Kitty Whately & Simon Lepper - Nights Not Spent Alone: Complete Works for Mezzo-Soprano by Jonathan Dove (2017)

In a co:production between Champs Hill Records and the BBC, Kitty Whately returns to the Music Room at Champs Hill to record her second disc with the label, accompanied by distinguished pianist Simon Lepper.

"Nights Not Spent Alone" presents the complete works for mezzo:soprano by Jonathan Dove. It includes a song cycle of the same name dedicated to Whately, of which she performed the world premiere at the Cheltenham Music Festival in 2015, where Dove sets the poetry of the provocative and unconventional figure of Edna St Vincent Millay. The disc also includes other song cycles and the un:accompanied 'My Love is Mine'. Kitty was also in the very well received revival of Dove's opera 'Flight' at Holland Park in June 2015.

"A lot of these songs have never been recorded before, and aren't performed nearly as much as they should be. They are so full of charm, with and very immediate poignancy. I really hope that this album will introduce these songs to many who don't already know them, and encourage more singer to perform them." (Kitty Whately)

Kitty Whately trained at Chetham's School of Music, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal College of Music International Opera School. She won both the Kathleen Ferrier Award and the 59th Royal Overseas League Award in 2011, and was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2013:15, during which time she recorded her debut solo album 'This Other Eden' for Champs Hill Records.

Simon Lepper read music at King's College, Cambridge. He is a professor of piano accompaniment and a vocal repertoire coach at the Royal College of Music, London, where he also coordinates the piano accompaniment course. He is an official accompanist for BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.