A private concert on Thursday mixed the intriguing talents of pianist/composer Alisa Firsova, tenor Bryan Hymel, soprano Irini Kyriakidou-Hymel and poet Peter Wolrich. The link was the Chateau de Canisy in Normandy where Firsova was resident for a number of years and came to know Wolrich. She set a sequence of Wolrich's poems, from Paradise Poems inspired by his periods at Canisy. And so the evening presented Firsova's Here in Canisy Op.22, Ascend to Freedom & In search of Paradise Op.37 and Unity Op.26.
But because Bryan Hymel is a distinguished dramatic tenor, Firsova had crafted an intriguing programme which combined her music with showcasing Hymel in a number of arias for roles he does not yet sing, 'Wintersturme' from Wagner's Die Walkure and 'Walther's Prize Song' from Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, as well as hearing Irini Kyriakidou-Hymel in 'Elsa's Dream' from Lohengrin. And Firsova wove these together with Liszt's Lugubre Gondola II and Liszt's arrangement of Wagner's Liebestod, plus her own arrangement of the 'Adagietto' from Mahler's Symphony No. 5.
It was lovely to hear relatively intimate performances of the Wagner arias, and Firsova's own songs (preceded by Wolrich reading the relevant poems) proved fascinating with Firsova weaving a seductive web of piano round the voices.
Saturday, 13 January 2018
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
Costume design for Asteria in Handel's Tamerlano by Rachel Szmukler When Cambridge Handel Opera Company 's production of Handel'...
-
Luke Styles On 4 July 2021 at Cheltenham Music Festival , conductor George Vass and Nova Music Opera will premiere composer Luke Styles ...
-
1984 - New European Ensemble, Mihkel Kerem George Orwell, Mihkel Kerem 1984 ; Edward Snowden, Joseph Thompson, Willem Stam, New European...
-
Fretwork & SANSARA at St John's Smith Square's Easter Festival (Photo Nick Rutter) Pärt: Fratres , Solfeggio , Summa , Stabat Ma...
-
Mark Vuorinen & the Elora Singers performing in the Barn at the Elora Festival The Elora Singers might be described as one of Canada...
-
Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra I get all sorts of mail, people sending my information on concerts and recordings. Everything gets gl...
-
Feodor Akimenko [Fedir Yakymenko] With his Voices from the East series at Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO), conductor Kirill Karabits h...
-
This week, counter-tenor Jakub Józef Orliński's new album is out on Erato. Having recorded albums of (often rare) Baroque repertoire, h...
-
National Youth Jazz Orchestra Norfolk & Norwich Festival opening weekend - FANFARE 250; James Batty, Cameron Biles-Liddell, Ninfea Crutt...
-
Noemi Gyori and Gergely Madaras (Photo Benjamin Ealovega) Gergely Madaras is best known as a conductor (he is music director of Orchestre P...
No comments:
Post a Comment