City of Bristol Choir: Handel's Messiah

Fast becoming acknowledged as being among the “future generation of superb sopranos,” Keri Fuge’s voice has been described as having “splendid clarity” and “silvery fire” that “sparkles in glittering numbers.” Her strong stage presence and ability to create “spellbinding pathos” has won her acclaim in the Baroque and mainstream concert and opera repertoire both internationally and in the UK.

Felicity Buckland is a versatile and energetic mezzo-soprano, with a busy schedule of professional opera and concert work, educational projects and corporate and private events. She is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, went on to train on the ENO Opera Works programme and has recently appeared in ENO’s production of Philip Glass’s opera Satyagraha. She has appeared as a soloist in a wide variety of oratorios including Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, conducted by the composer at Royal Festival Hall. She also performs and records as a professional consort and session singer, including appearing on Eric Whitacre’s Grammy Award-winning choral disc, Light and Gold.

Hailing from Cahersiveen in County Kerry, the Irish tenor Dr Gavan Ring studied at the Schola Cantorum at St Finian’s College Mullingar before reading education and music at Dublin City University. Concert highlights include performances with the London Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms and Lucerne Festival under Sir Simon Rattle, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Royal Festival Hall under Sir Mark Elder and the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Prinzregententheater under Keri Lynn-Wilson. Recital work includes regular broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Lyric FM plus appearances at Wigmore Hall, the Oxford Lieder Festival and the Ludlow English Song Festival collaborating. Opera highlights include leading roles at Opéra Royal de Versailles, Glyndebourne, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Garsington Opera, Wexford Festival Opera and Opera Holland Park.

Alex Ashworth studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has sung with opera houses including Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera. Alex sings regularly on the concert platform and has worked as a soloist for conductors including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Colin Davis and Paul McCreesh. Alex’s recordings include Œdipus Rex, Stravinsky, with the London Symphony Orchestra, Monteverdi Vespers with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bach’s B Minor Mass for Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists and Handel’s Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Festival Opera (DVD).