LOCAL: St Barnabas Fundraiser
Cancelled Opera premieres online raising £445 for hospice care
A young trio of performers who studied at the Royal College of Music together have premiered an online concert in aid of St Barnabas House, after the live event was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Despite hospice supporters, Sir Peter and Lady Meryl Walters, not being able to host guests in the grounds of The Old Vicarage in Washington as planned, they worked with the talented performers to record the concert in their vicarage gardens. The performance was watched online by hundreds of hospice supporters on 24 September and raised £445 for St Barnabas.
Julieth Lozano Rolong, a Colombian soprano, Christian Andreas, a German baritone, and Theodor Uggla, a Swedish tenor, spent lockdown in a bubble together. Unable to work, they chose to spend their days rehearsing for the concert in support of St Barnabas House.
Julieth, 28, says: “‘It was an absolute pleasure to make music to support St Barnabas House. This has been a particularly tough time for the arts and our spirits also needed a space to breathe and a chance to share what we love doing so much. What better way to do so than for a good cause.
“We had a wonderful day in the gardens, planning the locations for each piece and trying out singing in open air with no microphones.”
The trio chose a wide repertoire, ranging from a Mexican folk song to Mozart, Donizetti and more, by a mixture of song, opera arias and ensembles. One of the numbers that Christian and Julieth performed was from Mozart’s The Magic Flute – ‘Papageno and Papagena’, a duet almost at the end of the opera, when he finally finds love. ‘Panis Angelicus’ by Cesar Franck was chosen as a prayer for everyone that has been affected by COVID-19.
Claudia Pearce, Community Fundraiser at St Barnabas House says, “We’re so grateful to the hugely talented trio and to Sir Peter and Lady Meryl Walters for helping make this concert a reality. Their enthusiasm and kindness after the live event had to be cancelled has been incredible.
“The concert was thoroughly enjoyed by St Barnabas House supporters in the comfort of their own homes and has already raised £445 for the hospice.”
The concert is available to watch on the St Barnabas House website: www.stbh.org.uk/music-in-the-gardens.Tickets are not required, but a suggested donation of £5 via JustGiving will go directly towards providing hospice care at St Barnabas House.
