Powerful musical duo: Accomplished pianist Harry Rylance & opera singer Cassandra Wright will delight audiences in Cairns for one night only next month.
Pip Miller, Media Release, 23 July 2024
Cairns-born and raised opera singer Cassandra Wright will return home from Europe next month to perform with acclaimed concert pianist Harry Rylance in a one-night-only recital at St. Monica’s Cathedral on 19 August 2024.
For the Far North’s classical music lovers, Night Songs, An Evening of Song and Opera will be an absolute treat, featuring the accomplished international pairing showcasing pieces from their debut album, In the Twilight.
The Cairns talent is celebrating the release of her debut album, In the Twilight, with Linn Records this month in collaboration with her partner, Rylance.
Ms Wright said she is excited to return home and, with Harry, perform some of the pieces from the album destined to delight audiences with operatic arias, sparkling solo piano works, and familiar songs.
Singing teaching and choral conductor (St. Mary’s Instrumental Music Coordinator and Conductor of the Cairns Choral Society Choir) Joanne Wright said while next month’s visit will be Harry’s first to Australia, many Cairns locals will remember her daughter Cassandra playing Christine in the Cairns Choral Society’s Phantom of the Opera production.
Unsurprisingly, Joanne was Cassandra’s first singing teacher in high school while her grandmother, Jan O’Donnell, taught her the piano.
“Cassandra is now working as a soprano soloist with Theater Freiburg, Germany, where she has performed in numerous operas, including The Rake’s Progress, The Magic Flute, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
According to Mrs Wright, Cassandra also looks forward to a busy 2024-2025 season, including exciting new roles at Theater Freiburg and her debut at Bühnen Bern, Switzerland, in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung.
In addition to her operatic roles, Cassandra Wright has notably performed as a soloist at the Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall. Before moving to Germany, she was also a member of the esteemed chorus at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in their 2023 summer season.
Harry Rylance and Cassandra Wright met in the opera studio at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where they both honed their performance skills and received numerous awards and academic distinctions.
Mr Rylance studied under Joanna MacGregor CBE and graduated in 2020 with a DipRAM for the highest mark in his year before being appointed as a Chamber Music and Répétiteur Fellow. He was also awarded the RAM Silver Medal and was elected an Associate of RAM in 2023.
As a soloist, chamber musician, accompanist, and répétiteur, Harry has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, the Seoul Arts Centre, Wigmore Hall, the Grand Hall of Budapest, the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and live on BBC Radio.
Recent highlights have included his recital debut at Wigmore Hall, winning the 2023 Kathleen Ferrier Accompanist Prize, working as a répétiteur for Barrie Kosky’s production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at Glyndebourne, and performances at Aldeburgh Festival as a Britten Pears Young Artist.
Harry is currently a Musician’s Company Young Artist and works regularly for the International Meistersinger Akademie in Germany and at Glyndebourne, where he will be on the music staff for their production of La Traviata next month. Other upcoming highlights include a concert tour with his horn trio and a place on the Samling Artist Programme in 2025.
Tickets are available now for Night Songs, An Evening of Song and Opera with Cassandra Wright and Harry Rylance at 7 pm on Monday, 19 August 2024, at St Monica’s Cathedral.
Tickets are $45 per person inclusive of interval wine and refreshments and are available now from Trybooking.com.
