Denise Leigh - Soprano
News
January 2010 - Denise is about to appear in the massively popular How to Look Good Naked!A 3 part special of the Channel 4 fashion show is about to be broadcast.
Beginning on January 19th, Gok Wan takes 3 women with various disabilities and zero body confidence, and helps them to learn how to be confident in their own skin.
Denise will feature in one of the shows, where Di, a 50 something year old lady, blinded in her teens by an allergic reaction, is taken into hand by Gok and given the confidence to trust her own judgement, choose and buy her own clothes. Denise takes the team shopping for a concert outfit, and then takes the crew backstage before a performance, where she demonstrates how a blind woman can learn to apply make-up, even for a very public occasion such as a concert or night out. With occasional interjections from her 12 year old son Samuel, who is far from being a fashion advisor, but comes in handy as an audio description mirror.
"I technically don't get naked, unless they had hidden cameras. I hope that the programme goes some way to breaking down some of the misconceptions which surround disability and age. Disabled men and women can be sexy, it's not something we're excluded from, and you don't have to be 20 to have a monopoly on being confident, slinky, and happy with the stage you're at."
July 2008 - Olympic Celebrations
Denise is off to Beijing to sing in a concert as part of the 2008 Olympic celebrations. The Artists of Excellence concert will take place infront of Olympic and paralympic athletes, members of the IOC, at a stadium in Beijing. She will be accompanied by internationally renouned pianist, Lang Lang.
July 2008 - Denise is a Doctor!
Denise was honoured to receive an Honourary Doctorate, awarded by Staffordshire University, for services to the arts and Community on July 9 2008. She was asked to speak to acknowledge receipt of the award, and is afraid that she bubbled like a baby and became rather emotional and overwhelmed.
Denise would like to thank everyone involved in awarding her this great honour, and to say congratulations to all the other graduates.
July / August 2008 - Battle Proms
Denise is thrilled to be returning for the 4th year to the Battle Proms, taking in new venues this year, Althorp Park and Borde Hill, as well as Blenheim Palace, Hatfield House, Highclere Castle, and Burgley House.
June 2008 - How TV Changed Britain
Denise will be appearing in the Channel 4 series "How TV changed Britain," throughout June 2008, primarily in the episode about 'fame'.
31 December 2007 - Best Seller!
On New Years Eve, Operatunity the Winners album was placed at number 47 in the Classic FM best selling 300 albums of the noughtys.
Denise and Jane were thrilled, and shared a glass of champagne, even though they were at different ends of the UK.
24 December 2007 - Denise Gets Married
Denise decided as there's never really anything good on telly on Christmas Eve, she may as well get married.
She and Stefan Andrusyschyn exchanged vows in Newcastle-Under-Lyme Registry Office at 12 noon, and then the intimate wedding party, (including Mark her ex-husband who remains very close to the couple) decamped to a local pub and had a good old fashioned party.
May 1 2007 - In TouchDenise appeared as a studio guest on BBC Radio 4's In Touch, reviewing the channel 4 documentary Blind Young Things, focusing on 3 students attending the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford.
December 2006 - New Management
Denise was delighted to begin a very fruitful and happy collaboration with artist manager James Black in December 2006.
September 2006 - Concert for Cornwall Blind Association
Denise and Stefan Andrusyschyn were invited to perform alongside Redruth Amateur Operatic Society and Mount Charles Brass Band, with a guest appearance by Alastair Taylor on piano, at the Hall for Cornwall in Truro. The concert was in aid of the Cornwall Blind Association.
The pair performed a selection of arias from Lehar, Verdi, and Bernstein amongst others.
June 5 2006 - Celebrity CounterpointDenise prevailed over Julian Lloyd-Webber and Steve Harley to become the Champion of the cult BBC music quiz.
Ned Sherrin, host of Counterpoint, sadly died after a battle with cancer at the end of 2007.
January 26 2006 - RNIB's Making a Difference Awards.
Denise hosted an awards ceremony for the RNIB (of which she is ambassador) presenting awards to people working on behalf and alongside the RNIB to make a difference in the lives of people they help and provide services for.
She was ably accompanied in an after show performance by Stefan Andrusyschyn.
January 13 2006 - Friday Night is Music Night
Denise and Jane took part in BBC Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night. Their second invitation to sing with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Carl Davis.
January 2006 - Album Reviews
Click here to read reviews of Denise's albums on the Opera Today website.
December 2005 - Super Naughty XXXmas Story
Denise appeared in Russell Barr's Super Naughty XXXmas Story from 1st to 31st December, taking the part of a ghost which haunted a falling down house, inhabited by a dysfunctional family and 12 Jack Russell dogs. The play was staged in the historic Wiltons Music Hall in Whitechapel. The building itself is famous not least for having appeared on the TV programme Restoration, and is rumoured to be the oldest music hall in the UK, dating back to early Victorian times.
The play was a little cheeky, the antidote to every Christmas show on the circuit, and strictly 16+ only.
September 15 2005 - Alison Lapper PregnantDenise was honoured to sing at the unveiling of the Alison Lapper Pregnant statue in London's Trafalgar Square, on September 15. The event went off well in the presence of the artist Marc Quinn, and then Mayor Ken Livingstone, despite pouring rain and freezing wind.
'Alison Lapper Pregnant' is a portrait of disabled artist Alison Lapper when she was eight months pregnant. It has been carved from white marble, weighs twelve tonnes and stands 3.55 metres high. Alison Lapper, the subject of the piece, said: "I regard it as a modern tribute to femininity, disability and motherhood. It is so rare to see disability in everyday life - let alone naked, pregnant and proud."
September 10 2005 - Belfast Proms in the Park
Denise was invited to sing at Belfast's Proms in the Park event, at City Hall, alongside Jane Gilchrist.
The pair sang a selection of arias and duets from the world of opera, and the whole evening was available to those viewers with the famous "red button."
June 14 2005 - Presenting In Touch
Denise presented her first In Touch programme on BBC Radio 4. Denise had appeared many times as a studio guest, but this was her first time to be totally flying solo.
"I can't believe how nervous I got sitting in the studio with Cheryl Gabriel on the other side of the glass, telling me to relax and enjoy myself. Anyone would've thought I was singing at the Albert Hall or maybe having all my fingernails pulled out with rusty pliers."
Denise loved the experience, once she'd got started, and quickly got into the flow and chatted easily to the studio guests.
A selection of reviews...
Here are some reviews of Denise's albums and past performances:
The Independent: Jane Gilchrist and Denise Leigh: And for our encore
The Independent: Messiah St George's, Hanover Square, London
The Guardian: Operatunity Winners
Liverpool Daily Post: Chester Town Hall
©2008 Denise Leigh