One of France’s most celebrated sopranos, Véronique Gens enjoys an international career spanning opera, concerts, recitals and recordings. Renowned as one of the finest interpreters of Mozart and the French repertoire, she was named Gramophone Artist of the Year 2023 in recognition of her exceptional artistry and distinguished career. She is joined by pianist Joseph Middleton, hailed by the New York Times as “the perfect accompanist.“
Véronique Gens, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Thursday 5th November 2026, 7.30pm
An evening of exquisite French mélodie, exploring the rich poetic and musical worlds of Fauré, Debussy, Duparc, Hahn and Poulenc.
Gabriel Fauré
Le papillon et la fleur
Au bord de l’eau
Lydia
Les berceaux
Claude Debussy
Nuit d’étoiles
Fleur des blés
Henri Duparc
Chanson triste
L’Invitation au voyage
Au pays où se fait la guerre
Romance de Mignon
Claude Debussy
La cathédrale engloutie – Piano solo
Reynaldo Hahn
Trois jours de vendange
Le rossignol des lilas
Néère
Tyndaris
Francis Poulenc
Selections from Banalités :
– Hôtel
– Fagnes de Wallonie
– Voyage à Paris
– Hyde Park
Les chemins de l’amour
Please note there is no interval for this recital.
“Exponents of French song do not come any more distinguished than Véronique Gens…”
“Their partnership was as impressive as you’d expect…”
MusicOMH ★★★★★
Melanie Eskenazi
Acclaimed Egyptian soprano Fatma Said joins pianist Joseph Middleton for a programme spanning the intimate world of Schumann’s Dichterliebe, the vibrant colours of de Falla’s Seven Popular Spanish Songs, and music from her Egyptian heritage. Celebrated for her radiant voice, exceptional musicianship and gift for storytelling, Said has established herself as one of the most compelling recital artists of her generation. Together with the acclaimed pianist Joseph Middleton, she invites audiences on a musical journey that transcends borders, languages and traditions.
Fatma Said, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Saturday 14th November 2026, 3pm
From Schumann’s Dichterliebe to Egyptian Song
Robert Schumann
Dichterliebe
-Interval-
Manuel de Falla
Seven Popular Spanish Songs (Siete canciones populares españolas)
Egyptian songs
To be announced from the stage
“Spellbinding, revelatory… Song recital heaven.” — The Arts Desk
“Joseph Middleton, the perfect accompanist.” — The Times
Press Highlights
The Guardian, The Arts Desk & The Times
Lauded by The Guardian for her “dark and focused” voice, “sensational coloratura” and “spectacular singing,” and by The Times for her “fierce, indeed terrifying” portrayals, Glaswegian Beth Taylor is one of today’s most electrifying young mezzo-sopranos.
Beth Taylor, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Tuesday 2nd Feb 2027, 7.30pm
An evocative programme of British song, folklore and seascapes, culminating in Elgar’s magnificent Sea Pictures.
Francis George Scott: I wha aince in Heaven’s Heicht
Herbert Howells: There was a Maiden
Francis George Scott: The Eemis Stane
Herbert Howells: Madrigal
Erik Chisholm: Prayer
Herbert Howells: A Widow Bird
Erik Chisholm: White Blood of Innocence
Herbert Howells: Girl’s Song
Ethel Smyth: Three Moods of the Sea
I.Requies
II.Before the Squall
III.After Sunset
Rebecca Clarke: The Seal Man
-Interval-
Germaine Tailleferre: Vocalise
Traditional Orcadian arr. Cameron Biles-Liddell: The Grey Selkie of Sule Skerrie
Sir Edward Elgar: Sea Pictures
– Sea Slumber Song
– In Haven
– Sabbath Morning at Sea
– Where Corals Lie
– The Swimmer
“Sensational” — The Guardian
“Autumnal warmth” — The Times
Press Highlights
The FT, The Guardian & The Times
One of the most celebrated Lied interpreters of his generation and hailed as one of the foremost Schubertians of our time, Ian Bostridge joins acclaimed pianist Joseph Middleton for an exceptional programme exploring two composers at the heart of his artistic life. With a career spanning the world’s greatest concert halls and opera houses, and recordings recognised with fifteen Gramophone Awards, Bostridge brings unrivalled insight, intensity and imagination to the music of Schubert and Britten.
Ian Bostridge CBE, tenor
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Thursday 18th March 2027, 7.30pm
Ian Bostridge and Joseph Middleton present a deeply expressive journey through Schubert’s lyrical landscapes and Britten’s profound Holy Sonnets of John Donne, illuminating the poetry, drama and emotional intensity of the Lied tradition.
Schubert
Im Frühling D882
Über Wildemann D884
Der liebliche Stern D861
Tiefes Lied (Im Jänner 1871) D876
Auf der Brücke D853
Aus Heliopolis I D753
Aus Heliopolis II D754
Abendbilder D650
Ins stille Land D403
Totengräbers Heimweh D842
-Interval-
Britten The Holy Sonnets of John Donne Op.35
“One of the foremost Schubertians of our time.”
“The perfect accompanist.” — The New York Times
Press Highlights
South African soprano Golda Schultz, lauded as one of today’s most talented and versatile artists, is as at home in leading operatic roles as she is a featured soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors.
“The South African soprano is blessed with one of the most golden, rich-toned voices of her generation” — Opera, September 2024
Golda Schultz, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Sunday 13th June 2027, 3pm
Programme details coming soon
Details coming soon
“A voice that is warm, natural, focused and glowing.” — BR-Klassik
“A radiant-voiced and tenderly innocent Sophie.” — The New York Times
“Her voice has a gentle, silky glow of moonlight.” — The New York Times
“The South African soprano brought a programme of female composers that brimmed with intelligence and charm.” — Bachtrack
Press Highlights
Recent Events
One of Britain’s most beloved baritones, Roderick Williams OBE returns to the Bliss Song Series for an evening of song with renowned pianist Joseph Middleton.
Roderick Williams OBE, baritone
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Tuesday 16 June 2026, 7.30pm
6.45pm: Pre-concert ‘In Conversation’ with Roderick Williams & Joseph Middleton, hosted by Luke Fitzgerald, Janeway Director of Music, Pembroke College Cambridge
Programme: “Love flows as the brook flows…”
Full programme
Franz Schubert – Das Wandern / Somewhere
George Butterworth – Loveliest of Trees
Joan Trimble – Green Rain
Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Vagabond
Franz Schubert – Wohin? / Where now?
Ina Boyle – A Song of Enchantment
Gerald Finzi – Overlooking the river
Franz Schubert – Der Neugierige / Curiosity
Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Water Mill
Rebecca Clarke – Down by the Salley Gardens
Franz Schubert – Ungeduld / Impatience
Michael Head – Tewkesbury Road
Franz Schubert – Mein! / Mine!
-Interval-
Franz Schubert – Mit dem grünen Lautenbande / The Green Ribbon
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Silent Noon
Roger Quilter – Brown is My Love
Franz Schubert – Der Jäger / The Huntsman
Gerald Finzi – He Abjures Love
Franz Schubert – Die liebe Farbe / Her Favourite Colour
John Ireland – We’ll to the Woods No More
Roger Quilter – By a Fountainside
Herbert Howells – The Sorrow of Love
Benjamin Britten – O Waly, Waly
Franz Schubert – Des Baches Wiegenlied / The Brook Sings a Lullaby
NB The whole programme will be sung in English
Tues 16th June – Exhibition – curated by Mark Wormald
By a happy confluence of theme with Roderick and Joseph’s concert, Pembroke’s Exhibition Room is currently home to one part of a major public exhibition, ‘Living Water: Poetry, Art and the Fight for Clean Rivers’, curated by Mark Wormald, Fellow in English at Pembroke. It provides a fascinating insight into the creative and personal relationships of British-born Irish painter Barrie Cooke and his two deepest friends, poets Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney. Mark has agreed to open the exhibition to anyone attending this evening’s concert; it will be available for you to visit before the pre-concert ‘In Conversation’ on stage, between the talk and the concert, and during the interval. Feel free to ask him any questions! The exhibition room is located up stairs from the Auditorium foyer by lift or stairs. Just follow the signs from the foyer.
Cambridge University Lieder Scheme Showcase Recital
📅 Friday 8 May 2026, 7.30pm
Lydia Baldwin, soprano & Eben Eyres, piano
James Gooding, bass-baritone & Zosia Dzimitrowizc, piano
Edie Behr, soprano & Rosalyn Cheng, piano
Harry Gant, tenor & Isaac Chan, piano
This special event features our four talented singer-pianist duos from the University of Cambridge Lieder Scheme, performing a diverse programme of art songs. Each duo has been coached by Joseph Middleton throughout the academic year.
Programme
LYDIA BALDWIN soprano
EBEN EYRES, piano
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Gretchen am Spinnrade, D.118
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
C’est l’extase langoureuse
from Ariettes oubliées, L.60
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
La mort d’Ophélie, Op. 18
Clara Schumann (1819–1896)
Lorelei, Op. 53 No. 2
Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983)
La rue chagrin
Kurt Weill (1900–1950)
Je ne t’aime pas
Pauline Viardot (1821–1910)
Madrid
JAMES GOODING bass-baritone
ZOSIA DZIMITROWICZ piano
Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Là-bas, vers l’église
from Cinq mélodies populaires grecques
Gerald Finzi (1901–1956)
Summer Schemes
from Earth and Air and Rain, Op. 15
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Belsazar, Op. 57
Robert Schumann
Mondnacht
from Liederkreis, Op. 39
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
O, dolga budu ja, v molchan’i nochi tajnoj
(In the silence of the secret night)
from Six Romances, Op. 4
–INTERVAL–
EDIE BEHR soprano
ROSALYN CHENG piano
Claude Debussy
Green
from Ariettes oubliées, L.60
Claude Debussy
Nuit d’étoiles, L.4
Franz Schubert
Du bist die Ruh, D.776
Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
Ein Traum
from Sechs Lieder, Op. 48 No. 6
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Après un rêve
from Trois mélodies, Op. 7 No. 1
Alfred Bachelet (1864–1944)
Chère nuit
HARRY GANT tenor
ISAAC CHAN piano
Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2
Franz Schubert
Die Taubenpost
from Schwanengesang, D.957
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Before Life and After
from Winter Words, Op. 52
Benjamin Britten
Oh my blacke soule!
from Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35
Franz Liszt (1811–1886)
Oh! quand je dors
Frank Bridge (1879–1941)
Go not, happy day
🎟️ Admission: £5 (card payment only, at the door) or Free for students
British countertenor Hugh Cutting—former choral scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, first countertenor to win the Kathleen Ferrier Award and a BBC New Generation Artist (2022–25)—returns to the city for a highly anticipated recital with acclaimed pianist Joseph Middleton, hailed by the New York Times as “the perfect accompanist.”
Hugh Cutting, countertenor
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Thursday 5 March 2026, 7.30pm
6.45pm: Pre-concert talk with Sir Nicholas Kenyon — Distinguished Affiliate Scholar of Pembroke College, former Director of the BBC Proms and Controller of BBC Radio 3, and now Opera Critic of The Telegraph.
Programme: ‘Morpheus’
In Morpheus, a programme shaped by dreams, night, and the blurred edges of reality, Cutting brings together an inspired mix of composers including Purcell, Cavalli, Strozzi, Schubert, Britten, Bolcom, Hahn, Muriel Herbert, and more.
Full programme
Burgon – This Lunar Beauty
Cavalli – ‘Erme solinghe e cime’
Purcell – One Charming Night
Rameau – L’entretien des Muses (Piano solo)
Muriel Herbert – How beautiful is night
Elgar – In Moonlight
Bach – Concerto in D Minor BWV 974: II Adagio (Piano solo)
Britten – ‘I Know a Bank’
Schubert – Erlkönig
Rodney Bennett – Baby, Naughty Baby
-INTERVAL-
Britten – Evening (This Way to the Tomb)
Hahn – Le Rossignol des Lilas
Hahn – L’Enamourée
Debussy – Préludes / Book 2, L.123: 5. Bruyères (Piano solo)
Traditional, arranged Anna Semple – She Moved Through the Fair
Gerschwin – The Man I Love (Piano solo)
Bolcom – Song of Black Max
Weill – Lost in the Stars
Strozzi – Amor dormiglione
Experience Deutsche Grammophon artist Hera Hyesang Park—praised for her “radiant, seemingly effortless singing” (The Times)—in her Bliss Series debut with “perfect accompanist” Joseph Middleton, in a spellbinding recital of global song, lyrical beauty, and dramatic flair.
Hera Hyesang Park, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Thursday 12 Feb 2026, 7.30pm
6.45pm: Pre-concert In Conversation with Joseph Middleton and Professor Polly Blakesley, Master of Pembroke College, discussing the significance of Lieder within Pembroke College’s musical life.
Programme: This captivating programme journeys from the elegance of Italian art song in works by Donaudy and Tosti to the vibrant colours of Spain, with music by Albéniz and Montsalvatge. After the interval, the recital expands into a rich international tapestry, featuring Spanish, French, German, Korean, and Latin American repertoire. Highlights include Granados’s evocative La maja y el ruiseñor, Fauré’s Clair de lune, and a passionate finale of Spanish-language classics by Grever, Velázquez, and Gardel.
Full programme
Stefano Donaudy (1879–1925)
Amorosi miei giorni
Vaghissima sembianza
O del mio amato ben
Paolo Tosti (1846–1916)
Non t’amo più
L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra
Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909)
Recuerdos de viaje, Op. 71– Rumores de la Caleta (Malagueña) – (Piano solo)
Xavier Montsalvatge (1912–2002)
Cinco canciones negras
-Interval-
Antón García Abril (1933–2021)
María Soliña
Namdu Cho (b. 1984)
Bird Song
Hak-Yun Yoon (b.1973)
On the Way to You (Traditional Korean song)
Enrique Granados (1867–1916)
La maja y el ruiseñor (from Goyescas)
Ernesto Halffter (1905–1989)
Ay, che linda moça
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Clair de lune
Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Estampes – La soirée dans Grenade (Piano solo)
Franz Lehár (1870–1948)
Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß (from Giuditta)
María Grever (1885–1951)
Te quiero, dijiste
Consuelo Velázquez (1916–2005)
Bésame mucho
Carlos Gardel (1890–1935)
El día que me quiera
🎟 Tickets: £5 on the door (card payment only) or Free for students
Public Masterclass – Sir Thomas Allen, baritone
With the Cambridge University Lieder Scheme Students
📅 Friday 6 Feb 2026, 2-5pm
Come and observe the legendary baritone Sir Thomas Allen working with the students of the Cambridge University Lieder Scheme.
Don’t miss Dame Sarah Connolly—one of the finest Mahlerians of our time and 2023 recipient of The King’s Medal for Music—in recital with “perfect accompanist” Joseph Middleton.
Dame Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Sunday 30 Nov 2025, 3pm
2.15pm: Pre-concert talk by Richard Stokes, MA, Hon RAM, Professor of Lieder at the Royal Academy of Music
Programme: Songs by Brahms, Mahler, Debussy, Errollyn Wallen & Kurt Weill
Full programme
Brahms
Von waldbekränzter Höhe
Es träumte mir
Unbewegte laue Luft
Verzagen
Von ewiger Liebe
Mahler – Rückert-Lieder
-Interval-
Debussy – Chansons de Bilitis
Errollyn Wallen – Night Thoughts
Kurt Weill
My Ship
Speak Low
Trouble Man
Je ne t’aime pas
Don’t miss this unforgettable recital by Grammy Award-winning soprano.
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
📅 Saturday 1 Nov 2025, 7.30pm
6.45pm: Pre-concert talk by Dr Jane Hines, specialist in German romantic music
Programme: Songs by Schubert, Brahms, Schönberg & K.Weill
Full programme
Franz Schubert
Rosamunde D797 Romanze zum Drama Rosamunde
Des Mädchens Klage D191
Auf dem Wasser zu singen D774
Der Tod und das Mädchen D531
Die junge Nonne D828
Nachtstück D672
Nacht und Träume D827
Der Zwerg D771
Brahms Vier ernste Gesänge
-Interval-
Arnold Schönberg
Galathea
Gigerlette
Der genugsame Liebhaber
Mahnung
Arie aus dem Spiegel von Arkaien / Seit ich so viele Weiber sah
Kurt Weill
Berlin im Licht
Je ne t‘aime pas
Klops Lied
Nana‘ s Lied
Youkali
