 |
| David Butt Philip & Friends Gala – David Butt Philip – St Paul’s Opera, Clapham, 2025 – ‘Falke, falke, du wiedergefundener’ from Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten |
If you want to hear tenor David Butt Philip the chances are that you may well have to travel outside the UK and his performances this year include Milan, Tokyo and the USA. In the UK he is performing the role of Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Glyndebourne as well as singing Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the London Symphony Orchestra.
But the good news for his admirers is that David Butt Philip is also patron of Clapham-based St Paul’s Opera, and he performs in an annual fundraising gala for the company at their home base of St Paul’s Church, Clapham. Previous years, he has treated audiences at the gala to the Emperor’s remarkably expansive solo, ‘Falke, falke, du wiedergefundener’ from Richard Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten and Florestan’s solo from the opening of Act Two of Beethoven’s Fidelio.
This year’s David Butt Philip & Friends Gala takes place on 13 March 2026, when he will be joined by soprano Ellie Laugharne, mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan and bass-baritone Liam James Karai with pianists Susanna Stranders and Eric Melear.
Ellie Laugharne was Adele in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus at The Grange Festival last year [see my review]. Niamh O’Sullivan sang the title role in ENO’s most recent revival of Bizet’s Carmen, and we caught her as Ino in Handel’s Semele at Covent Garden last year [see my review] and we first encountered Liam James Karai in Opera North’s recent new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro [see my review]
See my review of last year’s gala, and full details of this year’s event from the company’s website.
