RCM Students in Aldeburgh
Friday 25 November 2016
Royal College of Music students appeared last week at Snape Maltings, the home of Aldeburgh Music.
Internationally acclaimed counter-tenor and RCM professor Lawrence Zazzo presented an open workshop on Handel’s Acis and Galatea with RCM singers and instrumentalists. The workshop performance followed a four day residency at Snape Maltings, during which Lawrence worked with RCM students in exploring Handel’s preferred, but rarely performed, 1730s three-act serenata version of the work.
On rehearsing and performing at Snape Maltings, RCM soprano Jennifer Coleman said: ‘It has been a wonderful experience discovering Handel’s alternative version of Acis and Galatea – a hidden gem among his repertoire. Working with Lawrence Zazzo has been inspirational; he has a contagious enthusiasm and I particularly enjoyed the coaching he gave me in baroque ornamentation. As a young artist, it has been an invaluable opportunity and I was very excited to be in Aldeburgh for Britten’s 103rd birthday.’
RCM soprano Rowan Pierce and RCM tenor Joel Williams also appeared in Aldeburgh with RCM professor Caroline Dowdle, giving a recital at RCM alumnus Benjamin Britten’s former home, The Red House. The recital formed part of an exhibition marking the centenary of the late Basil Coleman, the theatre, opera and television director responsible for producing some of Britten’s most important works for the stage.
Rowan, Joel and Caroline were invited to perform at The Red House by director Will Kerley, an RCM supporter and Basil Coleman trustee. Coleman’s generous bequest to the RCM supports vocal students and productions staged by the RCM International Opera School. The current recipients of the Basil Coleman scholarships are RCM soprano Amy Manford and RCM bass-baritone Harry Thatcher. The RCMIOS’ acclaimed production of Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel in Summer 2016 was supported by Coleman’s bequest, as will be the Summer 2017 opera (title to be announced).
