The 18th Oxford Lieder Festival has announced its season with a program focused on storytelling and fairy tales, from Norse legend to the Brothers Grimm, from the Grim Reaper to Greek myth.

The festival will open with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with Camilla Tilling and Neal Davies (Oct. 11) performing orchestral songs by Schubert and Grieg.

The season will also see Roderick Williams as the artist-in-residence for five days, performing Schubert’s three song cycles in the sparkling English translations by Jeremy Sams. There will be two world premieres from newly-appointed Associate Composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad, including a cycle of songs for soprano and string quartet, Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Oct. 18). Other works of hers will feature throughout the Festival, as well as new commissions from composers.

The festival will include concerts by Louise Alder and Nikolay Borchev (Oct. 26), Ilker Arcayürek  (Oct. 25), Benjamin Appl (Oct. 20), Katherine Broderick and Marcus Farnsworth ( Oct. 17), Stéphane Degout (Oct. 12), Tara Erraught (Oct. 13), Maria Forsström (Oct. 16), James Gilchrist (Oct. 19), Ben Johnson (15 Oct), Sophie Karthaüser and Stephan Loges (Oct. 22), Thomas Oliemans (Oct. 15), Christoph Prégardien (Oct. 13), Dorothea Röschmann (Oct. 25), Katharina Ruckgaber and Ashley Riches (Oct. 14) , Carolyn Sampson (Oct. 24), Kitty Whately (18 Oct) and others.

Many of the most exciting young emerging artists also appear. The Oxford Lieder Festival will be held from Oct. 11-26, 2019.