Frances James News
Canadian opera singer (1903-1988)
- soprano
- Canada
- opera singer, music teacher
Last update
2024-04-23
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2024-04-22 08:37:00
Mozart: Don Giovanni - Hurn Court Opera (Photo: Patrick Frost, BlackStar Pictures)Mozart: Don Giovanni: Sam Young, Samuel Lom, Lizzie Rydeer, Daniel Gray Bell, Hanna O'Brien, Harrison Chéné-Gration, Tilly Goodwin, William Stevens, dir: Joy Robinson, cond: Lynton Atkinson; Hurn Court Opera at Theatre Royal, WinchesterReviewed by James McConnachie, 11 April 2024A dedicated group of vastly talented singers – young singers – riding on the delight of an audience that was evidently as full of newbies as buffsEven lifelong opera-lovers can sometimes feel dispirited. Opera survives on the support and generosity and love of a generation born within 20 years of the war – but anyone looking around them in the stalls, or the grand tier, or the balcony or, frankly, even the amphitheatre of the Royal Opera House might be forgiven for wondering where the next generation is going to come from. Is it economics that is keeping out the […]
2024-04-22 03:30:00
A Beethoven Odyssey, Volume 9
by Bill Heck Beethoven: Piano Sonatas 28, 29. James Brawn, piano. MSR Classics MS 1473 I had mixed feelings as I started listening to this, the last volume in James Brawn’s traversal of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Not mixed feelings about the performances: see below for more on that front. No, it was just that we have reached the end of this excellent cycle. Those who have seen reviews of several earlier volumes by our colleague JJP and me will recall that we were, to say the least, favorably impressed. Naturally I was eager to hear the latest. But it was a bit like opening that last present at the birthday party when I was a little kid: the cycle is complete; there’s nothing to anticipate, no wonderful surprises to look forward to. Those who have followed this cycle know that these volumes have not comprised a cycle in the common sense […]
2024-04-20 09:51:00
A Leeds Songbook and a showcase performance: Leeds Lieder Young Artists 2024
[…] more about what they felt they ought to present, and the best performances were those who really inhabited the material.All the events are available on the festival's YouTube channel.Never miss out on future posts by following usThe blog is free, but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by buying me a coffee.Elsewhere on this blogLeeds Lieder 2024A day of French song with a focus on Fauré, with Graham Johnson making us love the composer's late period, and James Gilchrist in fine form - concert reviewEngaging the audience: James Newby and Joseph Middleton in a folk-inspired programme at a cool Leeds café/bar - concert reviewThe sound of an image: recent chamber music by New York City-based, Puerto Rican-born composer Gabriel Vicéns - record reviewA City Full of Stories: Anna Phillips on her work with Academy of St Martin in the Fields' SoundWalk - guest postingEnergy, discipline, & sheer love of music-making: National Youth Orchestra & National Youth Brass Band in […]
2024-04-20 08:34:00
A day at Leeds Lieder Festival: Fauré, Boulanger, Mahler and more
Gabriel Fauré by John Singer Sargent, 1889Lecture recital: Gabriel Fauré and his mélodies; Graham Johnson, Sarah Fox, Florian Störtz; Leeds Lieder Festival at The Venue, Leeds ConservatoireGabriel Fauré, Lili Boulanger, Mahler, Roger Quilter, Muriel Herbert; James Gilchrist, Anna Tilbrook; Leeds Lieder Festival at The Venue, Leeds ConservatoireReviewed 18 April 2024A day of French song with a focus on Fauré, with Graham Johnson making us love the composer's late period, and James Gilchrist in fine form, from elegant Fauré to perfumed Boulanger, Mahler in comic mode and Roger Quilter with his heart on his sleeveThursday 18 April was A Day of French Song at Leeds Lieder Festival. In the morning the festival's Young Artists had a public masterclass with soprano Dame Felicity Lott concentrating on French repertoire, then at lunchtime pianist Graham Johnson was joined by soprano Sarah Fox and baritone Florian Störtz for a lecture recital on Gabriel Fauré and his mélodies, and Johnson went on join […]
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