All In The Family: Diana Montague & David Rendall Produce Heir

Portrait of Huw Montague Rendall
 by Walter van Dyk

Sometimes in the opera world, celestial singers come together to create some formidable offspring. Such is the case with mezzo-soprano Diana Montague and tenor David Rendall. The English couple made Brockenhurst, Hampshire, their home and produced four children: Mimi, Ed, Nell, and Huw. It is impossible to not have talent on some level when growing up in a house surrounded by music. Witness the jazzy vocals of daughter Nell by clicking here. But it can be expected with such dramatic vocalists for parents, one of the children would venture into the world of opera. Such is the particular case of Huw Montague Rendall. He attended the Ballard School in New Milton, Hampshire, where he graduated in 2010. He went on to study at Brockenhurst College where he received a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts. Currently living in London, he is attending the

The Montague-Rendall clan with the
matriarch: Ed, Mimi, Diana, Nell, and 
Huw (Photo: Facebook)

Royal College of Music where he is studying as a baritone and will graduate in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music degree. Thanks to YouTube, we are able to witness his budding talent. Below are videos featuring Huw singing "Questo amor, vergogna mia" from Edgar by Puccini, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma by Rodgers & Hammerstein, "Ombra mai fu" from Xerxes by Händel, "Les Berceaux" by Fauré, and "Se Vuol Ballare" from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart:

The name Huw is of Welsh
origin and means "heart,
mind and spirit"
(Photo: Facebook)

Other than a brief work stint at Tesco, a multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the UK, Huw's only other venture outside the classical music realm has been performing with the band Shrunk In The Wash. He has been lead singer since 2004. The band plays jazz and rock, among other favorites, for various functions. You can see the band in action by clicking here and listen to an amazing rendition of "It Ain't Necessarily So" below:

(Photo: Twitter)

Best of luck to Huw Montague Rendall on his future in music and we will be sure to feature him more often when he reaches the stages of the world's leading opera houses. Be sure to visit his Facebook page and his Twitter page to keep abreast of current engagements. You can read more about Diana Montague and David Rendall after the jump. [Source]

Patricia Rozario Receives Honor From Royal College Of Music

The Prince of Wales presents Ms. Rozario with the
Fellowship of the Royal College of Music award on
May 14, 2014. HRH is the President of RCM.
(Photo: Chris Christodoulou)

"This May, the soprano received the Fellowship from the Royal College Of Music, London, the second Indian to have been given this honour after world-renowned conductor Zubin Mehta. 'It is a prestigious award and a sign of recognition that I have attained a certain international level in Western music,' says Rozario, over the phone from her home in London, where she lives with her pianist-husband Mark Troop. Some of the previous recipients of this award include American violinist Yehudi Menuhin, violinist Nicola Benedetti, and theatre person Andrew Lloyd Webber. In her late 50s now, she moved to the UK more than 25 years ago to pursue a career in Western classical opera. Rozario graduated in English and French from Sophia College, Mumbai. Though she attempted to learn Indian classical music, the atmosphere at home lent itself naturally to jazz and Western classical music. 'My brothers were good at

jazz and my mother and I were into Western classical music and Hollywood musicals. When I began singing, I wanted to do the classical repertoire of Mozart and Handel,' says Rozario, whose father did not want her to pursue a career as an opera singer. Her German music teacher recommended her to a professor at the Guildhall School of Music in London, UK, when she was in college. 'I sang a Schubert composition and the professor was not impressed. Then he sang five notes and asked me to replicate the scales. I did that and he smiled,' says Rozario, who entered Guildhall when she was only 20. She now teaches at the Royal College of Music. Rozario’s style ranges from classical European opera to Baroque and contemporary music. She has performed with contemporary English composers such as the late John Tavener and Estonian Arvo Part. Tavener chose her for his opera Mary of Egypt. She went on to become his muse performing in pieces written especially for her, like Life Eternal, until he passed away in 2013. 'Coming from India it was a big challenge to act and be a character in operas. People took time to take me seriously. As an Indian, I was treading a certain path, which not many have. I had to build my confidence in the UK and I had to look the type. At an early stage in my career, I participated in a summer music programme at The Mozarteum, Austria, which boosted my

confidence of performing on stage,' says Rozario, who began performing in a sari to assert her individuality. Unwilling to let go of her Mumbai ties, in 2009, she started the Giving Voice Society, an institution that trains students in Western classical forms, in the city. Rozario and Troop come three times a year with a set of compositions to mentor students. Her current batch will perform an opera across the country titled Dido and Aeneas by Baroque English composer Henry Purcell, this August. Awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours in 2001, Rozario was given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Goa government in 2013. Among her other ambitions, Rozario wants to perform with Mehta, whom she auditioned for briefly. 'He said he wanted to do a Gustav Mahler composition with me. In fact, I am just going to write to him now,' she says." [Source] A list of other well-known opera singers bestowed with this prestigious honor can be found after the jump.

Prince Harry To Date, Or Just Dine With, Soprano Laura Wright?

Laura Wright (center) is seen here with rugby players of England.

"Prince Harry has been separated from Cressida Bonas for nearly one month now, and both appear to be moving on with their lives. Harry actually has his first date next month with someone of high class and is a familiar face to the Royal Family. Harry will attend the Suffolk Show with opera singer and known soprano Laura Wright. The 23-year-old has performed for the Queen six times in one year and will accompany Harry to the show next month. 'I've been to it since I was a kid and I'll be having lunch with Harry and a few other people,' Wright told the Daily Mail. 'That's right – the newly-single Prince Harry who loves rugby. I was really chuffed when I got the invitation. Every little girl wants to be a princess at some point. Maybe he wouldn't want a princess that plays rugby, though. I don't want to be a rebound.' Harry has thrown himself into his work in the aftermath of his breakup with Bonas. He attended a wedding in the U.S. with brother William and several mutual friends but then returned home and got straight to work. He has made a few Royal appearances but largely remains behind-the-scenes in his work." [Source] More about Laura Wright, including performance videos, after the jump.

Decca Classics Signs Soprano Pumeza Matshikiza To Global Contract

(Photo: Martin Sigmund)

"Pumeza Matshikiza, 34, has signed with Decca to release an album that will feature arias by Mozart and Puccini alongside a musical setting of Invictus, the Victorian poem that inspired Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment on Robben Island. Ms Matshikiza, who currently performs with the Stuttgart Opera, grew up in rented shacks of corrugated iron as her family moved between townships around Cape Town. Her mother sang in church choirs but she discovered her vocation when she stumbled across a classical music radio station. She studied singing at the University of Cape Town and secured a part in an opera, whose composer was so impressed by her voice that he paid for her to fly to London and audition at the Royal College of Music. Ms. Matshikiza said: 'My debut album tells the story of my incredible journey from Africa to Europe and I feel privileged to be able to chart it through the very personal repertoire choices on this album; songs and arias that prove music unites people across the world and brings cultures together.' The album will include traditional African songs in her mother tongue, Xhosa, alongside arias and a new arrangement of the South African hit 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight.'" [Source] Videos, and a photo of where the soprano grew up, can be found after the jump.