Dido and Aeneas Recording: Artist Announcement
Following the success of our BBC Proms performance of Dido and Aeneas earlier this year, our lively ensemble recorded Purcell’s masterpiece in November 2022 with Pentatone.
We are proud to announce our impressive line-up of emerging and established guest artists who feature on the recording, to be released soon.
Fleur Barron as Dido
Singaporean-British mezzo Fleur Barron has been hailed as a ‘charismatic star’ by the Boston Globe and a ‘knockout performer’ by The Times. Fleur was awarded the 2022 Schubert Prize by the Schubertíada alongside Brigitte Fassbender, and has been chosen by Het Concertgebouw as a Hemelsbestormer (Skystormer) and featured artist for the 22-23 season.
Matthew Brook as Aeneas
Matthew Brook leapt to fame with his 2007 Gramophone Award-winning recording of Handel’s Messiah with the Dunedin Consort, followed by equally critically acclaimed recordings of Acis and Galatea and St Matthew Passion. He has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe, Australia, North and South America and the Far East, and has worked with many of the world's leading conductors.
Avery Amereau as Sorceress
Since making her professional debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016 as the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, Avery Amereau has gone on to sing Olga in Eugene Onegin for Santa Fe Opera, Serena Joy in The Handmaid’s Tale for English National Opera and Cherubino in Nozze di Figaro for Grand Théâtre de Genève to name a few.
NY Times describes her as ‘an extraordinary American alto on the rise’
Giulia Semenzato as Belinda
A winner of the International Competition Toti dal Monte in Treviso and the ‘Premio Farinelli’ at the Concorso Lirico Cittá di Bologna, Italian soprano Giulia Semenzato is a champion of Baroque music and is an established recording artist. For Arcana, she has recorded Logroscino’s Stabat Mater, and for Accent, Handel’s Messiah under Václav Luks with the Collegium 1704 & Collegium Vocale 1704. Giulia’s debut recording was Cavalli’s Sospiri d’amore under Claudio Cavina for Glossa.
Hilary Cronin as Second Lady
Selected by BBC Music Magazine as a Rising Star of 2022, Hilary Cronin won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2021 London Handel International Singing Competition.
Highlights of 2021 / 2033 included Télaïre Castor et Pollux with The Opera Company and projects with Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the London Handel Orchestra, Solomon’s Knot and VOCES 8.
Engagements in 2022 / 2023 include projects with Arcangelo, English Baroque Soloists, English Touring Opera, The English Concert, Irish Baroque Orchestra, London Mozart Players, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Sixteen and her debut at Teatro La Fenice.
Nicky Spence as the Sailor
Winner of the BBC Musician Magazine Personality of the Year 2022, Nicky Spence is one of Scotland’s proudest sons. Nicky was schooled locally in Dumfries and Galloway before receiving a scholarship to the Guildhall School as their youngest singer at 17 years old. During his training, he won a record contract with Decca Records before taking a place at the National Opera Studio and latterly a position at the English National Opera as one of their inaugural Harewood Artists.
Tim Mead as the Spirit
Counter-tenor Tim Mead is praised for his ‘alluring’ and ‘consistently excellent’ interpretations by the New York Times. With his ‘rich, mellifluous sound’ by the Guardian, he is recognised as one of the finest across the generations of counter-tenors.
Tim’s already substantial discography includes Bach St Matthew Passion and B Minor Mass, the Handel oratorios Messiah, Saul, Solomon, Israel in Egypt, and Monteverdi L’incoronazione di Poppea.
Helen Charlston as First Witch
Winner of the London Handel Competition for 2018, Helen was a founder participant of the Rising Star of the Enlightenment’s programme, working alongside the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment frequently as a soloist. She is a member of Les Arts Florissants Young Artist Programme (Jardin des Voix) for 2021/22 with whom she will sing the role of Rosmira (Handel Partenope) in a tour across Europe. Helen is a BBC New Generation Artist and a 2018 City Music Foundation Artist.
Martha McLorinan as Second Witch
British mezzo-soprano Martha McLorinan trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where she held a scholarship with the BBC, won the Margaret Tann Williams Prize, and graduated with first class honours. She has been the recipient of numerous prizes including the Thelma King Award and the ensemble prize at the Royal Over-Seas League. She is a versatile singer and enjoys a varied career of oratorio, opera, consort work, session work and recitals.
‘A highly shaped, highly articulated performance, a musical tour de force’
Opera Today on performance of Dido and Aeneas at BBC Proms 2022. Read the full article here