Joyce Castle plans free performance Monday

Joyce Castle, mezzo-soprano and Kansas University professor of voice, will give a free performance Monday evening at KU.

Castle’s recital, “Mostly Bernstein,” begins at 7:30 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall, 1530 Naismith Drive. In addition to performing many of Bernstein’s songs, Castle will perform Ravel’s “Chansons Madecasses” and a scene from Michael Tippett’s opera “The Midsummer Marriage.”

“I had many encounters with the late great Leonard Bernstein, sang so many of his works, and sang for and with him,” Castle said in a news release for the show. “I am excited to re-visit those works.”

Since her debut with New York City Opera in 1983, Castle has sung over 160 performances of leading roles to great acclaim. Critics have recognized her unique combination of a “richly nuanced voice, profound dramatic skills and a superb sense of musicianship.”