Lesley Garrett ‘honoured’ to sing in Bedford Proms 2025

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Alex Pope

BBC News, Bedfordshire

Bedford Proms Lesley Garrett, singing, with her arms help up, she has her mouth open and has earrings in her ears. She has short fair hair. Bedford Proms

Lesley Garrett said she loves singing in open-air concerts as it was a wonderful way to connect with the audience

Opera singer and performer Lesley Garrett said she was “honoured” to be invited back to an outdoor concert series to restart a Proms event.

Garrett, 70, will perform at Proms in the Park, alongside Russell Watson, as part of the Bedford Summer Sessions on Sunday 6 July.

The event was last held in the town in 2023 and has returned after requests from members of the public, organisers said.

Garrett said it could be the last Proms she performs in, but “I will give it my all, which is still considerable”.

Martin McKay Bedford Proms in Bedford Park, with an orchestra and singer on the stage, the Union Flag behind them, and crowd members, waving their flags. Lights are above the stage. Martin McKay

The Proms event has been held in Bedford many times over the years and the event in 2021 marked its 25th anniversary

“Singing isn’t something I do for a living, it’s what I am”, she said.

“I do it because that’s what I was born to do.”

“It’s an exciting time in my life. I no longer have to prove anything. I’m not looking to grow my career, but enjoy the legacy of being in the profession for 45 years, as I started in 1980.”

After the Proms, her next role will be Heidi Schiller in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies for the Northern Ireland Opera Company in September.

Then she will help plan a November concert for Bantam of the Opera, a choir she is involved with, before undergoing a hip replacement.

Welsh National Opera Lesley Garrett, singing in an opera, in Edwardian dress, with her hair up. Her mouth is open and her arms are out. Performers are behind her. Welsh National Opera

Lesley Garrett performing in The Merry Widow

Garrett said music was in her soul, and she would “carry on until I can no longer perform”.

“The big criteria is whether I’m still good enough – I still have singing lessons every week with Joy Mammen, my original singing teacher,” she said.

“We will then decide together to hang up those chords. I would hate to start disappointing people. You never know if the next one is going to be the last.”

Garrett last came to the town to sing in 2018 and said she could not wait to return to Bedford to perform in the Proms with her “old friend” Russell Watson.

“If it’s my last Proms, I’m thrilled it’s going to be with him,” she continued.

“I’m honoured to be asked to restart the Bedford Proms, I will give it my all, which is still considerable.”

Bedford Proms A large crowd of people waving flags at a Proms event. Bedford Proms

Anyone coming to the Proms is encouraged to bring their own food, drink and flags

Mark Harrison, promoter at Cuffe & Taylor, said the absence of the Proms from the Summer Sessions in 2024 “left many feeling disappointed”.

“We have listened to the general public’s wishes, and we are delighted that we have been able to bring it back for 2025,” he said.

The last Proms was held in 2023, in a slightly different format as West End Proms.

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