Katie Emily Bray - Mezzo Soprano

First Reviews of Béatrice et Bénédict...

2011-11-23T18:30:00.003Z

Found a nice review in today's Times, and also this little one online:

"Vocally, Katie Bray as Béatrice was as idiomatically French-sounding, with her agile, full mezzo shaping the drooping phrases of her Act Two aria with great elegance, and she managed Béatrice's love-struck transformation very affectingly" - Peter Reed, Classical Source.

For other reviews see www.katieemilybray.com or visit my agent's website www.rayfieldallied.com/artists/katie-bray

New recording!

2011-10-24T20:35:00.002+01:00

I've recently recorded a few new tracks with William Vann. Please do visit my website to have a listen and let me know what you think! Go to...

www.katieemilybray.com

Concert with Graham Johnson - 10th October

2011-10-08T18:08:00.002+01:00

I was really fortunate to be asked to take part in Graham Johnson's Songmakers Almanac masterclasses at the beginning of this year, and now, Mark Austin and I have been selected to perform in this year's concert at St John's, Smith Square. 7.30pm on Monday 10th October - Mark and I are performing some Russian and English songs, and then I'm joining together with some of the other fantastic singers for some beautiful duets and quartets.

It's a wonderful programme, carefully put together by Graham and entitled Over The Moon.
Still some tickets left! Go to www.sjss.org.uk

www.katieemilybray.com

Rayfield Allied

2011-09-19T16:05:00.006+01:00

Allied Artists Agency and Rayfield Artists, two of the most respected independent classical music agencies, have now merged to form Rayfield Allied, and I am fortunate enough to have been recently signed by this agency. Fingers crossed for exciting things ahead!

Visit www.rayfieldallied.com or www.katieemilybray.com

Our first Figaro review...

2011-09-05T20:42:00.005+01:00

After opening night on Saturday, I found our first online review. Julia Rank wrote:

'Many of the ridiculously talented and accomplished cast members have at least one degree under their belts, offering a very high level of professionalism combined with youthful ebullience. Despite usually being an avid note taker, this was one occasion in which I had to put my notebook and pen away and immerse myself in the music... Katie Bray charmingly conveys household pet Cherubino's adolescent love-struck confusion, dressed up as a solider with a bucket for a helmet and broom for a sword.' www.ayoungertheatre.com

See my website for more reviews and information about forthcoming events. www.katieemilybray.com

Richard Lewis Prize Winner's Recital

2011-07-30T15:15:00.005+01:00

As a result of winning first prize in the Royal Academy of Music's Richard Lewis competition this year, William Vann and I will be performing a recital in the Duke's Hall on Friday 30th September at 7.30pm. Programme to include arias by Handel and Rossini, songs by Loewe, Schubert, Weill and Dove, and a few more jazzy numbers to send you home with a smile! Tickets on sale now from RAM Box Office.

www.katieemilybray.com

Goodbye to trouser roles...for a few months!

2011-07-30T15:10:00.001+01:00

I will be playing Beatrice in Royal Academy Opera's production of Berlioz's Beatrice et Benedict in November 2011. Sir Colin Davis will be conducting, and John Copley directing - a dream team if ever there was one! Tickets are on sale from 10th October.

British Youth Opera

2011-07-06T14:35:00.003+01:00

Rehearsals start on 18th July for Le nozze di Figaro with British Youth Opera. I'm playing one of my favourite characters, Cherubino, so you can expect plenty of flirting, leaping out of windows and generally larking about. And that's before we even get on the stage...

Performances - 3rd, 6th and 9th September 2011 at the Peacock Theatre, Holborn.

www.katieemilybray.com

Brighton Early Music Festival

2011-07-06T14:30:00.001+01:00

We're delighted to report that our Baroque group, La Terra e il Mare, have been selected to perform in the Brighton Early Music Festival on 29th October this year. We're doing a beautiful programme of Purcell, but with a few unexpected additions and alterations! Please come along to support us at White Night. FREE entry!

For info on other gigs, please visit my website - www.katieemilybray.com

Review of Die Dreigroschenoper

2011-05-20T13:54:00.002+01:00

We've had such a great time putting together this fantastic show over the last two weeks, and I'm very pleased to say we've had some lovely feedback. Here's a clip from one review I found online...

"Vocally, the undisputed star was Katie Bray as Polly. Bray gave us wonderful feel for Weill's melodic lines and for every mood, whether lyrical in her Farewell Song, waywardly self-willed in the Song of Yes and No or rapid-fire in her Jealousy duet with Runette Botha's Lucy;" David Karlin - www.bachtrack.com

See my website www.katieemilybray.com for other reviews

Comus at the London Handel Festival - Thursday 28th April 7pm

2011-04-23T19:40:00.002+01:00

We're starting rehearsals on Monday for the premiere of a new work by Handel! Comus will be directed by Martin Parr and Laurence Cummings. The music is wonderful, and we will be joined by some fantastic actors to bring the work to life. I think the performance will surprise and excite the audience, and promises to bring something unexpected to the London Handel Festival! There are still tickets left, but you need to be quick!

Elinor Rolfe Johnson (soprano)
Samuel Evans (bass)
Katie Bray (mezzo-soprano)
David Webb (tenor)

London Handel Orchestra
Adrian Butterfield (leader)

Visit my main site at katieemilybray.com

Die Dreigroschenoper - 19th and 20th May 2011

2011-04-11T12:40:00.003+01:00

We've just started rehearsals for Die Dreigroschenoper at the Royal Academy of Music. I'm playing Polly Peachum, Macheath's wife. The opera will be directed by Johnny Ramster and conducted by Dominic Wheeler. It is a wonderful opera, and particularly close to my heart as I wrote my university dissertation on Kurt Weill. As much as I love twiddling about on top Gs and singing coloratura for pages and pages, I'm thrilled about the idea of performing something a little more down to earth. There's nothing highbrow about this show. Just a great story and some extraordinary music. Tickets on sale soon from RAM Box Office.

Visit my main site at katieemilybray.com

Kathleen Ferrier Competition

2011-04-11T12:31:00.002+01:00

Good news! Will Vann and I have reached the semifinals of the 2011 Kathleen Ferrier competition. We'll be performing at the Wigmore Hall at 5:40pm on Tuesday 26th April. Please do come along!

Visit my main site at katieemilybray.com