The Edge of Silence – Works for Voice by György Kurtág Susan Narucki (Donald Berman, Curtis Macomber, Kathryn Schulmeister & Nicholas Tolle) Himmelsmusik Philippe Jaroussky & Céline Scheen; Christina Pluhar, conductor; L’Arpeggiata, ensemble (Jesús Rodil & Dingle Yandell) Schumann: Liederkreis Op. 24, Kerner-Lieder Op. 35 Matthias Goerne; Leif Ove Andsnes, accompanist Songplay Joyce DiDonato; Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter & Craig Terry, accompanists (Steve Barnett & Lautaro Greco) A Te, O Cara Stephen Costello; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra)
The ICMA nomination list for 2020 is available. To see the list, just click on our Nominations button, which will lead you to lists sorted by labels or categories. […]
with Pacific MusicWorks co-Artistic Director Stephen Stubbs
There are a few elements of historical performance that, for obvious reasons, ought to remain in the past. In the 17th and early 18th centuries, the majority of male operatic leading roles were written for castrati, who most often sang in the soprano or mezzo-soprano range, and were particularly valued for their virtuosity and almost super-human breath control. Obviously, most modern countertenors don’t fulfill that first basic necessity of the soprano range (most would qualify as altos), but then in the early 2000s a major new talent burst onto the scene in the form of the young French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. Beyond the sheer beauty of his voice and his highly-developed yet instinctive musicality, he possessed two even rarer qualities – the high tessitura of a mezzo-soprano, and the extreme virtuosity that could make sense of the wildest melismas that any baroque composer had devised. Suddenly, the vast repertoire of the castrati had a living advocate that could bring it back to life in our time!
We began our collaboration with Philippe in 2011 when he embodied the virtuoso role of Anfione in Agostino Steffani’s 1688 opera Niobe. How we came to work with Philippe on that project is part of the next chapter, but the result was this: a wildly successful stage production of Niobe by Gilbert Blin for the 2011 Boston Early Music Festival starring Philippe and Amanda Forsythe, followed by a recording on the Erato label which has received much glowing press and prizes, and finally a concert tour of Europe in 2014, (and unquestionably due to Philippe’s status as a European superstar) playing to full houses at some of the best halls in Europe from Madrid to Paris to Amsterdam.
In the next installment of OrfeoBlog, I will share how Amanda Forsythe, one of our favorite leading ladies, was chosen to be part of this exciting partnership. Stay tuned!
[…] Il secondo controtenore del gruppo dei Romani è Philippe Jaroussky, Sesto. Con la sua voce dal colore chiaro rende molto bene il personaggio del figlio privato del padre. Il cantante francese più che nei recitativi è a suo agio nelle arie dove dipana una linea di canto continua e pura con un’insolita intensità di espressione. […]
“Riding the music with gusto and unafraid to take risks, Ms. Bartoli’s voice sometimes tightens in fast, florid passages, but in relaxed music her tone is still warm and fresh; for floating notes she’s equaled by the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, playing one of the men in her magical clutches.” […]
“But best, by far, are those ravishing lamenti for which Cavalli was renowned. One of the finest examples is Uscitemi dal cor, lacrime amare. Here, Jaroussky sings with the utmost delicacy and warmth.” […]
2019-06-13, euronews, by Katharina Rabillon & Andrea Buring
(Trascript:) Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor, said, “Handel had a personality that was severe, quite difficult to handle, a little bad tempered. We know that he even once threatened to throw a soprano out of the window. It was not a good idea to bother him too much.”
“And then ironically his music has so much sensuality and humanity. The music of Handel is probably among the most touching in the history of music,” he added. […]
“May 13, 2019. Himmelsmusik, German for “heavenly music,” is the latest project of Austrian theorbo player Christina Pluhar and her early-music ensemble L’Arpeggiata, based in France.
Joined by Belgian soprano Céline Scheen and French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, Pluhar leads her charges in a program of 17th-century instrumental and vocal works rooted in—and pollinated by—influences from cities spanning the northern and southern ends of Europe.” […]
