Zarzuela Concert: Duo Cantelina & Wine Reception
Zarzuela is a type of musical theatre that originated in Spain, distinctively blending instrumental music, vocal performances (such as solos, duets, and choruses), and spoken dialogue – although in some instances the spoken elements can be omitted. Zarzuela quickly spread across the Spanish and American territories, with many Spanish-speaking nations, particularly Cuba, establishing their own traditions. In the Philippines, zarzuela also became a significant cultural tradition, where it is known in some dialects as sarswela or sarsuela. Spain itself has regional and linguistic variations, such as the Basque zartzuela and the Catalan sarsuela.
This event is supported by Instituto Cervantes
Event Details:
Time: 5pm
Date: Tuesday 1st October
Location: School of the Arts Libary
Duo Cantelina (Sophie Clarke mezzo soprano, Ravi Nathwani classical guitar)
Praised as "such an amazing talent", Cantelina are a dynamic vocal and guitar duo comprising of mezzo-soprano Sophie Clarke and classical guitarist Ravi Nathwani. They have been selected as International Guitar Festival Young Artists for 2024-2025 just after completing their masters at the Royal Northern College of Music this June. During Their time at the RNCM they received First Place in the RNCM Bessie Cronshaw/Frost Brownson Song Cycle Competition. Cantelina perform in a selection of concerts all over the UK and last October they were invited to perform for the National Day of Spain. Other performances include a recital for Buxton Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre and pre-concert and post-concert performances for BBC Philharmonic and The Hallé, both at Bridgewater Hall. The duo also record a selection of music from Spanish art song to crossover arrangements for commercial release and have amassed several thousand loyal listeners across digital music platforms. Most recently, they performed their classical crossover arrangement of Billy Joel's 'And So It Goes' live on BBC Radio Merseyside. Ravi has also arranged numerous other pieces for the duo showcasing the ensemble’s versatility.
Biography Sophie Clarke
Sophie Clarke is a Mezzo-Soprano, Actor and Recording Artist with a classic charm. Praised for her "beautiful story telling" and "touching performances", Sophie has entered the music industry with hundreds of thousands of loyal listeners and a line of successful performances.
Originally from Liverpool, Sophie has performed as a soloist in prestigious concert venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall and Bridgewater Hall and she is currently charming audiences all over the UK and Ireland with London Concertante Orchestra on their West End Musicals Tour. Sophie has just completed her MMus and Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Singing and Opera at the RNCM where she was the first student at the college to be sponsored by the international Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Her Principal sponsor during her time at the RNCM was Peter Snook. Sophie is the RNCM Song Cycle Competition Winner 2023 and the Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition Winner 2022, for which she was subsequently invited to perform as part of the London Song Festival.
Recent highlights include performing as a soloist for The Hallé 2024 Steve Reich Festival alongside Colin Currie, playing the role of the 'Witch' in Sondheim's 'Into The Woods' for the RNCM 50 Year Anniversary and performing as the Mezzo-Soprano Soloist in Bernstein’s 'Mass' firstly at The Royal Festival Hall in London, conducted by Marin Alsop, and then at Bridgewater Hall for the Manchester Premiere, conducted by Clark Rundell. In June of 2023, Sophie was delighted to make her Wigmore Hall debut singing works by composer Larry Goves to celebrate the RNCM 50 Year Anniversary. In addition to theatre and television appearances,
Sophie is a recording artist and has recently reached over 1.7 Million streams, downloads and social media uses for her commercial recordings. Her debut Album ‘Then Sings My Soul’ in available in four HMV stores and has been played on radio stations all over the world. Sophie has also performed live on BBC Radio Merseyside as part of Eurovision 2023.
Biography Ravi Nathwani
Ravi Nathwani is an exciting young British Asian guitarist from Reading. He completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at The Royal Northern College of Music under the tutelage of internationally renowned guitarist Craig Ogden. He has performed at prestigious venues such as Wigmore Hall, The Bridgewater Hall and Stoller Hall. He is the recipient of the Help Musicians UK Postgraduate Award and The Julian Bream Development Award. During his time at The Royal Northern College of Music, Ravi was invited to play at Wigmore Hall on two occasions. He made his debut at the venue in 2022 performing Rain written for soprano, flute, guitar and electronics, by the contemporary Icelandic composer, Anna Thorvaldsdottir. Two years later he performed Loop the Fractal Hold of Rain for guitar duo by American composer Gabriella Smith. Ravi has performed in masterclasses with some of the world’s leading guitarists including Zoran Dukic, Sean Shibe, Tilman Hoppstock, Laura Snowden and Stephen Goss. Ravi became the first guitarist to be a member of RNCM Songsters; an auditioned group of predominantly singers and pianists specialising in performing art song around the UK.
