After a year of cancelled events, an opera singer is returning to live performances with a recital in Dorchester.

Mezzo-soprano Grace Lovelass will be singing in 'Pastures New', songs from the stage in the open air at Maumbury Rings on Sunday, May 23 from 3pm.

She said: "It's such a relief. I'm good at motivating myself and keeping busy, so I spent the year digging into new repertoire and technical practice - vlogging as I went, in some ways to manufacture a 'performance' opportunity I suppose, albeit online. I also filmed some commissioned work from home.

"It's opened up a new world - learning filming and editing skills. That said, there were some tough days where you can't help but question whether it's all for nothing and however much I enjoyed playing with tech, I'm a live performer and at my best when I can interact with my audience.

"So, getting back to a diary of shows is something I'll never again take for granted."

Grace will be joined by tenor Matt Connolly and pianist Toby Nelms.

She added: "We'll be performing opera, musical theatre and comedy song and the title, 'Pastures New' is a reference to hope in our 'new world', as well as a debut for the new material that we've explored during lockdown.

"Our organiser is a local poet and author. He is generously producing the shows on a not-for-profit basis to provide musicians with early opportunities as we transition back into work again.

"Some years ago, he wrote a poem called 'Monsters of Maumbury Rings', which we have recorded as a tribute to this landmark outdoor venue.

"We are also pleased to be working with Dorchester-based Shed Audio for sound solutions, who have expressed their delight at being able, once again, to take live event bookings following the pandemic."

You can see the recording of 'Monsters of Maumbury Rings' at the top of this page.

To buy tickets for Pastures New, visit ticketsource.co.uk

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