Gemma Summerfield News
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2024-03-29
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2023-12-02 12:00:44
[…] overwhelming work the masterpiece of a composer still, nearly a century after his death, awaiting critical redemption. It doesn’t hold back, which makes others squirm.A new recording, in German, may be the longed-for boost the mass needs. Mark Elder, a natural for this work, rouses his forces into life with subtlety and focus, as well as gusto. All praise to the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor, Collegium Musicum Choir and soloists Gemma Summerfield, Claudia Huckle, Bror Magnus Tødenes and, in the prominent baritone role, Roderick Williams. I was converted.
2022-07-20 08:50:00
Purcell writ large: a lavish Dido and Aeneas at the BBC Proms
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas - Nicky Spence, La Nuova Musica - BBC Proms (Photo: Christopher Christodoulou)Purcell: Dido and Aeneas; Alice Coote, James Newby, Gemma Summerfield, Madeleine Shaw, La Nuova Musica, David Bates; BBC Proms at the Royal Albert HallReviewed 19 July 2022 (★★★) A large-scale account of Purcell's opera that revelled in the sheer gorgeousness of orchestral textures, and gave us a series of striking moments that never quite added up to operatic dramaWe have no idea what the first performance of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas sounded like, we're not even sure when it took place. All we have are possibilities, probabilities, and a few certainties, plus manuscript material that dates from well after Purcell's death. So conductors and soloists are free to create a performance in their own image. And whatever the circumstances of the opera's first performance, it is highly unlikely to have taken place in a space as large […]
2022-04-12 07:08:30
Historical stagecraft & modern sensibilities: a powerful Tamerlano from Cambridge Handel Opera Company
[…] about the choice of the subject for Handel's opera, even though his treatment of the characters is very different. Handel's extensive revisions to the opera before the first performance led to cuts and deletions, and we heard three excised numbers; two of which were probably the first UK performances! Mezzo-soprano Lydia Haynes (doing double duty as Irene and Andronico) and counter-tenor Eliran Kadussi (as Tamerlano) sang two duets from Handel's original ending, whilst soprano Avalon Summerfield gave us Asteria's lovely Cor di Padre, all three accompanied by Julian Perkins (piano). And having interviewed Dionysios Kyropoulos recently, it was lovely to hear him talk of his approach to historical stagecraft and actually demonstrate the techniques he was talking about. Never miss out on future posts by following us The blog is free, but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation […]
Norman Lebrecht - Slipped disc
2022-01-31 10:21:25
The Crewe-born soprano Gemma Summerfield has won the... The post English soprano wins big in Barcelona appeared first on Slipped Disc.
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