Artists

One of the most exciting talents to have emerged in recent years, British baritone Huw Montague Rendall has already made hugely acclaimed debuts on some of the world’s most important stages such as the Royal Ballet & Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opéra National de Paris, Festival d’Aix en Provence, and the Salzburg and Glyndebourne Festivals, earning rapturous acclaim for his compelling artistry, stage craft and musicianship.

Winner of the 2024 Oper! Awards for Best Newcomer, this season sees the release of Montague Rendall’s debut album recording, Contemplation, with Warner/Erato where he is an exclusive recording artist. His opera engagements start with David McVicar’s loved production of Le nozze di Figaro as the Count at the Royal Ballet & Opera. He then makes a very exciting house and role debut at the Wiener Staatsoper in the title role in Billy Budd before returning to the Opéra national de Paris for a highly anticipated new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Other engagements include Eisenstein Die Fledermaus with Les Musiciens du Louvre and Marc Minkowski in Baden-Baden and Paris; Count Le nozze di Figaro in a new production at Glyndebourne Festival; a European tour with Pygmalion Ensemble and Raphaël Pichon of Bach’s Johannespassion; his Wigmore Hall recital debut; Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch with Erin Morley and Malcolm Martineau; and a recital with Joseph Middleton at Pembroke College Cambridge.

Last season’s highlights include Eisenstein Die Fledermaus with Staatsoper Hamburg and Les Musiciens du Louvre on tour at the Teatro Real and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro; his first Don Giovanni in concert at Opéra de Rouen; and a huge triumph in the title role of Pelléas Pelléas et Mélisande at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. On the concert platform, he performed a solo recital at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and made his debut with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, singing Mahler’s heartbreaking Kindertotenlieder.

Joseph Middleton is Director of Leeds Song, Musician-in-Residence at Pembroke College Cambridge and a Professor and Fellow at his alma mater, the Royal Academy of Music.

The 2024/25 season sees Joseph partner artists including Veronique Gens, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Ian Bostridge, Dame Sarah Connolly, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Huw Montague Rendall, Roderick Williams, Florian Boesch, Christoph Prégardien, Carolyn Sampson and James Newby in recital. Joseph also returns to the Berlin BoulezSaal and Schubertiade Schwarzenberg with Sophie Rennert and his recording projects include an ongoing 5-album set of Mahler Lieder for Signum Records and Wolf Lieder for BIS Records.

Programme

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Die schöne Müllerin