A portrait of Paolo Francesco Tosti

Ivan Hewett (speaker)

Barbara Gentili (soprano)

Maurizio Carnelli (piano)

Italian composer, Sir Paolo Tosti (1846-1916) lived at Mandeville Place from 1886. Having travelled from Italy to London  in 1875, he made connections with the highest levels of English society, and his music was fashionable in drawing rooms and salons across the capital. In 1880, he was even made singing master to the Royal Family, and in 1894, he joined the neighbouring Royal Academy of Music as a professor.  This concert presents a portrait of this fascinating composer, with soprano Barabara Gentili singing Tosti’s songs, alongside those of the composer's friends Leoncavallo and Puccini. Renowned writer and broadcaster, Ivan Hewett provides a linking commentary telling Tosti's colourful life story, with projected images.