Kitty Whately has been the driving force behind three major projects championing the music of Rebecca Clarke and has received glowing reviews for her work. She has just released the first complete recording of Rebecca Clarke’s songs, including nearly 30 world premieres and some that have not yet even been published and she hosted a Rebecca Clarke focus day at Wigmore Hall in November. Of the album, Erica Jeal in the Guardian writes that Kitty is ‘on superb form, her voice laser-focused and glowing.’
The charity Swap’ra that Kitty co-founded has also launched the Rebecca Clarke Song Competition focussing on performances of song by British women. The finals will be held on 19 and 24 January at the Royal Over-seas League. Kitty talks about all three projects in this interview with Presto Classical:
prestomusic.com/classical/articles/
We were also delighted this month to hear the voices of Samling Artist Hugo Brady and former Academy Singer Tia Radix-Callixte providing the singing for the central characters of Clyde and Mary in the new Alan Bennett film ‘The Choral’.
Awards
Congratulations to Madison Nonoa who has been award the Dame Heather Begg Scholarship by the Melba Opera Trust. The award of A$25,0000 is designed to provide funding to a young Australian or New Zealand singer who has started their professional principal career and who would benefit artistically from access to funds to refine an already evident talent. Previous recipients include Filipe Manu, Lauren Fagan and Jeremy Kleeman.
melbaoperatrust.com.au/dame-heather-begg-memorial-award/
Madison has also been recognised by the University of Auckland in their ’40 under 40’ selection of inspiring alumni.
auckland.ac.nz/en/alumni/our-alumni/40-under-40
Hector Bloggs received this year’s Wessex Glyndebourne Association award, given annually to a member of the summer festival chorus.
At this year’s Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers’ Competition Emma Roberts won second prize and Daniel Peter Silcock won the accompanist’s prize.
bamptonopera.org/young-singers-competition
Opera and Concert news
Opera North have made additional cast announcements for their upcoming production of Le nozze di Figaro, bringing the total number of Samling Artists involved in the production to nine! In the main cast, Claire Lees is Susanna, James Newby is Count Almaviva, Jamie Woollard is Antonio, Katherine Broderick is Marcellina, Charlotte Bowden is Barbarina and Jonathan Lemalu is Bartolo. The production comes to Theatre Royal Newcastle on 19 and 21 March.
In the cast for a special relaxed performance on 18 February, Charlie Drummond is Countess Almaviva, Hector Bloggs is Count Almaviva, Emily Christina Loftus is Barbarina and Jamie Woollard is Bartolo.
operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/the-marriage-of-figaro/
In a recently announced cast change, William Thomas takes the role of Sparafucile, Rigoletto at Royal Ballet and Opera in March 2026, conducted by Sir Mark Elder.
Madeline Boreham will make her role debut as Fiordiligi with Opera Holland Park next summer, alongside Paul Grant as Guglielmo and Shakira Tsindos as Dorabella.
Olivia Boen made her house debut at Oper Köln as Gretel, Hänsel und Gretel and Maria Hegele made her house debut at Darmstadt Opera as Hänsel.
Beth Moxon made her debut with The Hallé at Bridgewater Hall on 6 December, singing the alto solos in Messiah conducted by Jeanette Sorrell.
Beth will be also joining English Touring Opera’s spring tour in the role of Tessa The Gondoliers and Harry Grigg is Beppe Il pagliacci. North East audiences can see them at Gala Durham on 20 and 21 May.
englishtouringopera.org.uk/whats-on
Festivals
Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton are included in the line-up for the opening gala concert of Wigmore Hall’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
Aldeburgh Festival have announced their 2026 programme. James Baillieu has been made Associate Director of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme; he will lead this year’s Festival Academy and gives recitals with soprano Lise Davidsen and violinist Maria Włoszczowska.
Francesca Lauri has received this year’s Viola Tunnard Young Artist award, given to a collaborative pianist from the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, and she will give recitals with Madeline Boreham and Nicky Spence during the festival. Also appearing in the festival are Benjamin Hulett and Nick Pritchard.
brittenpearsarts.org/landing-pages/aldeburgh-festival
Recordings
Louise Alder sings Richard Strauss’s Four Songs Op.27 with Nicholas Collon and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra on their latest release. Erica Jeal in The Guardian writes ‘her gleaming soprano sound is buoyantly supported by the orchestra and, whether the music is portentous, exuberant or tender, she’s unfailingly communicative with the text’.
Lauren Lodge-Campbell sings Astrophil & Stella a new song cycle by Patrick Ayrton, for period instruments, inspired by the music of Henry Purcell.
voces8.foundation/shop/patrick-ayrton-astrophil-stella
Catriona Morison is the mezzo-soprano soloist on ‘Requiem: Mozart’s Death in Words and Music’. The recording intersperses readings by Hollywood actor F. Murray Abraham (who played Salieri in the original Amadeus film) with a complete performance of Mozart’s Requiem and other sacred works.
prestomusic.com/classical/products/
Ema Nikolovska appears on a recording directed by Reinoud Van Mechelen of two French baroque operas – Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Pygmalion and Zémide by Pierre Iso. The recording was BBC Music Magazine’s Opera Choice for December.
prestomusic.com/classical/products/
The London Philharmonic Orchestra have released a recording of their 2022 Proms performance of The Dream of Gerontius, with James Platt singing the bass solos.
lpo.org.uk/recording/the-dream-of-gerontius/
Lana Bode appears on Album Z, a disc dedicated to the music of cellist and composer Zoë Martlew.
prestomusic.com/classical/products/
Happy Christmas
All of us at Samling wish you a very happy and peaceful festive season. We leave you with Benjamin Appl whose concert with the Regensburger Domspatzen choir and the Munich Radio Orchestra was part of the European Broadcast Union’s Christmas Music Day of concerts broadcast across Europe and further afield on Sunday 14 December. Our readers in the UK can catch the concert on BBC Radio 3 on BBC Sounds:
