A Woman’s Face
Janis Kelly – soprano
David Barnard – piano
3pm, Sunday 27th November 2022.
St Andrew’s Psalter Lane Church, Sheffield.
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Programme
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) / Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 – 1838)
Frauenliebe und leben Op. 42 – A Woman’s Love and Life
Link to Translation
- Seit ich ihn gesehen – Since first seeing him
- Er, der Herrlichste von allen – He, the most wonderful of all
- Ich kann’s nicht fassen, nicht glauben – I cannot grasp it, believe it
- Du Ring an meinem Finger – You ring on my finger
- Helft mir, ihr Schwestern – Help me my sisters
- Süsser Freund, du blickest – Sweet friend, you look (at me in wonder)
- An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust – On my heart, at my breast
- Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan – Now you have caused me my first pain
BREAK
W. A Mozart (1756 – 1791)
- An die Freude K. 53
- Dans un bois solitaire K. 308
- Als Luis die Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte K. 520
Traditional, based on ‘Low Down in the Broom’ / Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
- A Red, Red Rose – as published in 1821, by Robert Archibald Smith (1780 – 1829)
Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) / Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
- Chanson écossaise: Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) / Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
from Myrthen Op. 25:
- Die Hochländer-Witwe: Ich bin gekommen ins Niederland – Oh I am come to the low Countrie [sic]
John Bruce (18th C Fiddler, unknown) / Robert Burns (1759 – 1796)
- Oh, whistle and I’ll come to you, my lad (1787 – 1793)
Rufus Wainwright (1973 – present) / William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)
from All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu (2010)
- A Woman’s Face (Sonnet 20)
A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change as is false women’s fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created,
Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.
Born in Glasgow, Janis Kelly studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and at the Royal College of Music, where she was an opera scholar, a Ferrier finalist and winner of numerous awards. She studied with Lyndon Van der Pump at the RCM and continued with world-renowned soprano Elisabeth Grümmer. In the same year Janis made her Wigmore Hall recital debut and her opera debut with English National Opera where she continues to sing principal roles. Subsequently her teachers have included Dame Felicity Palmer in London and Jutta Vulpius in Berlin. Having made her MET debut in 2010 as Pat Nixon in Nixon in China, Janis recently appeared with Los Angeles Opera, Royal Opera House and Opera Toulouse. She is known for her acclaimed portrayals of roles such as Violetta, Marschallin and Rose in Street Scene along with many Britten roles and has recently added Christine in Intermezzo (Strauss), Mrs Lovett in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd for Welsh National Opera and Bertha in Barber at ROH and Glyndebourne. In Autumn 2020 Janis returned to the ROH as Marcellina and in 2021 appeared in Falstaff at Grange Park Opera and Der Rosenkavalier at ENO. In repertoire from Handel to Sondheim, Janis has performed and recorded with major orchestras on TV and radio in the UK, Europe and the USA including the BBC Proms, Aix-en-Provence, Liceu, and Virgin Classics.
Recordings for television include Inspector Morse and Lewis, also appearing in Hollywood film The Life of David Gale. Janis works closely with composers Patrick Doyle, Iain Bell, Barrington Pheloung and Rufus Wainwright. Janis is in demand as teacher, vocal consultant, in masterclasses and young artists’ programmes worldwide. Having joined the RCM vocal faculty in 2008, her notable students, including Sarah Jane Brandon, Soraya Mafi and Rosie Aldridge are now establishing themselves as soloists on the international stage and in the recording industry. Janis’s knowledge and vocal technique, drawn from the Bel Canto teachings of Martienssen-Lohmann is at the heart of her singing and teaching. She also incorporates Feldenkreis, Alexander techniques alongside psychology of performance training into her Holistic approach. Her directorial debut was with Grange Park Opera in a much-acclaimed Cosi Fan Tutte followed by Iolanthe. With the support of the RCM, Janis initiated the series History of Vocal Teaching with a film tracing the lineage of her technique directly back to Manuel Garcia followed by Singing in English – a session with Catherine Lambert and is about to launch a new film about the accompanist Robert Sutherland who played for Maria Callas on her final tour.
After initial undergraduate studies in Australia with Diana Harris OAM, David Barnard moved to the UK where he was accepted into the prestigious Britten-Pears School, British Youth Opera and Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now program. His UK-based career then began, spanning; opera, song and chamber music with recitals, radio broadcasts, alongside his work as a vocal coach and teacher. David has collaborated with numerous instrumentalists, including members of the Australian Defence Force, New Zealand String Quartet, the BBC, London, Adelaide, Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, Melbourne, Royal Concertgebouw, Antwerp, New Zealand Symphony & Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as playing orchestral piano & celeste for the Melbourne, Adelaide, New Zealand & BBC Symphony Orchestras. David is most celebrated for his recital work with singers, including; Janis Kelly, Richard Suart, Sarah Fox, Lesley Garrett CBE, Rosamund Illing, José Carbó, Elizabeth Campbell and Robert Tucker. Piano duet partners have included Malcolm Martineau OBE and Leslie Howard. Radio credits include, BBC Radio 3, BBC Scotland, RTÉ, 3mbs Melbourne, 5mbs Adelaide, ABC Classic FM (Australia) and RNZ Concert. Festival appearances include, Oxford Lieder, London Song Fest, Leeds Lieder+, Edinburgh & Buxton Fringe Festivals, as well as many guest appearances, gala performances, and concert tours, in Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Ireland, Poland, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
In 2013, David returned to the Southern Hemisphere, and worked as Head of Music for the State Opera of South Australia, whilst working concurrently for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. David also worked in New Zealand where he was the Head of Accompanying and Vocal Coaching, at the New Zealand School of Music. During his time in the Southern Hemisphere, David co-wrote a Master’s of Performance (Opera) for MCM, and re-worked the piano accompaniment curriculum into Collaborative Piano for the NZSM, in line with international models. He has also adjudicated major prizes such as the ABC Australian Young Performer of the Year (Chamber Music), the Australian National Lieder Festival and the Geoffrey Parsons Prize. In 2022, David returns home to the UK to continue his investigative work as a Churchill Fellow alongside freelance work, both in the UK and Europe. He was appointed as a vocal coach to the main opera house in Florence in 2022 and works with some of the leading opera singers in Europe.
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