Toad Lane Concerts: Charlotte Thomson soprano, Mila Johannsen mezzo and Minyu Shi piano

Minyu Shi, Charlotte Thomson & Mila Johannsen

Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is an internationally renowned conservatoire. Happily, several of its students, past and present, and also staff visit Toad Lane Concerts at St Mary in the Baum.

Music students today are recommended to prepare for a ‘portfolio career’ encompassing several aspects of the profession and, indeed, extra to it. So, they are encouraged to team up in duos and chamber music as well as larger groupings such as opera and orchestra. Three such prize-winning students from the RNCM proved to be exemplars at St Mary's on Wednesday 30 October.

Soprano Charlotte Thomson from Carlisle has already taken a number of operatic roles in her final undergraduate year at the RNCM after singing in cathedral choirs and concerts for over 10 years. Fellow singing student, British-German mezzo Mila Johannsen is originally from Hamburg, whilst Minyu Shi hails from China and is a fourth-year piano student.

This was a trio performance, like the three musketeers, ‘one for all and all for one’ they complemented and supported one another superbly in a varied programme and engaged well with the audience.

Charlotte began with Purcell followed by Mila with Handel, individually excellent they both blended beautifully in an operatic duet by Mozart. All this was accompanied by Minyu Shi, who also played the first movement of Piano Sonata in E flat by Haydn with a commanding range of colour.

Three contrasted duets from Brahms’s Op 61 formed the central core, where the combination of voices was again impressively balanced. More Brahms and Clara Schumann solos and duet followed suiting their emerging tone admirably.

The up-tempo final set, The Lorelei by Gershwin from Mila, and I could’ve danced all night by Lerner & Loewe from Charlotte showed both crossing over to Broadway with ease, before joining in an exquisite Barcarolle by Offenbach, which embodied all the trio’s qualities.

With charming introductions shared between them, the whole recital was an excellent production from these rising stars.

The Queen’s Award-winning Toad Lane Concerts are every Wednesday at 12.30pm at St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL16 1DZ. Entrance fee is £6. No refreshments available. Contact 01706 648872 for further information.

To see details of forthcoming Toad Lane Concerts, click here.

Dr Joe Dawson