Episode 354. Get to Know April Cantelo
SOCIAL SHARE
SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
Only recently have I become fully aware of the exceptional voice and artistry of the late April Cantelo (02 April 1928 -16 July 2024). When she died last summer, I began more fully exploring her recorded output and to my surprise and delight, I found myself ranking her among the very finest 20th century British sopranos. It’s my great privilege to offer a full episode showing the wide range of musical genres that she effortlessly assayed. If her performances of Handel seemed near-definitive, it must also be remembered that she created the role of Helena in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream in the summer of 1960 and championed the work of countless contemporary composers, including two heard here, Hugh Wood, and Malcolm Williamson, with whose works in particular she was closely associated. She is also featured in recordings of Grieg, Berlioz, Arne, and Wagner.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Maurice Greene, William Shakespeare: Orpheus with his lute (Henry VIII). April Cantelo, Raymond Leppard [1961]
Hector Berlioz (after William Shakespeare): Je vais la voir (Béatrice et Bénédict). April Cantelo, Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra [1963]
George Frideric Handel: Why so full of grief, my soul? (As Pants the Hart [Chandos Anthem No. 6], HWV 251b). April Cantelo, Ian Partridge, David Willcocks, Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields [1968]
Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears (after William Shakespeare): A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Two excerpts, world premiere performance, Aldeburgh 11.VI.60. April Cantelo, Marjorie Thomas, George Maran, Thomas Hemsley, Benjamin Britten, English Opera Group Orchestra.
- Act II. Injurious Hermia! Most ungrateful maid!
- Act III. Helena!… Hermia!… Demetrius!… Lysander!
Hugh Wood, Ted Hughes: The Horses, Op. 10. April Cantelo, Paul Hamburger [1974].
- I. The Horses
- II. Pennines in April
- III. September
Edvard Grieg, Henrik Ibsen: Solveig’s Song (Peer Gynt). April Cantelo, Alexander Gibson, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [1963]
Malcolm Williamson, Dag Hammarskjold: Hammarskjold Portrait [excerpt]. April Cantelo, Ashley Lawrence, BBC Concert Orchestra [London 16.XI.77]
Richard Wagner (after William Shakespeare): Kennst du das Leid der Elternlosen (Das Liebesverbot). April Cantelo, Edward Downes BBC Northern Orchestra [BBC recording 27.VI.76]
Hugh Wood, Edwin Muir: The Rider Victory, Op. 11. April Cantelo, Paul Hamburger [1974].
- I. The Rider Victory
- II. Sorrow
- III. The Bird
- IV. Confirmation
Edvard Grieg, Henrik Ibsen: Solveig’s Cradle Song (Peer Gynt). April Cantelo, Alexander Gibson, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [1963]
Thomas Arne, William Shakespeare: Come away, Death (Twelfth Night). April Cantelo, Raymond Leppard, English Chamber Orchestra [1961]
George Frideric Handel, Charles Jennens [text compiled from the King James Bible]: I Know that My Redeemer Liveth (Messiah). April Cantelo, Walter Susskind, London Philharmonic Orchestra [1958]
I was delighted to see your tribute to April Cantelo here. In my very first term at RNCM I was sent by my then teacher to sing duets with April’s pupils. This soon developed into the Living Library Class in which April would coach many of the singers at the college through a large range of repertoire.
She did indeed have a huge knowledge of repertoire to share having sung so extensively herself. Her expert technical knowledge of singing was kindly offered to all.
It is so good that her legacy as a singer can be heard through her many recordings , with more live recordings coming to light all the time. She had a voice of such beauty and above all was a singer who was totally connected to the music , the words and the emotion of whatever she sang.
I’m so delighted to hear from you! April Cantelo was but one of a large number of British sopranos in the 1950s and 1960s who were truly a cut above! I’m thinking, just for starters, of Jennifer Vyvyan, Elsie Morison, Sheila Armstrong, Elizabeth Harwood, Jill Gomez, and so many others, alongside the exquisite April Cantelo, all of them, like Cantelo, committed to the supremacy of the word. And don’t even get me started on the mezzos! (I hope you also found my recent Maureen Lehane episode, BTW). I so appreciated you sharing your personal reminiscence of April. And yes, there are a number of YouTube posters who seem to have taken on the project of unearthing some of Cantelo’s most fascinating recordings. More than a few of my musical examples on the episode came from those very posters! Thanks again for listening.