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01 July, 2021 â By Michael White
Don Giovanni. Photo: Mark Douet
THERE used to be a time when song recitals felt like an endangered species. People found them too intense, too difficult to follow â not least when the texts were in a foreign language. But thatâs changed, Iâm glad to say, thanks to a new breed of outstanding younger singers whose electrifying presentation is at least as good as rock stars (even without lights and mics), and to a growing universe of song-based festivals that offer them a platform.
The London Song Festival is actually one of the smaller fixtures â more modest than those at Oxford or Leeds â but it programmes interesting things. And to compensate for a season cut short last autumn by Covid, itâs running a mini-series this month at Hinde St Methodist Church, Marylebone: an intimate and comfortable venue, good for concerts.