Spring song weekend; Bernadette Johns, Alexandra Standing, Fatma Said, Joseph Middleton, Laurence Kilsby, Ian Tindale, Kitty Whately, Madelaine Newton, Kevin Whately; Leeds Lieder at Leeds Town Hall
Reviewed by Robert Hugill on 27 March 2021 Star rating: 4.0 (★★★★)
A pair of recitals from Leeds with young artists and more established names in everything from exotically seductive Ravel to Shakespeare
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Fatma Said and Joseph Middleton open Leeds Lieder’s spring festival with ravishing Ravel – “Asie, Asie, Asie. Vieux pays merveilleux des contes …” At the start of Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Tristan Klingsor’s Arabian princess proffers a languorous introduction to that ‘old marvellous land of tales’, and in this opening recital of Leeds Lieder’s spring series Egyptian soprano Fatma Said made it impossible to refuse the invitation to lose oneself in Shéhérazade’s sensuous storytelling. Tempting perfumes seemed to rise from Joseph Middleton’s flickering fingers, as Said appealed with velvety loveliness, “Asie”, each repetition a fraction more intense.
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Mezzo-soprano Kitty Whately and pianist Joseph Middleton gave a superb recital of English song as part of this year’s virtual Leeds Lieder series. Whately’s parents, actors Kevin Whately and Madelaine Newton, made it a family affair, reading poems to illuminate the themes of the various song groups. The recital, with the title “The Other Eden”, turned out to be a brilliant masterclass in the art of singing – and reading – in English.
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A feast of music in lockdown from Leeds Town Hall […] Devotees of art song will be delighted by Leeds Lieder’s early spring festival on 25th & 26th March
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Photography © Tom Arber
