Lesley-Jane Rogers    soprano 

at Handel-Haus, Halle, Germany 

... with celebrated soprano Lesley-Jane Rogers reaching stunning top notes with ease - Tempo Magazine


characteristic ... vivid ... beautifully captured here by Lesley-Jane Rogers - The Sunday Observer


powerful and moving in Lesley-Jane Rogers' superb performance - MusicWeb International


The seductive, passionate voice of Lesley-Jane Rogers - Hangszer és Zene


Lesley-Jane's performances throughout are excellent - International Record Review


A composer's dream soloist - Michael Finnissy


Recitals

Lesley-Jane's wide-ranging recital repertoire incorporates Lieder, Mélodies, English song and American song, as well as light-music programmes.  Following the tragic death of her long-standing pianist Christopher Ross, she is currently forging new recital duos with the exciting young pianist Jennie-Helen Moston, and the renowned harpist Danielle Perrett.

2008  Recitals:

Friday 11 January 2008, 1.10 pm
RECITAL featuring works by John Joubert
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham

Thursday 6 March 2008, 8.00 pm
RECITAL including Leighton Animal Heaven
Powis Hall, Bangor University Music Department

Thursday 24 July 2008, 7.30 pm
RECITAL
Nantwich Parish Church

Wednesday 13 August 2008, 10.30 am
Lake District Summer Music RECITAL to celebrate Sir John Manduell
St Martin's Church, Bowness

Friday 12 September 2008, 12.45 pm
'A Little Bite Music' Series RECITAL: "About Love"
Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Saturday 4 October 2008, 7.30 pm
RECITAL
Stockport Grammar School, Stockport

Thursday 18 December 2008, 1.15 pm
RECITAL to celebrate Sir John Manduell
Royal Northern  College of Music, Manchester

For full details of Lesley-Jane's concert diary or for booking enquiries, please e-mail:

info@lesleyjanerogers.demon.co.uk

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TRIBUTE to Chris Ross

Lesley-Jane Rogers worked regularly with the pianist Christopher Ross for fifteen years. Given the very special nature of the relationship between singer and accompanist, it is with immense sadness that the tragic death of Chris Ross in December 2005 brought this dynamic duo to an end.  

Lesley-Jane writes: "tapping into each other’s mode of expression and interpreting songs together requires a particular symbiotic relationship; Chris and I would sometimes start with very different ideas about a work, but we loved exploring the possibilities and would always end up with a cohesive view about a piece.  I believe we had a certain spark in performance and this was something that we delighted in sharing with our audiences.  To say that I sorely miss him is a huge understatement.  I'm only thankful that we did at least manage to record two CDs together."

Full details of Chris and Jane's CDs - Schubert Lieder and English Song - may be found on the Penchant website, where secure on-line purchases may also be made.

Christopher Ross, piano, and Lesley-Jane Rogers, soprano, during their English Song CD recording sessions

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* * * *

Lesley-Jane also works closely with the recorder player John Turner. John’s dedication to new music is legendary, but it is his particular interest in 20th century English music that has led to Lesley-Jane giving performances of songs by such interesting composers as Peter Crossley-Holland, Julius Harrison, Percy Young, Thomas Pitfield, Stephen Dodgson, Ian Parrott, Cyril Scott, Wilfrid Mellers, Walter Bergmann and John Joubert among others. She has recently recorded four of John Joubert's song cycles in honour of his 80th Birthday in 2007. The resulting CD, entitled John Joubert Four Song-Cycles, was released in May 2007 on the Toccata Classics label [TOCC 0045].

In the 'English Composer' series for the Campion/Cameo label, Lesley-Jane may be heard on:

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* * * *

Lesley-Jane is also Director of the group Dramatis Personae:

Lesley-Jane Rogers, soprano

Edward Peters, baritone

Jennie-Helen Moston, piano

 

Jane with Ed Peters on lawn

Dramatis Personae give concert-staged* recitals, usually around a chosen theme. They offer a lively, visual display, drawn from a wide range of scenas, arias and duets, taken from opera, oratorio, cantatas, masques, dialogues and shows. Popular themes include A Night at the Opera, Aspects of Love, "A Woman's Place...", Stars and Stripes, and Myth, Magic and Legend. Such was the success of one particular concert, that mayhem ensued in the library's entrance/exit corridors as members of the general public stopped to watch the show through the glass doors!

*Concert-staging: Dramatis Personae stage their performances without the aid of theatrical scenery or lighting, but dressing as appropriately as possible, using props where needed, and acting out the roles they are playing.

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