The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


Lawrence Brownlee recital at Wigmore Hall

Lawrence Brownlee recital at Wigmore Hall
25 September 2012
Eleanor MacFarlane
Eleanor MacFarlane
Avatar
Eleanor MacFarlane
25 September 2012

The human voice can be awesome and natural talent is a thing of wonder; when voices are trained, the result is a force of nature. There is something about the male Tenor voice that has long inspired adulation, appealing widely beyond an opera or classical music audience, as evidenced by Caruso and Pavarotti.

Opera singers know how to make their voices fill large auditoriums, and so filling the smaller Wigmore Hall was a breeze. Browlee’s singing was never over strained, even at the top notes of his register, nor did he indulge in showing off with over-long held notes. Instead, the music came first, and the result was an absolutely assured and controlled rendition, full of passion and nuance. The Rossini works were especially technically impressive and had the audience standing in appreciation by the end. Lawrence Brownlee quite simply has a beautiful voice, and his choice of programme was a treat of Italian and French repertoire from Verdi, Rossini and Poulenc. Often wistful, full of memory and longing, the choice of songs was well-balanced for an enjoyable evening, including the obligatory rousing toasting song expected of Tenors.

Ben Moore is a lesser-known contemporary American composer championed by Brownlee. His setting of poems by Yeats and Joyce were spare and moving. An American himself, Brownlee treated the audience, after enthusiastic applause, to an encore of the Negro Spiritual, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.

Brownlee is a charismatic and endearing performer and was accompanied on the piano by Iain Burnside. A voice and a piano – what more do you need?

Wigmore Hall is a beautiful and sympathetic space for recitals, the sound alive to all areas of the audience, even to The Upcoming who were squeezed in to the back corner of the packed hall. Built in 1901 to showcase pianos, it has long been London’s musical gem, hosting international soloists and small ensembles in intimate, unamplified acoustics. Over the stage is a golden, elegant Art Nouveau frieze to stare at while your mind wanders and lingers with the music. It’s the sort of place where you get a distinct whiff of Chanel, although the audience don’t quite rattle their jewellery.

This concert makes you want to hear Brownlee sing other great works in the Tenor repertoire, and to see him on stage in full opera flow, and it begins to make sense as to why opera singers have such a passionate following. The Rosenblatt Recitals series hosted by Wigmore features several more opera singers over the next few months. It’s a real opportunity to glimpse a touch of magic.

Verdict: •••••

Eleanor MacFarlane

Photos: Will White

The Rosenblatt Recitals continue at the Wigmore Hall until June 2013. For more information, click here.

[slideshow post_id=”54050″]

Related Items

More in

Kalissi autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW

Sardis Jaque
Read More

UNDERAGE autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW

Fashion Week Team
Read More

Margaret Howell autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW

Fashion Week Team
Read More

Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse

★★★★★
Daniel McLeod
Read More

A-Jane autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW

Sardis Jaque
Read More

Junne autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW

Fashion Week Team
Read More

An interview with Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) director Claudio Giovannesi

Mary-Catherine Harvey
Read More

“I write my books and my articles to carry out my own revenge against those who try to silence me, to shut me out”: An interview with journalist and author of Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) Roberto Saviano

Mary-Catherine Harvey
Read More

Natasha Zinko autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW

Fashion Week Team
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Babylon Beyond Borders at the Bush Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Rip It Up: The 60s at Garrick Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Johnstons of Elgin autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Demons
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Happy Death Day 2U
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kalissi autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • UNDERAGE autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Margaret Howell autumn/winter 2019 collection catwalk show for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A-Jane autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • An interview with Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) director Claudio Giovannesi
    Berlinale
  • “I write my books and my articles to carry out my own revenge against those who try to silence me, to shut me out”: An interview with journalist and author of Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) Roberto Saviano
    Berlinale
  • Berlin Film Festival 2019: Awards predictions and highlights from the festival
    Berlinale
  • Armour
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd