelone in Philadelphia, complete with on-stage narrator and bespoke drawings, proved less than the sum of its parts.

**111

Fauré Song Gala a showcase for the composer's mélodies

Mark Valencia, 13th September

Fauré was the finest of French songwriters. Stéphane Degout and Véronique Gens shine in a full-length evening in a packed Wigmore Hall.

****1

Gerald Finley and Julius Drake bring Night and Day to London

Mark Valencia, 24th November

Heinrich Heine settings by Schumann and Schubert are counter-balanced by Duparc and Cole Porter in a Temple Song recital reflecting on night and day.

*****

A scorching Diary of One Who Disappeared at Janáček Brno Festival

Gianmarco Segato, 12th November

Tenor Nicky Spence and mezzo Václava Krejčí Housková thrill with a theatrical take on Janáček's The Diary of One Who Disappeared with pianist Julius Drake.

****1

Alice Coote and Stuart Jackson bring Mahler to Middle Temple Hall

Mark Valencia, 11th November

Pianist Julius Drake and his two singers probe the audience’s collective soul with the depth of their Mahler performances.

*****

An intense Winterreise from Fleur Barron and Julius Drake

Edward Sava-Segal, 27th February

A young mezzo and a seasoned pianist performed a rendition of Winterreise that sounded very fresh indeed.

***11

More reviews...

Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.

From Heaven's joys to arena's sands: Hymel and Roberts Wigmore Hall