This is London Magazine May Edition 2026 - Flipbook - Page 16
16
City of London Choir.
Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke
SUMMER MUSIC IN CITY
CHURCHES
Set in the heart of London’s historic
Square Mile, Kestrel Music’s nine-day
festival, Summer Music in City
Churches, returns with a world-class
roster of artists taking a musical voyage
‘Around the World’. Hosted across five
atmospheric, acoustically rich churches,
this year’s theme explores music
inspired by cities, landscapes and
traditions. From traditional song and jazz
arrangements, to lush choral harmonies
and orchestral favourites, the
programme celebrates sounds of town
and country, both at home and abroad.
Guest artists are drawn from the finest
musicians and collaborative partnerships
performing internationally today, including
Rachel Nicholls and Michael Dussek,
Lucy Parham with Juliet Stevenson, Mark
Bebbington with Alistair McGowan, and
Iain Farrington’s jazz trio.
Opening the festival, the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor
Gergely Madaras conjure the
Mediterranean warmth of Spain and Italy
in works by Rossini, Ravel and
Mendelssohn. They are joined by guitarist
Jack Hancher, 2022 Royal Overseas
League Gold Medalist and EuroStrings
Artist, as soloist in Rodrigo's evocative
Concierto de Aranjuez.
There are opportunities to hear the
City of London Choir led by Daniel Hyde
(pictured left), on two contrasting
occasions; as part of a festival Choral
Evensong in the grand tradition of
British cathedrals, and to celebrate
traditional song rooted in the land –
from George Shearing's jazz settings to
Elgar in Bavaria, in the festival’s finale,
‘Islands and Highlands’.
Stepping away from the international
opera circuit, soprano Rachel Nicholls
(pictured below) partners with pianist
Michael Dussek to bring international
flair to the recital stage in ‘Invitation to
Journey’; an exploration of French and
English song through the works of
Walton, Duparc, Poulenc, and Debussy.
Composer-pianist Iain Farrington
revisits with his Art Deco Trio, bringing
jazz reimaginings of traditional melodies,
shanties and spirituals from around the
world, including his own composition,
‘Voices of the World’, composed for the
coronation of King Charles III.
Festival Director Jenny Robinson
said: ‘’A sense of place is at the heart of
our festival – the clue is in our name! –
so this year we’ve chosen a theme that
develops that idea. We celebrate the City
itself, from which so many pioneers of
the past set out to discover the world,
then take off... Our fabulous artists will
be performing music closely identified
with place – with a beloved city or
country, or with traditions inextricably
linked to land. There’s a spirit of
adventure overseas and also an element
of home thoughts from abroad – all
gorgeous music to inspire and enjoy.’
Summer Music in City Churches was
founded in 2018, presenting beautiful
music to engage, divert and inspire, in
ancient and architecturally stunning
churches in London's Square Mile.
Standing cheek by jowl with City offices,
these churches are glorious settings in
which to listen and reflect: oases of
history, beauty and peace amidst the
24-7 hurly-burly of City life.
BELLINI’S I PURITANI AT ROYAL
OPERA HOUSE
Olivier Award winning director
Richard Jones is to present a brand-new
staging of I Puritani at the Royal Ballet
and Opera for the first time in 35 years.
Jones has directed many of The Royal
Opera’s most successful productions,
most recently the Olivier Award winners
Festen (2025) and Alcina (2022), as well
as long-standing productions of Boris
Richard Jones's I Puritani, The Royal
Opera © 2025 Ruby Pluhar
Godunov (2016) and La Bohème (2017).
He transforms Bellini’s work with a
compelling, gothic new staging,
exploring the tenderness of true love and
the shattering anguish of loss.
Acclaimed bel canto soprano Lisette
Oropesa takes on the demanding role of
Elvira, with virtuosic coloratura passages
and otherworldly arias. She appeared in
The Metropolitan Opera’s I puritani in
December 2025 to widespread praise.
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