Elizabeth Watts was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral, studied archaeology at Sheffield University, before attending the Royal College of Music. She was selected by the Young Concert Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2004, won the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Prize, and in 2007 was awarded the Outstanding Young Artist Award at the Cannes "MIDEM Classique Awards". She gained international recognition at the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, winning the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize and selection for BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists Scheme.
With a voice described by International Record Review as "one of the most beautiful Britain has produced in a generation" the critical success of her first recording of Schubert lieder, as part of an exclusive contract for SONY Red Seal, has now established he as "one of the brightest new talents" (The Independent).
In this recital she will be accompanied by Simon Lepper, "whose prowess as a pianist is fused with a real sensitivity to words and to the voice, is a rarity indeed”. (The Times). Simon is an Associate of the Royal Academy and has recently been appointed professor of piano accompaniment at the Royal College of Music, London. He is also official accompanist for the BBC Singer of the World Rosenblatt Song Prize and the Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, and plays regularly for the Thomas Quasthoff masterclasses at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.
We are delighted to be welcoming these great young artisits to Sevenoaks to give a recital which will include Lieder by Schubert (including Die Forelle), Richard Strauss (Das Rosenband and Drei Lieder der Ophelia), and Wolf (Italienisches Liederbuch).