Belshazzar's Feast is one of the most dramatic words in the choral repertoire and paired with a performance of Howells' extraordinary work Hymnus Paradisi - possibly the first ever performance of it in Bristol - this concert promises to be an unmissable evening, bringing together the magnificent New Zealand-born bass soloist Jonathan Lemalu, City of Bristol Choir, Exultate Singers and the Bristol Ensemble under the baton of conductor David Ogden.
Jonathan Lemalu bass baritone:
"There is no point beating around the bush. Lemalu, a New Zealand born Samoan, is a major talent. His voice defies easy categorisation, combining the depth and authority of a bass with the flexibility and vocal colouring of a baritone" Gramophone Magazine
Grammy award-winning bass baritone Jonathan Lemalu has appeared on the opera stage of leading houses from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House, on tour to Japan, Europe and Australia under the baton of such conductors as Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Charles MacKerras, Zubin Mehta, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Roger Norrington, Rene Jacobs, Vladimir Jurowski and Ivor Bolton.
On the concert platform, Jonathan's diverse operatic and symphonic repertoire ranges from Mozart, Mahler and Berlioz to Britten, Gershwin and John Adams performing with world-class orchestras such at the Berlin Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra.
Since making his debut at the BBC First Night of the Proms in 2001 while still a student at the Royal College of Music in London, Jonathan Lemalu has been a regular performer at the prestigious Albert Hall Festival, described in 2004 by the Evening Standard as 'The New King of the Proms'.
Gramophone Magazine wrote of Jonathan, "Every so often a musician arrives on the scene with a talent so richly endowed that the musical world sits up and takes note. The New Zealand-born Samoan Jonathan Lemalu is one such."