Saturday 27 May, 7:30pm
This is a musical evening full of sunshine and salt water; the programme
wanders through the varied cultures of the Mediterranean Sea, taking in
mediaeval Spanish ballads, Greek songs of the Islands and Asia Minor, Italian
lute songs and madrigals, instrumental music of the Renaissance, the Arab
lands and the Ottoman Empire, romantic songs from the Bay of Naples and
the music of the exiled Sephardi Jews.
Italian singer
Alessandra Testai is accompanied by
Robin Jeffrey on the lute
and its eastern relatives, the Arabian oud and Greek laouto, on the Spanish and
Baroque guitar, and hand percussion.
Click here for ticket information, available in advance at £11 (£12.50 on the door). No charge for under-18s.
Alessandra was born in the port city of Livorno, Tuscany. She began her singing studies at the age of 16 at Liceo Musicale Pietro Mascagni, subsequently attending the University of Pisa. She continued her singing studies in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Alessandra has her musical roots in the varied traditions of Italian song – opera, classical recital repertoire and the popular songs of the street and countryside.
She has sung as a soloist in opera and oratorio in several international festivals throughout Europe; roles include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Cortona, Italy), Eve and Gabriel in Haydn’s Creation (Cyprus) and various roles in Cavalieri’s Rappresentazione di Anima e di Corpo (La Chaise-Dieu, France, and Southwark Festival, London), Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, The Island Princess and Dido and Aeneas, Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Cimarosa’s Amor Rende Sagace.
Robin Jeffrey studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music. A versatile performer on instruments of the lute and guitar families, he has played and recorded with many of the well-known names in the early music field, including The Sixteen, The King’s Consort, the Purcell Quartet and Red Byrd.
