Prince Consort

The Prince Consort 

Founded by British pianist Alisdair Hogarth, The Prince Consort is fast emerging as a fresh, exciting and versatile ensemble. Their performances are characterised by their polished presentation of wide-ranging and accessible programmes, which showcase different combinations of voice and piano, from solos to small groups in piano-accompanied song. The group is enthusiastically supported by their patron Sir Thomas Allen and artistic advisors Neil Mackie CBE, John Blakely, Roger Vignoles, and leading producer John Fraser.

The group consists of six founder members, who met whilst studying at the Royal College of Music. Soprano Anna Leese has appeared numerous times in leading roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and was a soloist at the Last Night of the Proms 2008. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston made acclaimed debuts at the Salzburg Festival as Carmi/La Betulia Liberata (released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon) and at the Festival d'Aix en Provence as Dido/Dido and Aeneas. Countertenor Tim Mead has recently debuted at the Royal Opera House in the world premiere of Birtwistle's The Minotaur, and at Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Title Role/Giulio Cesare. Tenor Andrew Staples won the song prizes at both the Kathleen Ferrier and Richard Tauber Awards in 2005 and has appeared as a solo artist at the Royal Opera House and with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. Baritone Jacques Imbrailo won the Audience Prize at Cardiff Singer of the World in 2007 and was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House. Alisdair Hogarth, piano, is the regular partner to many of his generation's finest young artists and made his concerto debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 15. The Prince Consort also draws on a core of highly-acclaimed guest artists including Anna Grevelius, Allan Clayton and Nicholas Mulroy.

Following their highly-praised debut in the Fresh Series at the Purcell Room (Britten's Canticles and Strauss Lieder), they hit the musical headlines when one of their recitals was auctioned for charity for £14,000. Recent performances have included a critically acclaimed interpretation of Brahms' Liebeslieder with Graham Johnson at the Wigmore Hall, Zigeunerlieder at the Oxford Lieder Festival, Orpheus Brittanicus at the Aldeburgh Festival and appearances on BBC Radio 3. They have also recently undertaken a residency at Aldeburgh and their audioblog can be heard on Classic FM's website. Other engagements include the official European premiere of Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen at the Oxford Lieder Festival 2009 and the world premiere of a piece written specially for them by Rorem at Wigmore Hall in 2010.