Eugenia Startseva (R) and Susannah Appleyard (L)

A night of magical midsummer music in Hastings

Hastings soprano Susannah Appleyard is joining concert pianist Evgenia Startseva for a musical midsummer celebration at St Mary in the Castle.

A Midsummer Romance, on Saturday, 25th June, will feature a programme of solo piano, accompanied song and a selection of some of opera’s most celebrated arias, including compositions by Puccini, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Donizetti.

Susannah, who was born in Hastings, will be familiar to Sussex audiences having appeared in many recital, oratorio and operatic performances, including roles with English Touring Opera, Opera South East, Barefoot Opera and Woodhouse Opera. She headlined the 2014 St Leonards Festival Opera Day, singing duets with one of the UK’s leading baritones George Humphreys, and she will perform the soprano role in the spectacular outdoor performance of Handel’s Messiah at Hastings Castle in August.

Evgenia, who was born in Kazakhstan and now based in London, is a pianist with an international concert career, both as a soloist and chamber music player. In addition to regular UK appearances her busy concert schedule has taken her across the globe to the former USSR, Europe, Africa and the United States. As a chamber player she has performed with the internationally acclaimed violinist Maxim Vengerov.

Tickets for A Midsummer Romance cost £15 (concessions £12) and £12 for gallery tickets (concessions £10). Doors open at 6.45pm and the concert will start at 7.30pm. They are available via the online box office at St Mary in the Castle at www.stmaryinthecastle.co.uk, Hastings Tourist Information Centre, Breeds Place, and the Imagen Gallery in Claremont, Hastings, or by calling 07780 572260.

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