Oxford Festival of the Arts is proud to present world-famous bass-baritone Sir Willard White in recital, together with the Brodsky Quartet, at the Sheldonian Theatre. One of the best-loved and most versatile opera stars of the last 40 years, Sir Willard White’s illustrious career has taken him to the most prestigious opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, collaborating with conductors, directors and orchestras of the highest calibre.

The programme will feature highlights from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Copland’s Hoedown, Showboat, Kern’s Ol’ Man River, Massenet’s Elegy, and the iconic My Way.

Sir Willard White was born in Jamaica, where he commenced his musical training at the Jamaican School of Music and then went on to the Juilliard School in New York. Since his operatic debut with the New York City Opera in 1974, he has sung regularly at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, New York, English National Opera, San Francisco Opera, the opera houses of Munich, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, and at the Glyndebourne, Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg festivals. In 1989, White performed the role of Othello in Trevor Nunn’s production for the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside Sir Ian McKellen as Iago and Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona.

Sir Willard White was awarded the CBE in 1995 and was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2004.

Since forming in 1972, acclaimed British string quartet the Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,500 concerts on the major stages of the world and have released more than 70 recordings.

Wheelchair Spaces

If you require a wheelchair space for this event, please call 01865 305 305 or email boxoffice@oxfordplayhouse.com for further assistance.