The French Song Exchange returns with three recitals: two Wigmore Hall lunchtimes and a performance at the iconic Salle Cortot in Paris. Devised by François Le Roux and Dame Felicity Lott, two great exponents of the mélodie, in collaboration with John Gilhooly, the French Song Exchange offers eight gifted singers a year of coaching from their mentors, culminating in showcase performances.

The first group of singers display their take on keystones of the genre and lesser-known gems, with some songs receiving their first performance at Wigmore Hall. The singers are joined by celebrated accompanist Sebastian Wybrew.

Sofia Kirwan Baez

Anglo-Venezuelan soprano Sofia Kirwan-Baez is a Kathleen Ferrier semi-finalist, a Josephine Baker Trust artist, and a recipient of a Sybil Tutton Award and a Musicians’ Company Award. Operatic roles include Elle La Voix Humaine andAdina Elisir d’amore and her concert work spans Monteverdi’s Vespers to Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire. An RCM’s Concerto Competition winner, Sofia was a Huffner Scholar in the RCM Opera Studio, supported by the Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship.

Camille Bauer

Belgian mezzo-soprano Camille Bauer studied in Brussels and Antwerp before graduating from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris in June 2023. Laureate of the 2022 Concours International de Chant Lyrique de Mâcon, she will sing in the Opera Studio of the Opéra National du Rhin during season 2023/2024. Camille studied Lied and French mélodie with Inge Spinette, Jeff Cohen and Anne Le Bozec and participated in Académie Francis Poulenc in 2021.

Matthias Dähling

German countertenor Matthias Daehling recently graduated with distinction from his Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music with Sally Burgess. He is generously supported in the UK as an RCM award holder and DAAD scholar. Recent highlights include CD recordings of Telemann cantatas with both the Neumeyer Consort and barockwerk hamburg as well as various soloistic performances in Germany and the UK. Matthias is passionate about song repertoire and increasing the recognition for the countertenor voice in this area.

Dafydd Jones

Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones has made his international debut as Clotarco in Haydn’s Armida for the Bregenz Festival, Austria. Currently studying for his masters at the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Nicky Spence and Caroline Dowdle, Dafydd’s studies are generously supported as an Ivor Llewellyn Foster Scholar, supported by the Leverhuhulme Arts Scholarship, Munster Trust and the Ryan Davies Memorial Trust.