All Heavenly Things

Nicky Spence tenor
Malcolm Martineau piano

Two Leeds Lieder favourites join forces and bring their customary cheer to Yorkshire. Hailed by the Daily Telegraph as “a voice of real distinction,” Nicky Spence is fast emerging as “one of our brightest young tenors”. An artist of great integrity, Nicky Spence’s unique skills as a singing actor and the rare honesty in his musicianship are steadfastly earning him a place at the top of the profession. In demand at opera houses across the globe, including The Met, Covent Garden, ENO and Teatro Real Madrid, Spence is also a regular guest at Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw and Zürich’s Tonhalle. Tonight he gives the world premiere of 3 Verlaine Songs by Mark Simpson, a composer well-known to Leeds audiences following his triumph at Opera North with Pleasure. 

Programme to include:

Debussy 3 Mélodies de Verlaine

Schumann Hochländers Abschied, Jemand, Hochländisches Wiegenlied,
Dem roten Röslein gleicht mein Lieb, Niemand

Shostakovich O wert thou in the cauld blast, Macpherson’s Farewell, Jenny

Mark Simpson 3 Verlaine Settings

Wolf Ihr seid die Allerschönste

Britten The Choirmaster’s burial

Jonathan Dove Song IV

Chaminade Si j’étais jardiniér des cieux

Hahn A Chloris

Dunhill The Cloths of Heaven

Parry From a City Window,Through the Ivory Gate

Holst The Heart Worships

Bridge The Last Invocation

Wolf Wenn du, mein liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf

‘Spence’s voice is fast becoming a thing of wonder; the heights of dramatic tenordom await.’ What’s on Stage

‘One of the world’s finest accompanists’ New York Observer 

Tickets: £25, £23 (conc), £5 (U26/students)