“In February, Julia Bullock stood on stage at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, excavating the depths of her soul [in] Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations, based on Rimbaud’s poems about spiritual transcendence, drug addiction and homelessness,” writes Nastia Voynovskaya in Friday’s (11/13) KQED (San Francisco). “At 33 years old, Bullock has become a luminary in the classical music world for her unique ability to capture a piece’s gripping emotional qualities…. Discussing a program called Lineage that she curated for San Francisco Symphony’s Soundbox [series], she points easily to the links between Nina Simone and Johann Sebastian Bach…. She’s candid about her past struggles with addiction and mental health. In interviews, she’s discussed going to rehab at age 20, and how several years ago, her singing career was nearly derailed because of a psychosomatic ailment…. Bullock has given only a small handful of live performances this year … but she’s been booked and busy with virtual concerts [and has] found a new creative outlet in singing at home, with her husband [conductor Christian Reif] on piano…. Her empathetic, delicate and soulful approach is more necessary than ever to help us make sense of the chaotic year that is 2020.”
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