What’s So Great About Opera?

Join Hilary Summers and Andrew West – a ridiculously tall (and Grammy Award-winning) Welsh contralto and her shorter (and long-suffering) English pianist – for a hilarious romp through the highs and lows of opera, encompassing both beloved arias from the classic canon and specially composed songs like Thoroughly Modern Hilly and I’m a Puccini Heroine Addict, all climaxing in a jaw-dropping 25-minute one-woman reduction of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Born in South Wales, Hilary Summers is one of the world’s few genuine contraltos and has made over forty CDs spanning works from the early baroque period to the present day. She has sung in most of the major concert halls and opera houses of the world.

A greatly respected interpreter of Baroque repertoire, Hilary has long been in demand for Handelian roles. On the concert platform she has given over one hundred performances of Handel’s Messiah.  Other favourite concert works include Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonnelle and Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire