The fourth, 'expanded' year of the Wigmore French Song Exchange returns with three recitals: two Wigmore Hall lunchtimes and a performance at the iconic Salle Cortot in Paris.

Devised by Dame Felicity Lott and François Le Roux, two great champions of the ‘mélodie’, the Wigmore French Song Exchange offers gifted singers – and for the first time pianists, guided by the celebrated Sebastian Wybrew – a year of coaching from their mentors and guest teachers, culminating in these showcase performances.

“We wanted to share our love of French song with a new generation of singers. Come and hear beautiful young voices in this rich and varied repertoire, with well-known and lesser-known songs, plus duets. I hope that - like me - you will make some great discoveries!” – Dame Felicity Lott

In this first concert of the series, the singers take on works by Viardot, Duparc and Ravel as well as duets by Saint-Saëns and Gounod. For the first time the project welcomes pianists, who have worked closely with the singers and mentors all year, exploring every layer of French song – from the enchanting voice to the mystifying accompaniment.​

Bella Marslen

Bella Marslen is a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music, studying classical voice with Professor Janis Kelly. She is an Andrew Treagus Scholar supported by the Colin and Mimi Watts Scholarship. Bella was a 2022/2023 Young Artist and Bendat Scholar with West Australian Opera. Her performed roles include “Lauretta” and “Una Conversa” - Gianni Schicchi/Suor Angelica (2021, Freeze Frame Opera), “Soprano Soloist” - Bach Easter Oratorio (2023, West Australian Opera), and “First Wood Sprite” - Rusalka (2024, West Australian Opera). Bella was a Finalist Prize winner in the 2024 Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Awards.

Eliran Kadussi

Rising countertenor Eliran Kadussi recently completed his postgraduate studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He is a 2023-24 Alvarez Young Artist of Garsington Opera and a Young Artist of Opera Prelude. He has collaborated with renowned companies, including Grange Park Opera, Hampstead Garden Opera, Tête à Tête Festival and the London Handel Festival. On the opera stage, Eliran has performed works by Handel, Monteverdi, Britten and Stravinsky, as well as contemporary compositions, demonstrating his versatility and musical insight. He is supported by AICF, Help Musicians UK, International Opera Awards, IVAI, and the Ronen Foundation.

Johannes Moore

Johannes is a graduate from the Royal Academy of Music Opera School. He performed roles including: Sid- Albert Herring, Slook- La Cambiale di Matrimonio, Antonio, Il Conte (cover)- Le Nozze di Figaro, Nick Shadow (cover) The Rakes Progress. Other roles include Sir John Falstaff, Vaughan-Williams Sir John in Love with British Youth Opera. He studied on the prestigious Solti Accademia, and is currently performing at Glyndebourne. As a recitalist, he has performed at the Wigmore Hall, Leeds Lieder, and St John Smiths Square. He is the winner of the Richard Lewis Song prize at the Royal Academy, the David Clover competition and the Copenhagen Lied-Duo competition. Recent Oratorio highlights include Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall and Mephistopheles in Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Helene.

Archie Bonham

Archie Bonham is the Adami Award for Collaborative Piano Fellow at the Royal College of Music in London. Equally at home in vocal and instrumental chamber music, Archie received pianist prizes at the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards at Wigmore Hall and the Ashburnham English Song Competition. He is a Britten Pears and Shipston Song Young Artist, and in 2024 was a Fellow in Vocal Collaborative Piano at the Aspen Music Festival and School working in the vocal studio of Renée Fleming.

Jong Sun Woo

Jong Sun Woo is a pianist, praised for her ‘poetic and characterful’ (The Guardian) playing. Jong Sun received the Gerald Moore Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Pianist’s Prize at the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards. With her duo partner Giacomo Schmidt, she has recently won prizes at International Schubert Competition in Dortmund, IVC in 's Hertogenbosch and International Student Lied Duo Competition in Groningen. She accompanied Felix Gygli when he won the Ferrier Awards 2023 at Wigmore Hall. Jong Sun was a scholar of Lied Akademie 2021/22 Liedzentrum Heidelberger Frühling, and she is also a Samling Artist and Britten-Pears Young Artist.