Opera Prelude: Love and War – Opera Arias and Duets for Soprano, Countertenor and Baritone

Alice Privett (soprano), Benjamin Williamson (countertenor), Ed Ballard (baritone), TBC (Piano)

‘Love and war are all one’ wrote Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote and how often this is true in the world of opera. In an art form that so often deals with extremes, composers and librettists have time and again been drawn to stories of passion and romance in the context of warfare, death and sacrifice. Love during times of wars can be more urgent, more fickle, more intense and more devastating. But love itself is also a kind of warfare as Cervantes implies, with the conflicts and upheavals of love often finding parallels in those of war itself, indeed, as the saying goes ‘all is fair in love and war’.
In this recital we explore arias from the baroque to the early romantic period, with works encompassing Monteverdi, Purcell, Rameau, Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini. We see characters touched by war and moved by love in arias spanning desire, seduction and devotion to jealousy, betrayal and heartbreak.

Hosted again in Holy Trinity Sloane Square, amidst the atmospheric splendour of one of the finest Arts and Crafts churches in London, this should be a thrilling recital for a cold November evening.

Opera Prelude is a small charity passionate about supporting young professional opera singers who give lecture recitals in London. These friendly and inclusive events will introduce you to the international opera singers of tomorrow by way of recitals, concerts and masterclasses.