At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, Charles Gounod fell prey to despair about the fate of France and the impossibility of pursuing his musical career in such oppressive circumstances, ‘beneath an enemy flag’. Gathering his family together – wife, two children and mother-in-law – he crossed the Channel to find refuge in London, where he was already well-known, for his opera Faust and as a composer of religious music. Gounod was rapidly adopted as a prize asset at society gatherings, accompanying himself on the piano as he sang songs and arias from his operas. One February evening in 1871 he spotted a new and pretty female face amid the throng of admirers; this was Georgina Weldon, a singer and champion of her own methods of vocal teaching, with whom Gounod struck up an immediate and intense friendship. Tonight’s programme is a narrated recital devised by Henrietta Bredin which explores this unusual time and fascinating relationship in the composer’s life.

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