Projects | Nachtigall Artists

The celebrated British baritone, Sir Simon Keenlyside, first appeared in Prague at the invitation of Nachtigall Artists on 27/01/2015, with bass Štefan Kocán and the PKF-Prague Philharmonia, bringing a project entitled Blue Skies. His current Prague concert comes after his being conferred, in June 2018, knighthood and the title of Sir by H.M. the Queen Elizabeth II. His other distinctions include the prestigious title of Kammersänger granted him by the Vienna State Opera; Singer of the Year 2011 award from the magazine Musical America; and two Laurence Olivier Awards from the Society of London Theatre.

Where can audiences look forward to admiring Sir Simon’s art in the course of the 2018/19 season? Among other venues, at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (as Don Giovanni and Rigoletto), the Vienna State Opera (as Giorgio Germont in La traviata and Ford in Falstaff), London’s Covent Garden (as Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro), or the Deutsche Oper Berlin (as Wolfram in Tannhäuser). And at Prague’s Smetana Hall, of course! His partner here will be soprano Ermonela Jaho, a native of Albania currently resident in New York. Over the last few years she has been applauded by music lovers in many parts of the world, from Sydney to London. She was commended by the critic of the Australian Daily Telegraph as “an unstoppable phenomenon”, while in the UK The Independent singled her out as “the best Madama Butterfly London has seen in years.”

Ermonela Jaho has earned wide repute notably for her accounts of Violetta, Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica. In the 2018/19 season, Ermonela Jaho will return to Munich’s Bavarian State Opera as Madama Butterfly and Suor Angelica, and to the Opéra national de Paris, London’s Covent Garden, and the State Opera of Berlin as Violetta. She entered the 2018/19 season with her first creation of Valentine in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots at the Opéra national de Paris; the following season will see her, in July 2020, as Anna Bolena at the Sydney Opera House.

The concert is made under the auspices of the Lord mayor of Prague Dr. Zdeněk Hřib.