University News Last updated 21 May
BMus students were part of a stellar line-up of UK musicians at the inaugural Shakespeare in Music Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The festival, held from Friday 2 – Monday 5 May, celebrated the ‘soul of Shakespeare’s England’ with performances by musicians and interpreters spanning Elizabethan to contemporary music.
Master’s students Ella Blair (soprano), India Harding (mezzo), Joe Yates (tenor) and Ollie Barker (bass) performed, alongside Head of Accompaniment in Vocal Studies Jonathan French, in an enchanting concert of extracts from operas inspired by Shakespeare’s work.
The concert, titled, Shakespeare’s Legacy in English Opera, took place at the historic Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, where Shakespeare was baptised, worshipped and is buried.
The evening was introduced by Patron Robert Lloyd, widely regarded as the UK’s go-to English bass of the past 25 years, who described it as a “serious triumph” and praised the “genuinely marvellous” young singers.
The Festival spanned the early music of the playwright’s time to the rich legacy he inspired in the work of many later composers.
Executive Producer of Retrospect Opera Ben Hamilton said: “It was such an exciting concert – innovatively programmed and delightfully accompanied. It is just the sort of thing students should be doing with the right support, which they clearly had in Jonathan and colleagues who had prepared them.”
Ollie commented: “It was a real pleasure to perform at the Festival for so many reasons. Who can say they’ve performed a variety of Shakespearean opera mere steps away from his grave? I’m not sure I’ll experience something like that again.
“What a delight to share the stage with such close friends and colleagues, with whom I have studied and shared so many happy memories during my time at RBC. I really felt that in this concert, we brought as much theatrical drama as is necessary when performing Shakespeare, and in doing so, showed what Birmingham singers are made of.”
Pictured (l/r): Master’s students Ollie Barker, India Harding, Joe Yates and Ella Blair.