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| Schubert: the beautiful Miller – James Baillieu, Julien Van Mellaerts, Christopher Purves – Opera in Song at Opera Holland Park, 2022 |
Opera in songcurated by baritone Julien Van Mellaerts and pianist Dylan Perez, has returned to Opera Holland Park for its fourth season. Last month there was a masterclass for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and a gala concert to mark her 80th birthday. This week there are three concerts on 18, 20 and 21 July. An exciting programme offers a mix of new faces and returning personalities. Newcomers include mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, baritone Benjamin Appl, soprano Harriet Burns and pianist Ian Burnside, returning Julien Van Mellaerts, Dylan Perez and tenor Nicky Spence, as well as this year’s group of Opera Holland Park young artists. The result does exactly what Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez intended from the start, which is to bring together established artists with emerging talent.
The concert on Thursday (18 July 2024) is titled Ballads and legends and Julien Van Mellaerts sees it as an exploration of opera as song. Helen Charlston and Julien Van Mellaerts, together with Dylan Perez, will perform music by Charles Stanford, Rebecca Clarke, Carl Loewe, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Paolo Tosti, along with Haydn’s dramatic scene, Arianna on Naxos.
In the evening the premiere of Oded Zehavi’s Songs of the Seaa cycle of songs commissioned by Julien Van Mellaerts with lyrics by poets Bill Manhire, Laura Attridge and Claire Simon from New Zealand, the UK and France, referring to Julien Van Mellaerts’ three countries of origin. Composer Oded Zehavi is from Tel Aviv and the sea is something that is ever-present in Julien Van Mellaerts’ family. The cycle tells three different stories about the sea and presents three very different versions of the sea.
The concert on Saturday (20 July 2024) is an examination of Woman’s love and Lifewith Benjamin Appl, Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale. The performance of Schumann’s song cycle about the life and love of a woman (albeit written by a male poet and a male composer) is expanded and complemented by songs by Franz Schubert, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Liza Lehmann, Rebecca Clarke, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Nico Muhly and others who use the narrative to look at things from a more 21st century perspective.
On Sunday (21 July 2024) the final concert will feature Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez with Comedy and cabaret Concert with the Opera Holland Park Young Artists with music by Stephen Sondheim, Tom Lehrer, Kurt Weill, Jonathan Dove, William Bolcom, Gilbert & Sullivan, Noel Coward, Victoria Wood and more.
By introducing a piano in the auditorium, bringing the singers and pianist closer to the audience, Julien Van Mellaerts finds that this proximity to the audience gives the performances a surprising immediacy and intimacy.
Opera Holland Park’s Opera in Song concerts have been popular in the past with their mix of established artists and young talent. Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez hope this year’s fascinating mix will continue this and appeal to an opera audience with song repertoire.
All details on the Opera Holland Park website.
