David Wilson-Johnson revels in Ravel

British baritone David Wilson-Johnson has recently completed a series of concerts featuring some of the more humorous works by French composer Maurice Ravel. 

Performing at the Barbican with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Josep Pons, in the role of the pompous banker Don Inigo in L’Heure espagnole, Peter Reed praised Wilson-Johnson for “the open legato and lyricism of his flexible baritone and some lightly anarchic comic timing” (classicalsource.com).

Following on from this performance in London, Wilson-Johnson jetted off to Boston to sing the eccentric roles of the broken clock and the cat in L’Enfant et les sortilèges - as well as that of the Emperor of China in Stravinsky’s The Nightingale - with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit.  Described as “versatile” and “energetic” (Aaron Keebaugh, The Classical Review) in his “ding, ding, ding-ing”, Wilson-Johnson “was one of the highlights of a very memorable evening” (Jonathan Blumhofer, The Arts Fuse).