Overview
The prestigious Wigmore French Song Exchange, led by Dame Felicity Lott, François Le Roux and Sebastian Wybrew, returns for its sixth edition. Following a year of mentorship in French mélodie, the scheme culminates with showcase performances, including one in the historic Salle Cortot in Paris. This intimate venue, akin to Wigmore Hall, hosts all eight singers and selected pianists in ensemble works and expressive solo interpretations of mélodies, showcasing the next generation of French-song talent.
This year we celebrate a rich cross-Channel dialogue, exploring English settings of French poetry and French songs on English texts, including works by English composers such as Maud Valerie White, Adela Maddison, Britten and Berkeley setting words by Hugo, Verlaine and Baudelaire, alongside French composers including Gounod, Hahn, Massenet and Poulenc inspired by Shakespeare, Tennyson and Byron – a true ‘exchange’ of language, culture and song.