Festival Feature: Singing Senstations

This year's festival sees the welcome return of hugely talented British baritone Benedict Nelson, as well as performances from Ferrier winner Sarah-Jane Lewis, sopranos Ruth Jenkins-Robertsson and Raphaela Papadakis, and Michael Dore, Ria Jones and the West End's Phantom of the Opera Geronimo Rauch as guests of the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Here is what the critics say:

Benedict Nelson: “a hugely talented baritone with a smoothly elegant mahogany timbre, complemented by an intense and reflective musicality …he feels the music deeply and wants to honour it. His breath control is immaculate, his sense of phrase imaginative, his stage presence handsome and unaffected.” Daily Telegraph, March 2013

Sarah-Jane Lewis: "her wonderfully serene and assured stage presence reaches out to her audience.... [her performance] made the listener long for every next word." The Times April 2014

Raphaela Papadakis: “sang with great beauty” The Times, May 2009

Michael Dore: "has a superb voice which effortlessly encompasses a wide range of style with a gentle emotional intensity." Musician Magazine, UK

Geronimo Rauch: “Every time he sang, I found myself with goose-pimples.” London Theatre Reviews

Ria Jones: “Each time Jones took to the stage it was clear she meant business; she absolutely went for every song and blew me away with 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' (Evita)” West End Frame

Tickets are sold out for the BBC Concert Orchestra, but still available for Viva Vivaldi! (12 July) and Shakespeare’s Songs (13 July).