Loved / Lost

Joshua Hopkins & Niamh O'Sullivan

On 22 September 2015, Renfrew County (Ontario, Canada) was shocked by the murder of three women, all former partners of the perpetrator. The horrific crimes left deep scars on the close-knit rural community of Ottawa Valley, where baritone Joshua Hopkins grew up. His sister, Nathalie Warmerdam, was one of the victims. In collaboration with composer Jake Heggie and author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), he turned his grief into Songs for Murdered Sisters, a deeply moving indictment of all forms of gender-based violence.

During this recital, this cycle will be juxtaposed thematically with Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben, performed by mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan. Conceived as a wedding gift for his childhood sweetheart Clara Wieck, Schumann sketches a portrait of female devotion in eight scenes: from a girl’s quiet admiration for the man she hopes to marry, through engagement, marriage and motherhood, to mourning the loss of her husband. How does this nineteenth-century ideal sound in 2026?