Belinda williams
PINNACLE SUITES HOTEL
FRIDAY 23RD MAY | 9.30PM
SOPRANO
We are delighted to welcome opera stars Harry Kersley and Belinda Williams to Cowes Fringe 25. Performing together for the first time, they will take us on a breathtaking journey into the rich and emotive art form that is opera accompanied by island bred James Longford.
International star soprano Belinda Williams studied at the Royal Academy of Music Opera Course, and gave her Wigmore Hall debut recital at age 26. Belinda then went on to forge a successful operatic career in Germany and was picked to be Bayreuth Wagner Scholar.
Belinda has recently appeared as Gerhilde for the British Wagner Society alongside Sir John Tomlinson, and travels to France this summer to reprise the role of Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Opera de Baugé. In 2021 she was named the Women's Radio Classical Woman of the Year, and once sang Italian opera hits on the Alan Titchmarsh Show.
James Longford
ACCOMPANIST
James’ sensitive and scintillating musicality, allied with specialised skillsets on multiple keyboard instruments, has enabled a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, répétiteur and educator – from the BBC Proms and young composers workshops in Wales, to festivals in the Middle East and beyond. He became a Steinway Artist in 2014.
He is a regular Music Director for Scottish Opera’s Opera Highlights, and has been music staff for the Royal Opera, Aldeburgh Festival, ETO, ENO, Garsington Opera, Really Useful Group, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Schauspiel Köln, Bregenzer Festspiele and Gare St Lazare Ireland. He is also a studio pianist for the BBC Singers.
Closer to home, James is a passionate educator and works with many local choirs, music festivals and education projects on the Island. He is a director of Ryde Revival, a not-for-profit CIC aiming to bring the landmark heritage building Ryde Town Hall back to life as a multi-venue arts centre.