Russell Smythe News
Irish operatic baritone
- baritone;bass-baritone;bass
- United Kingdom
- musician, opera singer
Last update
2024-04-25
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2022-07-01 09:39:29
Unsung Heroines: Lauren Fagan & Opera Holland Park Young Artists in a celebration of women composers and more
Lauren FaganUnsung Heroines: Clara Schumann, R. Strauss, Ilse Weber, Stefania Turkewich, Graciane Finzi, Bachelet, Rachmaninov, Madeleine Dring, Undine Smith Moore, Smythe, Dvorak, Rebecca Clarke, Stravinsky; Lauren Fagan, Lucy Anderson, Olivia Boen, Phillip Costovski, Gary Matthewman; Opera in Song at Opera Holland ParkReviewed 29 June 2022A last minute replacement forced programme changes, but Lauren Fagan gave us an engaging and imaginative programme, supported by Opera Holland Park's Young Artists in an eclectic and unusual mix of songsThe second of Opera Holland Park's Opera in Song recital series, curated by Dylan Perez and Julien Van Mellaerts, was Unsung Heroines on 29 June 2022. Planned to be recital of works by female composers sung by Louise Alder, in the event soprano Lauren Fagan (Violetta in Opera Holland Park's La traviata, see my review) stood in at the last moment. Lauren Fagan was joined by three of this years Young Artists, soprano Lucy Anderson, soprano Olivia […]
2022-05-22 08:53:11
Blow's Venus & Adonis and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas from HGO
[…] was a wonderfully managing PA, bouncing her boss into a relationship. Surette impressed both with her style and the confidence of her characterisation. Similarly impressive was Helena Cooke as the evil cleaning lady, wisely avoiding any tendency to funny voices yet radiating malevolence. These principals were supported by a fine group of singers in the small roles. Olivia Carrell and Abbie Ward as delightfully malevolent witch twins, Isabelle Haile as a highly confident second lady, Hannah Savignon-Smythe as the spirit in a wonderful scene where she moved from bolshie but silent servant to imperious (fake) spirit of the gods. Matthew Secombe sang finely as the sailor, again avoiding silly accents. Blow: Venus & Adonis - Ralph Thomas Williams, Elizabeth Green - HGO (Photo Laurent Compagnon) In the 'pit' Seb Gillott and his band impressed greatly in both operas, and it was their important musical contributions that lifted […]
2021-12-04 07:23:00
Classical Music News of the Week, December 4, 2021
[…] of this time of global turmoil and transformation. A trailer about the exhibition can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbYozLF08So&t=6s--Laura Gigounas, Glodow Nead CommunicationsInternational Contemporary Ensemble and Wet Ink EnsembleOn Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 7:00pm, the International Contemporary Ensemble combines with the Wet Ink Ensemble at Target Margin Theater to present new works on themes of text, language, and syntax by Rebecka Ahvenniemi, Linda Catlin Smith, Anthony Braxton, and Eric Wubbels. Performers include Lesley Mok, Cory Smythe, Eric Wubbels, Dan Lippel, Mariel Roberts, Josh Modney, and Alice Teyssier. A livestream is available on the day of the performance at https://www.iceorg.org/The event begins with a lecture by Rebecka Ahvenniemi about Pippi Longstocking, titled “Who Would Pippi Be as a Composer?” followed by a performance of her Sonata in Pippi Form (2020) for violin and piano. The program also features Linda Catlin Smith’s Dreamer Murmuring (2016), Ahvenniemi’s Dada-Aria (2019), Eric Wubbels’ If and […]
2020-12-29 01:06:00
Grammy®-Nominated Quintet Imani Winds Releases "BRUITS," On Bright Shiny Things Records
[…] write: “We are bruited. Our passages are raw, blocked. And we cannot continue this way.” The album features three world-premiere recordings: Vijay Iyer's Bruits; Reena Esmail’s The Light is the Same; and Frederic Rzewski’s Sometimes—all of which speak directly to current social and political issues, and tell stories about people whose lives have made a difference in our world. Additional featured performers on the album include Grammy®-winning pianist Cory Smythe (Bruits), Metropolitan Opera National Council & Operalia award-winning soprano Janai Brugger (Sometimes), and scholar & narrator John Whittington Franklin (Sometimes). Pianist, educator and composer Vijay Iyer’s eponymous work uses that clinical image “as a metaphor for the blocked system of justice in today’s society.” Bruits was written during the trial of Trayvon Martin (February 26, 2012), a young black man, and refers to the blockage of justice inherent in the “Stand Your Ground” law, […]
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