Jennifer Johnston, mezzo-soprano
Julius Drake, piano

A passionate advocate for song and programme curation, Jennifer Johnston unveils The Golden Age of Hollywood with pianist Julius Drake this spring. This thoughtfully curated evening tells a remarkable story – how European composers, fleeing their homelands during the turbulent 1930s, transformed exile into opportunity, joining their American counterparts during the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’. Widely regarded as one of Britain’s most commanding vocal talents, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston has carved out a distinguished career as a consummate interpreter of the monumental works of Mahler, Wagner, Britten, Beethoven, and Elgar, making her the soloist of choice for many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors. In 2021, Johnston was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer Award, honouring her “commitment and emotional force” in both performance and education and, beyond the stage, she is a passionate and articulate advocate for the Arts.

Programme
Korngold Sonett für Wien
Weill Youkali
Schoenberg Tauben von Gurre (Gurre-Lieder)
Eisler Hollywood; I Saw Many Friends
Castelnuovo-Tedesco Piccino Piccio; Ninna Nanna
Hermann I Have Dreamt (Wuthering Heights)
Korngold When You Are Gone (Tomorrow); Marietta’s Lied (Die tote Stadt)
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Rota Speak Softly, Love (The Godfather, unaccompanied)
Waxman A Place in the Sun (film of the same name)
Moross Another Day, Another Sunset (The Big Country)
Tiomkin The Green Leaves of Summer (The Alamo)
Rozsa The Falcon & The Dove (El Cid); Spellbound (film of the same name)
Steiner Devotion (Consolation Marriage); My Own True Love (Gone With The Wind)
Sherman Brothers Feed the Birds (Mary Poppins); Hushabye Mountain (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang); Fain I Know You (Sleeping Beauty); I’ll Be Seeing You (film of the same name); You Can Fly! (Peter Pan)
Washington When You Wish Upon A Star (Pinocchio)