In a celebration of the life of Kathleen Ferrier, British contralto and local operatic superstar, who made her King George’s Hall debut at age 16 in 1929, we are extremely pleased to welcome the Welsh Soprano, Jessica Cale, first prize winner of the 2020 Kathleen Ferrier Award, to present the final concert of the Music in the Heart of Blackburn 26/27 series.
In addition to the Kathleen Ferrier prize, Jessica was the audience prize winner at the London Handel Festival International Singing Competition. In 2025 Jessica made her Glyndebourne debut as Bobbie in the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s The Railway Children. Further operatic highlights include Fortuna/Juno in Il ritorno d’Ulisse and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro for Garsington Opera, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Poppea in The Coronation of Poppea for English Touring Opera, covering Violetta in La traviata and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Glyndebourne, and playing the second Niece in Peter Grimes for Teatro la Fenice.
Jessica has recorded with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment as soprano soloist, and is a keen recitalist, having given recitals at the Oxford International Song Festival.
Jessica will be joined by her regular collaborator, the award-winning pianist Ella O’Neill.
Ella O’Neill is increasingly in demand across the UK and Europe as a collaborative pianist specialising in song. She was the winner of the 2024 RPS Gerald Moore Award for outstanding piano accompanists, the Accompanist’s Prize at the 2019 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and Second Pianist Prize at the inaugural Rebecca Clarke Song Competition 2026.
