Bliss Song Series

Hugh Cutting, countertenor & Joseph Middleton, piano
Thursday 5 March 2026, 7.30pm
Bliss Song Series, Pembroke Auditorium, Cambridge

Programme: ‘Morpheus’

Burgon – This Lunar Beauty
Cavalli – Erme solinghe e cime
Purcell – One Charming Night
Britten – I Know a Bank
Schubert – Erlkönig
Rodney Bennett – Baby, Naughty Baby
Purcell – From Rosy Bow’rs
Bolcom – Song of Black Max
Weill – Lost in the Stars
Strozzi – Amor Dormiglione
Hahn – L’Enamourée
Colin Hay – Overkill
Barber – Sure on This Shining Night
Traditional, arranged Piers Connor Kennedy – Sweet Nightingale
Errollyn Wallen – About Here
Traditional, arranged Anna Semple – She Moved Through the Fair


British countertenor Hugh Cutting—a former choral scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge—returns to the city for a highly anticipated recital with acclaimed pianist Joseph Middleton, hailed by the New York Times as “the perfect accompanist.”

In Morpheus, a programme shaped by dreams, night, and the blurred edges of reality, Cutting brings together an inspired mix of composers including Purcell, Cavalli, Strozzi, Schubert, Britten, Bolcom, Hahn, Errollyn Wallen, and more. Ranging from the haunting to the playful, the familiar to the unexpected, the programme showcases the remarkable emotional and stylistic breadth of the countertenor voice.

Winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and the first countertenor to be named a BBC New Generation Artist, Cutting is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting vocal artists of his generation. A graduate of the Royal College of Music’s International Opera Studio, where he was awarded the Tagore Gold Medal by King Charles III, his rapidly rising career includes recent appearances at La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Santa Fe Opera, and Bayerische Staatsoper.

In 2025/26 he curates a residency at Wigmore Hall, further affirming his place at the forefront of vocal innovation.

Don’t miss this extraordinary artist in a recital that promises beauty, surprise, and emotional depth in equal measure.

🎧 Follow Hugh on Spotify to explore his recordings.

Student tickets for £5 plus £2.50 booking fee

Talk: 6.45pm
Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Distinguished Affiliate Scholar of Pembroke College - Hugh Cutting, an early alumnus of the Lieder Scheme
Sir Nicholas Kenyon | Pembroke