In 1922 Blenheim-born soprano Rosina Buckman made a triumphant “Homecoming” tour accompanied by cellist Adelina Leon and pianist-composer Percy Kahn. Rosina’s farewell concert in London was to an audience of 10,000 in the Royal Albert Hall. Her tour began in  Wellington on 15 May 1922 and included more than 110 performances across New Zealand and Australia. New Zealanders couldn’t get enough of their homegrown singing superstar.

One hundred years later Hammers & Horsehair duo, Douglas Mews (piano) and Robert Ibell (cello) and well-known Wellington soprano Rowena Simpson reimagine Rosina’s “Homecoming” for a contemporary concert experience. 

The various musical items in this delightful concert will be interspersed with anecdotes from the 1922 tour, comparing touring life then and now, and incorporating appropriate local or personal history, including the story of the Buckman family flax mill in Northland.

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Douglas, Robert and Rowena will perform period classics from the 1922 tour such as Arditi's “Il Bacio”, “Waiata Poi” by Alfred Hill and “Love's a Merchant” by Molly Carew for soprano & piano, Percy Kahn’s own arrangement of his “Ave Maria” for soprano, cello & piano, Rimsky Korsakov’s “Chanson Hindoue” and Moskowski’s “Guitarre” for cello & piano. The programme also includes some of their favourites, including Brahms Intermezzo in B-flat and Schubert Impromptu in A-flat for piano solo, and “Villanelle” by Eva Dell’Acqua for soprano, cello and piano.

Some of our members will remember their delightful “Candlelight” concert from 2018 and know that these three professionals capture another era with expertise and charm.

Date: Friday 25 March 2022
Time: 7pm
Venue: Turner Centre, Auditorium
Tickets: $40 Adults | $30 Friends | 18 & under Free
Note: For Friends tickets please add tickets to your cart then enter pre-issued code to apply discount. 18 & under tickets ONLY available at Turner Centre Box Office.