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| Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin – James Baillieu, Julien Van Mellaerts, Christopher Purves – Opera in Song at Opera Holland Park, 2022 |
Opera in Song, curated by baritone Julien Van Mellaerts and pianist Dylan Perez, has returned to Opera Holland Park for the fourth season. Last month there was a masterclass for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and a gala concert to celebrate her 80th birthday. This week there are three recitals on 18, 20 and 21 July. An exciting programme features a mix of new faces and returning figures. New are mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston, baritone Benjamin Appl, soprano Harriet Burns and pianist Ian Burnside, returning are Julien Van Mellaerts, Dylan Perez and tenor Nicky Spence, along with this years crop of Opera Holland Park Young Artists. The result does exactly what Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez intended from the beginning, pairing established artists with up and coming talent.
Thursday’s recital (18 July 2024) has the title Ballads and Legends and Julien Van Mellaerts sees it very much as an exploration of opera as song. Helen Charlston and Julien Van Mellaerts with Dylan Perez will be performing music by Charles Stanford, Rebecca Clarke, Carl Loewe, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Paolo Tosti, along with Haydn’s dramatic scena, Arianna a Naxos.
The evening will feature the premiere of Oded Zehavi’s Songs of the Sea, a sequence of songs commissioned by Julien Van Mellaerts, with lyrics by the poets Bill Manhire, Laura Attridge, and Claire Simon, respectively from New Zealand, Britain and France, referencing Julien Van Mellaerts three countries of origin. Composer Oded Zehavi is from Tel Aviv, and the sea is something that runs through Julien Van Mellaerts family. The cycle tells three different stories of the seas, presenting three very different versions of the sea.
Saturday’s recital (20 July 2024) is an exploration of Frauenliebe und -Leben, with Benjamin Appl, Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale. The performance of Schumann’s song-cycle exploring a woman’s life and love (albeit written by a male poet and a male composer) will be expanded and interleaved with songs by Franz Schubert, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Liza Lehmann, Rebecca Clarke, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Nico Muhly and others that use the narrative to explore things from a more 21st century point of view.
On Sunday (21 July 2024) the final recital features Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez hosting a Comedy and Cabaret recital with the Opera Holland Park Young Artists featuring music by Stephen Sondheim, Tom Lehrer, Kurt Weill, Jonathan Dove, William Bolcom, Gilbert & Sullivan, Noel Coward, Victoria Wood and more.
With the introduction of a piano into the auditorium, bringing the singers and pianist closer to the audience, Julien Van Mellaerts finds this closeness to the audience brings a surprising immediacy and intimacy to the performances.
The Opera in Song recitals at Opera Holland Park have proved popular in the past, with their mix of established artists and young talent. Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez hope that this year’s fascinating mix will continue that, appealing to an opera audience with song repertoire.
Full details from the Opera Holland Park website.
