Mary Bevan steps in for Joelle Harvey for US Ariodante Tour

Unfortunately, Joelle Harvey has been forced to withdraw from US performances of Ariodante due to ill health. We are grateful to Mary Bevan for stepping in at short notice to sing the role of Dalinda.

Mary Bevan is a long-standing collaborator with The English Concert, who most recently joined us on our Far East tour alongside counter-tenor Tim Mead last Winter. Entitled ‘Shakespeare in Love’, the orchestra’s second visit to mainland China, with performances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Wuhan and Beijing, set about exploring the Bard’s influence over key English baroque composers, including music from Purcell’s Fairy Queen (based upon A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Locke’s The Tempest, and Handel’s Giulio Cesare, as well music by Shakespeare’s contemporaries.

‘Bevan delighted in the extreme mood swings of Purcell’s “Mad Bess” from Pausanias.’ – Financial Times

‘… Mary Bevan’s bewitching Susanna. It was entirely appropriate that the first night should conclude with Bevan receiving this year’s Exceptional Young Talent award from the Critics’ Circle, because the perfection of her singing is allied to a natural dramatic gift.’ – Independent