Friday 11th April
6.00pm
Welcome Reception
Festival passholders
Oscar’s, Ludlow Assembly Rooms
Festival passholders are invited to join us for a light, buffet supper and drinks ahead of the evening’s performances.
7.30pm
Heart’s Haven
Andrew Hamilton (baritone) & Iain Burnside (piano)
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (75 mins)
English songs meet songs in English. Jeremy Sams’s translations of German Lieder sit next to music by Vaughan Williams in a delicious, Italian-flavoured selection.
9.30pm
Songs of Auld Lang Syne
Lute songs from the courts of King James VI and I
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (45 mins)
Soprano Mhairi Lawson and lutenist Paula Chateauneuf share 17th century songs from England, Scotland & Italy, including music by Henry Purcell and Barbara Strozzi.
Saturday 12th April
10.00am
Talk: The Art of Translation
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (60 mins)
An exclusive event for festival passholders: Katy Hamilton chairs a discussion including lyricist and translator Jeremy Sams, writer Jessica Duchen, and pianist Ian Tindale.
11.30am
A Lovers’ Tiff
The wonderful, complicated mess of human connection
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (75 mins)
A journey along the bumpy course of true love, with Bethany Horak-Hallett (mezzo) and Dan D’Souza (baritone), featuring a variety of songs from Wolf to Weill.
2.00pm
Film: Janet Baker In Her Own Words (2019)
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (1hr 40mins)
John Bridcut’s acclaimed portrait of Britain’s greatest classical singer of the 20th Century featuring excerpts of some of her most celebrated performances.
Ticket includes entry for Dame Janet Baker in Conversation at 4.00pm.
4.00pm
Talk: Dame Janet Baker in conversation with John Bridcut
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (60 mins)
A very special occasion as Dame Janet Baker joins us in conversation with John Bridcut to discuss her life, voice and career. Open to all passholders or with a ticket for the film.
7.30pm
Buzz!
Lotte Betts-Dean, Brett Dean, & Iain Burnside
St Laurence’s Church (75 mins)
Visionary Australian mezzo Lotte Betts-Dean, known for her ‘irrepressible sense of drama and unmissable, urgent musicality’ (The Guardian), performs alongside her father, internationally acclaimed violist & composer Brett Dean.
Friday 11th April and Sunday 13th April at 4.30pm
Bonus Event
Join a Guided Tour of St Laurence’s Church
St Laurence’s Church (60 mins)
Join a friendly, expert tour of the wonders of Ludlow’s ‘Cathedral of the Marches’ for just £5. Proceeds support St. Laurence’s Church. Open to all festival goers but numbers are strictly limited.
Sunday 13th April
10.00am
Talk: Brett Dean in conversation with Katy Hamilton
Festival passholders
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (60 mins)
An exclusive event for festival passholders: Katy Hamilton talks to Brett Dean, violist and celebrated composer of vocal, chamber and orchestral music, about his work.
11.30am
Young Artists Masterclass
with Dame Ann Murray
Festival passholders
Ludlow Assembly Rooms (90 mins)
An exclusive event for festival passholders: The great Irish mezzo Dame Ann Murray leads an inspirational masterclass, guiding two young singers through the challenges of English Song repertoire.
2.30pm
One that kept his word
A.E. Housman in songs and letters
Ludlow Assembly Rooms
A unique portrait of the complex, difficult man behind ‘A Shropshire Lad’, devised by Iain Burnside. Three wonderful singers are joined by actor Alex Jennings (The Queen, The Lady in the Van) as Housman.