Friday 8 October 2021
7PM
St Paul's Church Covent Garden
The Anglo-Portuguese Society presents the award-winning soprano Lara Martins singing Canção, her latest album of Iberian-American songs.
She is best known as the longest-serving Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera. Canção offers beautiful music from both sides of the Atlantic – Argentina, Brazil, Fado and contemporary classical-jazz songs by pianist and composer Daniel Bernardes and others.
Established as an operatic diva as well as a star of musicals, Lara’s diverse roles have included a record-breaking run as Carlotta in London’s Phantom of the Opera, The Magic Flute’s Queen of the Night, and Candide’s Cunegonde. Lara’s repertoire reveals a singer with great versatility: from Mozart to Sondheim, Donizetti, Richard Strauss, Manuel de Falla, Kurt Weill, Gershwin, Bernstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
CANÇÃO includes compositions by five composers starting with tango from Argentina’s founder of nuevo tango, bandoneon virtuoso Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992). The album also features two miniature pieces of music – Data and Barco – composed specifically for Lara by Portuguese composer Daniel Bernardes set to the poetry of celebrated Portuguese poet, Sophia de Mello Breyner. These songs encompass jazz influences within modern classical and jazz themes.
The majority of the pieces on CANÇÃO are from the works of the late Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri (1907 – 1993). Shortly before his death in 1993, Guarnieri was awarded the Gabriela Mistral Prize from the Organisation of American States as recognition of his work as the greatest contemporary composer of the Americas.
The last 3 compositions on CANÇÃO are the high point of the album, including the fado ballad ‘Trova do Vento que Passa’ by Alain Oulman. Tenderly performed, Lara’s voice hovers on the edge of a deep emotional chasm and keeps the tension perfectly balanced. Com que voz’ and ‘Abandono’ are also from Portuguese songwriter, Alain Oulman, who wrote some of Amália Rodrigues’ biggest hits.
Read more about Lara Martins
Tickets:
Members of the APS (including new members) – Free admission (contact info@apsociety.co.uk for promo code and then use it on the St Paul's website)
General Admission – £20
Concessions – £15
Students – £10
Book nowclick here
Please book your tickets and we look forward to seeing you there.
