Online Recital: Rachel Chapman – soprano, Michael Haslam – piano

The Programme

Rachel Chapman – soprano
Michael Haslam – piano

Trois Mélodies
1. Pourquoi
2. La sourire
3. La fiancée perdue

Von ewige Liebe
Wie Melodien
Vergebliches Ständchen

Les Papillons
Nanny
Le Colibri

Das Rosenband
Wiegenlied
Zueignung

The Artist

Rachel Chapman is an accomplished and versatile soprano, in demand as both a soloist and ensemble singer. Rachel’s operatic experience is extensive; she has performed as a soloist with many leading UK opera companies, and works regularly as a member of the Chorus at the Royal Opera House. Her roles include Adina (L’Elisir d’amore), Angelica (Handel’s Orlando), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Micaela (Carmen), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Vixen Sharp-Ears (The Cunning Little Vixen), Woglinde (Götterdämmerung) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni).

Rachel is also an experienced oratorio soloist. Her repertoire is varied, including Bach’s St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, Britten’s War Requiem, Brahms’ Requiem, Fanshawe’s African Sanctus, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation and The Seasons, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Poulenc’s Gloria. Rachel has sung live on Radio 3’s In Tune programme.

As a consort singer, Rachel has worked regularly with some of the UK’s leading groups. Her singing has taken her as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and she has worked extensively in Europe. Rachel gained a Bachelor of Music Honours Degree at Manchester University. She undertook further training with English National Opera and currently studies with Jennie Caron.

Michael Haslam was awarded the St Nicolas Award for choristers by the RSCM when he was 13. He won an Open Scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford where he studied under Simon Preston and Francis Grier. Further studies followed at the Guildhall School of Music under Paul Hamburger and Gordon Back.

He has worked in theatre, classical music, television, films and radio as composer, arranger, pianist, organist, and conductor. He was a member of the Park Lane Young Musicians scheme and a member of Piano Circus for four years. He gave the world premiere performance of the Philip Marshall Piano Concerto in Lincoln Minster and recorded Stravinsky’s Les Noces with Vladimir Ashkenazy for Decca.

He has been Musical Director for three Olivier Award-winning theatre productions including Matthew Bourne’s Play Without Words. He was Musical Director at Shakespeare’s Globe for All The Angels in 2017. For the last five years Michael has been Director of Music at St James’s Church, Piccadilly where he played piano in Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.