Credit: RT Dunphy

The Bach Choir has announced a cast change for its April 2, 2023, presentation of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Due to illness, countertenor Iestyn Davies will not appear as a soloist. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston will perform in Davies’ stead.

Johnston, a former BBC New Generation Artist, has won prestigious awards such as the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer Award and Gramophone Recording of the Year for Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt.”

As an alumna of Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music, she is acclaimed for her performances of Mahler, Wagner, Britten, and Elgar compositions. Johnston has performed at Bayerische Staatsoper as a guest artist over 80 times. She also earned the 2022 Gramophone Award for the same opera.

Johnston has been an Artist-In-Residence for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and has appeared in opera productions at Teatro alla Scala, Salzburg Festival, and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, among others. Johnston twice appeared at the First Night of the BBC Proms.

The mezzo has appeared on a dozen recordings and in 2019 released her debut solo album, “A Love Letter To Liverpool,” on Rubicon.