01 Dec 2009 - Festive Spirit

It's been an awfully long time since I wrote, and - although I say this every time - my feet have barely touched the ground. And now Christmas comes winging its way and there'll be less time again! Still, my Christmas cake is made and the lovely music I have ahead of me in these three busy weeks is enough to give angels wings, and keep some ping in my voice. The summer was a wonderfully busy round of festivals at first: from Lichfield to Gregynog, from Chester to Cheltenham, and this year also saw me perform for the first time at the Edinburgh International Festival, alonside the Royal Flanders Ballet (no, not dancing). The work was entitled 'The Return of Ulysses' and my role was to voice the grief and woe of Penelope, through Purcell arias. Even though I felt a heffalump next to such lithe and expressive dancers, I was welcomed very warmly and the shows were heart-meltingly beautiful and a delight to be a part of. I returned to the Festival later that month with the Sixteen to perform Bach motets and Purcell's Fairy Queen, and the welcome was just as warm. Not only was I busily singing, but July and August were filled with presenting opportunities. I've been working hard this year on a project for S4C, produced by the company Pop1, called 'Y Sopranos' ('The Sopranos': no, no Mafia connotations.) It's a six-part documentary about great soprano arias, their composers and history, and I've been lucky enough to present AND perform in many stunning cities, such as Venice, Vienna, Paris and Salzburg, so the summer was a whirl of European treasures. Do tune in when the series is broadcast in March 2010. That wasn't my only stint on television, as I also spent a week at the National Eisteddfod in Bala, presenting daily highlights from Wales's packed and exceptionally sunny cultural highpoint! But having spent the last two years presenting BBC's Proms in the Park from Singleton Park, Swansea, this year I swopped wellies and picnic for gladrags and heels, and performed in the glittering concert. In a programme that ranged from Handel and Haydn to Hello Dolly, I had a whale of time, alongside BBC NOW and Only Men Aloud - and I guarantee that we had more fun than the Royal Albert Hall! September and October were taken up with filming BBC 4's next series of Sacred Music with The Sixteen, following the huge success of the last one, so as a group we travelled to Douai Abbey, Arundel and many beautiful London churches to sing a variety of wonderful pieces, once again with Simon Russell Beale presenting. And since then I have busied myself with some wonderful concerts: Brecon Baroque Festival, Haydn's Creation in King's College Chapel with the Choir and the Academy of Ancient Music, St Paul's Cathedral with John Rutter and the RPO, and the Pontarddulais Male Voice Choir's 49th annual concert in the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, with none other than my fabulous baritone husband - it's the only way we get to see each other! Christmas is fast approaching, as are some exciting and sparkling concerts to keep me entertained this month, before I crack open the mince pies and hang up my tonsils. Until 2010...