Pianist

Following their performances of Schubert’s song cycles Die schöne Müllerin on August 16 and Schwanengesang on August 17, baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist Simon Lepper mark their final appearance of the season with perhaps the pinnacle of the art-song repertoire: Schubert’s mournful and achingly beautiful Winterreise, which the composer said he liked “more than any of my other songs.”

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Benjamin Appl & Simon Lepper Recital

New Mexico Museum of Art

For the second of their three appearances this season, baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist Simon Lepper perform Schubert’s profoundly moving, posthumously assembled and published song cycle Schwanengesang (Swan Song). To open the program, pianist Kirill Gerstein, violinist William Hagen, and cellist Peter Stumpf play one of Beethoven’s most extraordinary works: the groundbreaking Archduke Trio, written toward the end of the composer’s famous “heroic” era.

Beethoven & Schubert

Lensic Performing Arts Center

In the first of their three appearances this season, baritone Benjamin Appl—who was one of legendary German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s final students and who's been called “the most promising of today’s up-and-coming song recitalists” by the Financial Times—and acclaimed pianist Simon Lepper perform a crown jewel of the piano-vocal repertoire: Schubert’s landmark song cycle Die schöne Müllerin. The program also includes Schubert’s final chamber work, the monumental Cello Quintet, which was completed two months before the composer died at age 31 but wasn’t publicly performed until more than two decades later.

All Schubert

This petite American soprano with an enormous voice is back in Frankfurt, where she thrilled audiences in recent seasons as Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, for this recital. Recent opportunities for her versatile abilities to shine included appearances at the Aix-en-Provence Festival,  where she can be heard again soon in a Gluck double-bill as young Iphigenie in Aulis and the older Iphigenie auf Tauris. She sang the title role in Janáček's Katja Kabanová, one of her finest roles, at the Salzburg Festival (get the DVD), in Munich, Stuttgart, Rome, Geneva, Brno and Seattle. Get a copy of her debut CD:Canción amorosa - with Lieder from Spain. She's putting together a special programme for Frankfurt, inspired by Nadezhda von Meck (1831 - 1894), a Russian amateur musician and valued confidante and patron of Tchaikovsky and Debussy, who also influenced Janáček and Glière.

Corinne Winters (soprano) & Simon Lepper (piano)

Oper Frankfurt

Rachael Wilson presents a recital program in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, accompanied by Simon Lepper.

4. Song Recital

Galería Estatal de Stuttgart

Born in Istanbul and raised in Vienna, the tenor has emerged as one of the most exciting and versatile vocal artists of recent years: a finalist at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and winner of the International Art Song Competition of Germany’s Hugo Wolf Academy. Schumann's Kerner Lieder were composed in 1840, his 'Liederjahr', but hold a special place as the first cycle composed in the time immediately following his hard-sought marriage to Clara Wieck.

Ilker Arcayürek tenor; Simon Lepper piano

Wigmore Hall

In their Festival debuts, two renowned artists—baritone Benjamin Appl, called “the most promising of today’s up-and-coming song recitalists” by the Financial Times, and pianist Simon Lepper—present The Sound of Silence, an intimate recital program that focuses on pauses and silences in music as well as on introspection as the starting point for inspiration. Appl was one of legendary German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s final students, and here he showcases his extraordinary artistry in Schumann’s complete Liederkreis, an arresting Gregorian chant, and moving works by Schubert, Monteverdi, Richard Strauss, and other masters.

The Guardian puts Ilker Arcayürek “in a class all his own” for his gilded tone, dramatic flexibility and captivating presence. “He is a very stylish singer” (Bachtrack). Simon Lepper is an authoritative and polished pianist who is the perfect counterpart to Arcayürek’s radiant technique, “his playing flowing and just on the right side of understatement”

Ilker Arcayürek | Tenor & Simon Lepper | Piano

War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

Opera Holland Park is thrilled to announce the return of the "Opera in Song" series, curated by Julien Van Mellaerts and Dylan Perez. This year's programme features three captivating recitals that span a wide range of themes and composers, promising an enriching experience for opera enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

The series kicks off with "All the Future Days: A celebration of contemporary British art song," which includes a special feature on Jonathan Dove’s music to celebrate the world premiere of "Itch." Performers for this recital include soprano Nardus Williams, tenor Laurence Kilsby, and pianist Anna Tilbrook, taking place on 29 July at 1pm.

The second recital, "Vissi d’arte: Life for art," offers a rich selection of songs by Puccini, Verdi, Debussy, Strauss, and Schönberg. This performance will feature soprano Sophie Bevan, baritone Julien Van Mellaerts, and pianist Dylan Perez, scheduled for 30 July at 7.30pm.

Concluding the series is "Through the woods: From the Witch’s perspective," a unique retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" from the witch's point of view. This recital will see soprano Eleanor Dennis and pianist Simon Lepper performing alongside the Opera Holland Park Young Artists, including Shakira Tsindos, Charlotte Bowden, Edward Kim, and Ana Manastireanu, on 31 July at 7.30pm.

Opera in Song is proud to continue its partnerships and support from Steinway and Sons and the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation. This year, the series will also partner with Bowel Cancer UK as its featured charity, with a percentage of box office takings and donations at each recital going to support the organization.

Please note that there is a strict no refund policy on all tickets. For those unable to use their tickets, a resale option is available through the affiliate ticket resale partner, ticketswap.uk.

Join Opera Holland Park for this extraordinary series of recitals and support a great cause while enjoying the beauty and depth of opera in song.

Opera in Song 2023

Opera Holland Park

Making her debut, this celebrated British soprano has a busy international career and appeared in the title role of Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera last fall. She offers a program celebrating a turn-of-the-20th-century British-Black composer and his influences.

Elizabeth Llewellyn, soprano & Simon Lepper, piano

Union College

“In a class on his own: Ilker Arcayürek has the kind of airy, easily ringing tenor that puts across words beautifully, with power in reserve yet a hint of vulnerability too” (The Guardian). This fast-rising tenor performs an all-Schubert recital, keenly organizing a selection of the composer’s songs to illustrate life’s path, negotiating themes including love, longing, inner peace and salvation. “Simon Lepper, whose prowess as a pianist is fused with a real sensitivity to words and to the voice, is a rarity indeed” (The Times, London).

Pianist

Simon Lepper

Events

Past events

Aug 19, 2026

Benjamin Appl & Simon Lepper Recital · Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

Aug 17, 2026

Beethoven & Schubert · Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Piano Trio by Beethoven

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

Piano in Winterreise by Schubert

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

Piano in String Quintet in C major by Schubert

Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

About

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