A benefit concert supporting English Touring Opera’s work with young artists, and its live opera performances.
Ann Murray DBE is a renowned mezzo-soprano, particularly celebrated for her performances of roles by Handel, Mozart and Strauss. Her distinguished career has seen her perform all over the world, including regular performances with the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, The Metropolitan Opera and the Bavarian State Opera. Away from the opera stage, Ann has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors in major concert halls worldwide.
For some time Ann has generously helped English Touring Opera by offering coaching to emerging artists engaged by the company. On this occasion she has agreed to sing some of her favourite arias with orchestra to benefit ETO’s work with young artists.
This is a rare opportunity to hear Ann perform in the intimate setting of West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge. She will sing music by Handel that has become strongly linked to her name, including arias from Giulio Cesare, Serse, Ariodante and Alcina. Ann will be joined in duets and arias by principal singers from ETO’s autumn season and ETO’s period orchestra partner, the Old Street Band, conducted by Jonathan Peter Kenny.
Ann Murray was born in Dublin. She has close links with both the English National Opera, for whom she has sung the title roles in Handel’s Xerxes and Ariodante and Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where her roles have included Cherubino, Dorabella, Donna Elvira, Rosina, Octavian, new productions of L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Ariadne auf Naxos, Idomeneo, Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Cosi fan tutte, Mosè in Egitto, Alcina and Giulio Cesare.
In concert she has appeared with the world’s great orchestras and her recital appearances have taken her to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Geneva, Dresden, Zurich, Frankfurt, Madrid, London, Dublin, Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Munich and Salzburg Festivals and both the Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna. Her discography reflects not only her broad concert and recital repertoire but also many of her great operatic roles.