About

Following their previous acclaimed narrative recitals Never Such Innocence (2018) and Odyssey (2019), actor Christopher Kent and classical pianist Gamal Khamis return to OSO with a rare opportunity to hear a hidden gem of the romantic repertoire.

Watch the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/937429209?share=copy

Enoch Arden is a searingly dramatic epic poem written by Tennyson in 1864 and set to music by Richard Strauss in 1897. Said to be based on true events, it tells the story of three childhood friends who grow up in a remote fishing village. Enoch marries his sweetheart Annie and sets off on a long voyage from which he never returns. Years later Annie reluctantly marries the third friend, Philip. But then Odysseus-like, Enoch does return to find his former life irrevocably changed. What happens next is agonisingly moving, with words and music of haunting beauty. Christopher Kent performs the work in its entirety from memory with the virtuosic piano part played by the brilliant Gamal Khamis.

Christopher and Gamal originally gave a livestreamed performance of Enoch Arden during the 2020 lockdown, which was seen around the world and led to performances in London's West End and at festivals around the country, and subsequently a critically acclaimed CD for SOMM Recordings released in 2022.

Praise for Enoch Arden:
"A wholly exceptional and thoroughly engrossing achievement"

Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion

"A gift to hear the poem in its original language…a significant coup"

David Nice, BBC Music Magazine

"The performance by Gamal Khamis and Christopher Kent had me totally transfixed"

Alexis Paterson, CEO Three Choirs Festival

"Thought-provoking and riveting… you'll be entranced"

Clare Seymour, Opera Today

"A performance that's as gripping and ultimately moving as the story itself"

Ron Schepper, Textura Magazine