Praised for her ‘beautiful depth of expression and emotional intelligence’ (The Telegraph), soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn is one of today’s best-loved British singers. For her Edinburgh recital with her duo partner Simon Lepper, Llewellyn has chosen a programme of opulently sensual songs in five languages.
All the repertoire is drawn from the fervid and richly colourful world of late Romanticism. Alongside the emotional intensity of Richard Strauss and Henri Duparc’s soaringly melodic songs, the duo turns to the British-African composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, whose oratorio Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast was the toast of Victorian England, and whose music Llewellyn has been championing around the world.
The programme also delves into Amy Beach’s settings for Robert Browning’s poetry, a group of folksong-inflected delights from Antonín Dvorák, and four impressionistic depictions of nature by Duparc’s contemporary Ernest Chausson. The programme is bookended by a rarely heard marvel from Gerald Finzi and songs by Giacomo Puccini that round off the concert in a near-operatic style.
Presented by Edinburgh International Festival
(The Times)"Llewellyn is in such fine voice: she has everything for Strauss’s long lines, and her smoky soprano flares with power and vulnerability."
Programme
Elizabeth Llewellyn Soprano
Simon Lepper Piano
Finzi 'Till Earth Outwears Op 19'
Duparc 'Chanson triste', 'L’invitation au voyage'
Chausson ‘Sérénade italienne’, ‘La derniere feuille’, ‘Le colibri’ & ‘Les papillons’ from 7 Mélodies Op 2
Strauss ‘Einerlei’ from 5 Kleine Lieder Op 69; ‘Nachtgang’ from 3 Lieder Op 29; ‘Du meines Herzens Krönelein’ & ‘Ach lieb, ich muss nun scheiden’ from Schlichte Weisen Op 21;‘Ständchen’ from 6 Lieder Op 17
Coleridge-Taylor ‘Oh, what comes over the sea?’, ‘When I am dead, my dearest’, ‘Oh, roses for the flush of youth’ & ‘Unmindful of the roses’ from Six Sorrow Songs Op 57
Beach Three Browning Songs Op 44
Dvořák ‘O, nasi lásce nekvete’, ‘V tak mnohém srdci mrtvo jest’, ‘Já vím, ze v sladke nadeji’, ‘Nad krajem vévodí lehky spánek’ & ‘V té sladké moci ocí tvych’ from Písne milostné Op 83
Puccini 'Terra e mare'; 'Sole e amore'; 'Casa mia'; 'La primavera'; 'Sogno D’or'; 'Morire?'
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Elizabeth Llewellyn and Simon Lepper