fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2026: Dante’s Lovers and Visionaries

Dante’s Lovers and Visionaries

Inspired by Dante’s La Commedia, this evocative program traces a journey from the torments of Inferno to the redemptive vision of Paradise. Liszt’s monumental Après une lecture du Dante features amongst a sequence of works exploring Dante’s most compelling figures, including the tragic Francesca da Rimini. At the heart of the concert is the world-premiere of Gordon Kerry’s major song cycle Dante and Beatrice, performed by soprano Rachel Joyce, mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd, tenor Boyd Owen, and baritone Christopher Hillier. Drawing on Sir Samuel Griffith’s English translation (OUP, 1911), with story adaptation by Margot Costanzo and libretto by Costanzo and Kerry, the cycle charts Dante’s spiritual passage toward Beatrice. Music by Granados and new commissions, including Gulliver Poole’s Paper Love, create an unmissable Dantean tableau.

Wednesday 22 April, 7:30pm