John Beard News
British opera singer and actor (1716-1791)
- tenor
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- opera singer
Last update
2024-04-25
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2024-04-24 11:23:00
Summer at Snape, Britten Pears Arts' series of events at Snape returns for 2024
[…] Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and pianist Simon Lepper in Mahler, Wagner, and South African songs, guitarist Milos and pianist Stephen Hough.Other visitors include the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, Black Dyke Band, United Strings of Europe, Apollo5 and The Gesualdo Six in a programme exploring music of Gesualdo.Events include Women’s Stories from the Ancient World is a newly devised sequence of words and music curated by soprano Nardus Williams and renowned classicist Mary Beard with lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, I, Clara, presented by pianist Lucy Parham and actor Harriet Walter, an exploration of the remarkable life of Clara Schumann.Young artists in the series include Suffolk Youth Orchestra in Britten and Rimsky-Korsakov, Aldeburgh Young Musicians, an artist development programme for musicians aged 10-18, Apollo5 leading Explore Your Voice, a workshop offering singers the chance to enhance their vocal capabilities and engage in group singing, VOICEBOX and soprano Juliet Fraser's Unbound project [see my interview with Juliet], Britten […]
2024-02-28 07:37:00
Beauty and meaning: Handel's Theodora from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo with Louise Alder in the title role
[…] In Part Two, both 'Deeds of kindness' and 'Sweet rose & lily' combine poise with inner strength. And both he and Alder find a sense of meaning amidst the moving beauties of the final aria and duet.Stuart Jackson's finely sung Septimus is one of the delights of the set. The character can often seem a bit reactive, less than dramatic (it was written for Thomas Lowe rather than the more dramatically vivid tenor of Thomas Beard). But here, Jackson takes great care of the music throughout, combining a sense of line with vibrant tone and a technical expertise that makes the passagework a real joy. Yet he finds meaning in everything, allied always to finely expressed phrasing. You would hardly buy a recording of Theodora for the Septimus, yet Jackson makes his contribution to the drama something special indeed.Valens is simply the baddy and remains something of a cardboard character. Adam […]
2024-02-05 09:17:00
Low comedy & sophisticated satire: New Sussex Opera revives John Frederick Lampe's The Dragon of Wantley
[…] terrific new recording of the opera [see my review].The good news is that New Sussex Opera is presenting a new production of The Dragon of Wantley which is touring to Lewes, Hove, Tunbridge Wells, Winchester, Blackheath Halls (London) and Eastbourne from 14 April to 12 May 2024. Toby Purser conducts the Bellot Baroque Ensemble. Paul Higgins' production sets the opera in a South Yorkshire of the 1980's (against the background of the miners’ strike), and singers include Ana Beard Fernández, Magnus Walker, Charlotte Badham, and Robert Gildon.Full details from New Sussex Opera's website.
2023-12-06 07:44:00
A lifetime's experience: John Nelson finally records Messiah in a finely engaged performance, with a fantastic quartet of soloists
[…] and the solo alto version is one of the alternatives.At first Michael Spyres might seem a less usual choice for tenor, but there is no reason at all why a singer known for Donizetti, Bellini and Berlioz should not sing Handel and his background probably includes a fair number of bread and butter Messiahs. He makes a fine, firm tenor soloist, engaging and admirable, yet at the same time reminding us that the great John Beard sang this role whilst also singing the title roles in Samson and Jephtha. Here Spyres has that lovely combination of strength and line, with a sense that there is power under the bonnet for these bigger roles. All in all, I loved what he did, drawing us in with his opening sequence in Part One, and ending with a finally judged duet with Potter, 'O Death, where is the sting', the two voices contrasting yet […]
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