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Lich�eld Festival 8 - 1 8 July 2021 BBC NOW• JESSICAWALKER• METRONOMES XUEFEI YANG • GRIMETHORPE COLLIERY BAND RACHEL PODGER • MICA PARIS • BALLET CYMRU CHLOË HAN SLIP • AMANDA OWEN • I FAGIOLINI ALISTAIR MCGO WAN • EDDI READER • KABANTU TRACY BORMA N • JUSTIN MOORHOUSE wwwFesti .lich�eldfestivalval . org G | 0154uide 3 306 2 71 Welcome As we filtered out after a glorious final Festival concert in 2019, little did we know the difficulties WELCOME lurking ahead. Covid has changed life for us all and, sadly, led to the cancellation of our entire 2020 season – however, albeit later than envisaged, the39th Lichfield Festival is now back to LICHFIELD bring succour and joy, as we begin to make up for what we’ve missed over the last 18 months. Artists have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, and so there is a special pleasure FESTIVAL this year as we welcome not just the return of our much-missed audience, but also the arrival of around 150 performers to the City (many of whom are freelancers, whose resilience and resourcefulness since last March can only be admired). Tickets: 01543 306271 There will be changes to the “normal” way of things, of course – our first thought this year has been the safety and well-being of our Festival-goers and those very artists – with distancing regulations in all our venues expected still to be in place this July, and many repeated and/or shorter event times to accommodate this. However, despite the restrictions detailed above, we are still thrilled to bring you a typically eclectic and exciting range of superb artists and events this July, including UK Queen of Soul Mica Paris and Brit award winnerEddi Reader, comedian, impressionist (and pianist!) Alistair McGowan, and the legendaryGrimethorpe Colliery Band. Classical music sees theBBC National Orchestra of Wales return, with a wonderfully-crafted programme to suit reduced forces, choral groupI Fagiolini (taking musical inspiration from T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland), and award-winning violinists, baroque specialistRachel Podger andChloë Hanslip, the latter joined in residency by pianistDanny Driver. Dance also features heavily in the Cathedral withBallet Cymru’s Giselle, and a night of rhapsodic Spanish flamenco, with star guitaristXuefei Yang www.lichfieldfestival.org (listed in Classic FM’s 100 top musicians) and flamenco specialist,Maria Vega. Please do keep an eye on the Festival website and social media platforms – there may be changes to this year’s programme, unforeseen at time of print, at relatively short notice. Damian Thantrey As always, we will endeavour to keep you informed of any alterations as soon as we possibly Festival Director can and, should that be the case, please bear with us in these trying and unpredictable times. FESTIVAL VENUES 2021 Lichfield Cathedral, The Close, WS13 7LD The Hub at St Mary’s, Market Square WS13 6LG St Michael’s Church, Church Street, WS13 6ED Wade Street Church, Wade Street WS13 6HL Swinfen Hall Hotel, Swinfen, WS14 9RE Lichfield Cathedral School, The Close, WS13 7LH 3 LICHFIELD FESTIVAL THANKS ALL OF OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS… Principal Festival Sponsor Major Festival Sponsors JENNY AND RAY MANSELL Platinum Event Sponsors Major Event Sponsors Festival Supporters LICHFIELD With thanks to FESTIVAL Bill Tandy, FRIENDS City Arcade, Persimmon Homes Individual Supporters and Trusts Patrons Anne and Tony Barnard, Marian and Tony Bateman, Valerie and Chris Cartwright, Hazel and David Cliffe, Emma Bridgewater Close Friends, Margaret Cooper Ramsell, Ted Green, Janette Horton, Morfudd Lamb, Lich�eld Civic Society, Michael Fabricant MP Lich�eld Conduit Lands Trust, Lich�eld District Council, Wendy and Paddy Martin, David R Mayes OBE, Valery Gergiev Shirley and Richard Newby, Nigel O’Mara, Peter Parsons, Jane Steeley, Jill Sutton, Mike and Adrienne Swallow, Tony Hadley Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust, Jerry Sykes, Helen and Vic Wiser Julian Lloyd Webber Aspire! Our 2021Aspire! Family Day fills the final Festival Saturday with a whole day of FAMILY DAY events for all the family, kicking off with a superb new version ofPeter and the Wolf, immersing children and adults alike with the story of Peter, the Bird, Duck, Cat Saturday 17th July (and Wolf!) accompanied by live musicEvents 17D & 17G(see page 41). You can then join us from 1pm to enjoy the sunshine (we hope!) outside the Cathedral for free performances of theLichfield Mystery Plays (see below), plus song and dance from local youth and adult groups, face painting, glitter tattoos and much more! Plus at2.15pm , there will be a special appearance from the world-renownedGrimethorpe Colliery Band, who will give a free mini-concert, ahead of their3.30pm & 7.30pm shows in the Cathedral (Events 17F and 17J see page 43). It is fitting that this performance of the Lichfield Mystery Plays takes place outside the Cathedral, where the final performance of the first Mysteries was performed in 1994. Hundreds of local groups and individuals have taken part in the Mysteries over the years and organisers Lichfield Mysteries Community Arts are pleased to be joining the Lichfield Festival for this special Family Day. Our 2021 plays are The Shepherds, (presented by Tower Players, Hednesford) The Nativity, (presented by Wade Street Church) The Wedding at Cana, (presented by Lichfield Methodist Church) Thursda MATHILDE MILWIDSKY SEXY LAMP Thursday Young Artist Katie Arnstein Wade Street Church50m The Hub at St Mary’s60m y 8th July 8t 12pmEvent 8A* & 6pmEvent 8C & h 2.30pmEvent 8B** £14 8.30pmEvent 8E £15 July Violinist Mathilde Milwidsky studied at the Royal College of Music. She was a major prize-winner at the Peter Pirazzi Tickets: 01543 306271 Stiftung competition in 2020, and is a previous winner of the Royal Over-Seas League competition string section. Her debut CD was released in 2020 to great acclaim, featuring music by Agnes Originally from Lichfield,Katie Zimmermann. She will be accompanied Arnstein brings her award-winning by pianistJohn Reid and her showSexy Lamp to the Festival programme includes (Pleasance Pick of VAULT Festival and Show of the Week). Mozart Sonata K526 www.lichfieldfestival.org Hindemith Sonata in E flat After lead roles at primary school, Katie always knew she had a place in show business. Since then, * Sponsored byNigel O’Mara named, speaking and fully-clothed roles have been harder to come by - but she refuses to stay in the dark. ** Sponsored byValerie & ‘as good as it gets’ Broadway Baby Chris Cartwright 7 Thursday BALLET CYMRU Ballet Cymru is an international touring Giselle ballet company, committed to inclusion 8th July Lichfield Cathedral and innovation in dance and classical 7.30pm 100m ballet, and to collaboration of the highest standard. Event 8D £32/£24/£18/£12 The company produce original, professional dance performances, Critics’ Circle Award winning company, which tour nationally and internationally. Ballet Cymru, present an extraordinary Its extensive Access and Outreach new ballet based on the eternal story of programme is committed to breaking Giselle, the young girl who falls in love down barriers to accessing the arts. with the wrong person and pays a terrible price. Ballet Cymru return to Lichfield after delighting audiences with Cinderella Featuring a new score by acclaimed (2018) and Romeo & Juliet (2019). composer and harpist,Catrin Finch, whose spell-binding music is interwoven with mesmerising movement by Ballet Cymru Artistic Director,Darius James OBE, and Assistant Artistic Director, Amy Doughty. The original libretto for Giselle was written “Pure warmth from a company full using poetry (Victor Hugo) and prose of emotion” Evening Standard (Heinrich Heine), and is now one of the most-often performed classical ballets. Sponsored by Helen & Vic Wiser If you live in the Lichfield House of Commons, London, Parliamentary constituency and SW1A 0AA need help from your MP, contact Michael Fabricant: www.michael.fabricant.mp.co.uk Friday ALEXEI WATKINS horn CLEMENTI IN Young Artist LICHFIELD 9th July St Michael’s Church Wade St Church 12pm 60m 2pm 60m Event 9A £14 Event 9B £14 Alexei Watkins studied at the Royal Italian-born English composer, piano and Academy of Music, and joins us as part instrument maker, pianist, conductor, of our newRAM at Lichfield Young Artist teacher and publisher,Muzio Clementi, collaboration. He will play a specially far left, lived in Lichfield from 1828-1831. curated programme to celebrate the He was also Beethoven’s friend and mentor, and publisher of Beethoven’s music in centenary of legendary horn player, England. Dennis Brain, accompanied by pianist Harry Rylance. Why did he retire to Lichfield and what Beethoven connection did the ‘Father of the Sonata, Op.17 Pianoforte’ have with the City? Dukas Join us for the fascinating story of his life, interspersed with live music, played on Villanelle an original 1825 Clementi square piano, Poulenc from the Finchcocks Piano Museum Élégie collection. Saint-Saëns Romance, Op. 36 Sponsored by Janette Horton Sponsored by & the Lichfield Image by Carme Magem Close Friends Civic Society Frida DANNY DRIVER piano I, ELIZABETH y St Michael’s Church60m 9 The Hub at St Mary’s 75m t 5pmEvent 9C 8pmEvent 9F* £17 5pmEvent 9D h July Following his inspirational Festival performances in 2018, 8pmEvent 9G £15 Gramophone Award nominee pianist,Danny Driver, returns for 1568: At a vital but volatile crossroads in history, a young a 2nd residency. queen steps from the shadows to reveal her thoughts on Tickets: 01543 306271 marriage, succession, religion and war. But time is against Ahead of three concerts with violinist Chloë Hanslip, here he her… plays a solo recital of French and Russian music, with works by Fauré andDebussy followed byMussorgsky ’s iconic solo Using only Elizabeth's words, adapted from letters, piano work Pictures from an Exhibition, inspired by the paintings speeches and writings, writer/performerRebecca Vaughan of the composer’s friend, the artistViktor Hartmann.