BUNGAY CHORAL SOCIETY welcomes stellar operatic soloists to its concert performance of the famous comic opera, Merrie England on May 9th.

Gillian Knight; Lucy Harvey; Matthew Spillett and Jonathan Alder will be joining Musical Director, Harvey Rathbone and the 50 voice choir for a most enjoyable evening in Bungay’s beautiful St Mary’s Church.

Set in the times of Queen Elizabeth 1, Merrie England is a very melodic tangle of mistaken identity and hidden passions. Opening in 1902 it quickly became extremely popular. Bungay Choral Society, for example, presented it to celebrate the Festival of Britain and Bungay Pageant in 1951, as well as 40 years later in 1991, when the leading roles were taken by members who are still singing with the Choral Society, including Edward Winter and Brenda Crockford.

May 9th sees the Choral Society joined by some very well known soloists indeed. Gillian Knight (contralto) has recently celebrated 35 years as a principal at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, as well as leading soloist at D’Oyly Carte and The English National Opera. She has sung in all the major concert halls throughout the world including the ‘first’ and ‘last’ nights of the Proms.

Lucy Harvey (soprano) – our own local and rapidly rising operatic star – is still a student at the Birmingham Conservatoire but is increasingly in demand as a professional recitalist. Recently she thrilled Bungay audiences recently with her performances in Fauré’s ‘Requiem’ and ‘The Messiah’, and the Choral Society is proud to welcome her back.

Matthew Spillett (tenor) has toured in the USA and Europe and has performed leading tenor roles in all the major religious works including, recently, the St John Passion in Rome.

Jonathan Alder (baritone), sings regularly with the Blythburgh singers and the Choir of St Albans Abbey. His Grandfather was conductor of the Whitchurch Operatic Society and actually met Sir Edward in 1931 after he had conducted a performance of this work.

Supporting the soloists and choir will be a 10 piece orchestral ensemble, and wielding the baton over the entire production, as he has done since January 2006, will be Harvey Rathbone Bungay Choral Society’s Musical Director. Harvey has worked with many leading British choral groups such as the BBC Singers, The London Sinfonietta Chorus, London Voices, St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir and Westminster Abbey Choir.

Bungay Choral Society, founded in 1888, presents major concerts every year. Recent performances include Haydn’s ‘Creation’; Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’; Beethoven’s ‘Mass in C ‘; Fauré’s Requiem, Rossini’s ‘La Petite Messe Solennelle’, and John Rutter’s ‘Requiem’. In addition to these very popular concerts in Bungay, Bungay Choral Society has also appeared at Snape Maltings and taken part in radio programmes.

Merrie England is now undergoing a major revival and is a fun and very pleasant way to spend a May evening. Cast off the last of the winter’s gloom by coming along and enjoying melodies which you had forgotten you even remember!!