Fearless in the face of death, unflinching in their love, ruthless in their revenge: the women in Handel’s operas are anything but one-dimensional. Italian coloratura soprano Patrizia Ciofi and the Baroque ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro, led by Maxim Emelyanychev, perform the most powerful and moving arias from Handel’s operas. Together with bestselling author and Handel enthusiast Donna Leon they set out to discover the women’s stories. When Rodelinda becomes a veritable goddess of revenge, Ciofi interprets her great aria “Morrai, si” with dramatic ferocity. In Alcina (1735), the heroine has the power to bewitch the whole world around her, but none over her own heart. Ciofi emotionally commits to Alcina’s desperate arias, “Ah, Ruggero crudel… Ombre pallide” and “Ah, mio cor”, showcasing the tragedy of the narrative. “An original and electrifying spectacle!” (ForumOpera)
Salzburg Festival 2016: Missa Salisburgensis
One of the supreme masterworks of Baroque polyphony, the Missa Salisburgensis by composer-violinist Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber is performed in the Salzburg Cathedral – the very building where it was first heard. Biber’s Mass was specifically designed to exploit the acoustics and architecture of the Cathedral and is here presented in authentic 360° surround sound, bringing into play all four of the Cathedral’s organs. Performed by the renowned Prague-based period ensembles Collegium 1704 and Collegium Vocale 1704 under their founder-director Václav Luks, Biber’s Mass is prefaced by a selection of sacred choral works by Monteverdi, masterpieces that are equally suited to the Italianate splendor of Salzburg’s Cathedral. “An extravagant but joyous enterprise, a real festival event. Long will this spectacular Mass continue to resound in my memory” (Salzburger Nachrichten).
Lang Lang in Paris
“Hats off, gentlemen, a genius!” Schumann’s famous words heralding Frédéric Chopin have gone down in history, and the two composers jointly launched a revolution in piano music in the early Romantic era. And works by both men are at the centre of Lang Lang’s recital from the Philharmonie de Paris: Schumann’s fantastical Kreisleriana, and mazurkas and a polonaise by Chopin, in which he distilled the spirit of Poland into music at once haunting, deeply moving and – in the case of the Polonaise – thrillingly rousing. Opening with the original piano version of Fauré’s beautiful Pavane, this programme promises to be a superb showcase of Lang Lang’s passion, virtuosity and sensitivity. PROGRAM Fauré: Pavane; Schumann: Kreisleriana; Chopin: Mazurkas; Polonaise in F-sharp minor