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NO TENORS ALLOWED
4 December 2013 at 7:30 pm
PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Julian Kovatchev – conductor
Two world-renowned baritones Thomas Hampson and Luca Pisaroni will lead the audience through a gallery of opera characters which the “kings of high-Cs” cannot portray. They will introduce themselves as devoted friends (Marquis Posa), rulers (Phillip II. and King Herod), devils (Mephistopheles) and the most famous operatic embodiment of evil (Iago)… Most composers devoted the roles of lovers to tenors; yet, the most famous seducer of all times, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, is a baritone...
The American baritone Thomas Hampson enjoys a singular international career as a recitalist, opera singer, and recording artist, and maintains an active interest in teaching, research, and technology. Praised by the New York Times for his “ceaseless curiosity,” he is one of the most respected, innovative, and sought-after soloists performing today. He has performed in all of the world’s most important concert halls and opera houses with many renowned singers, pianists, conductors, and orchestras. Thomas Hampson has won worldwide recognition for his thoughtfully researched and creatively constructed programs that explore the rich repertoire of song in a wide range of styles, languages, and periods. He is recognized as today’s leading interpreter of Gustav Mahler’s songs as well.
Raised in Spokane, Washington, Thomas Hampson has received many honours and awards for his probing artistry and cultural leadership. His discography of more than 150 albums includes winners of a Grammy Award, two Edison Awards, and the Grand Prix du Disque. He holds honorary doctorates from Manhattan School of Music, Whitworth College (WA), and the San Francisco Conservatory, and is an honorary member of London’s Royal Academy of Music. He carries the titles of Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the Republic of France, and was awarded the Austrian Medal of Honour in Arts and Sciences in 2004. In 2010, Thomas Hampson was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Born in Venezuela and bred in Verdi’s hometown of Busseto, Italy, bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni has established himself as one of the most captivating and versatile singers of his generation. Having debuted at the Salzburg Festival at age 26 with the Vienna Philharmonic under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, he undertook another successful run at the U.K.’s Glyndebourne Festival this summer with his role debut as Argante in Händel’s Rinaldo. He gained recognition as a great Mozart singer. His Leporello (Don Giovanni) met with great ovations in 2010 at Glyndebourne (DVD, EMI Classics), in summer 2011 at the festival in Baden-Baden under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin (CD, Deutsche Grammophon) and in October 2011, he debuted with this role in Metropolitan Opera; the performance on October 29 was broadcasted live in HD world-wide. In May 2013, he will create Leporello in Baden-Baden, alongside Anna Netrebko’s Donna Anna. As Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) he has excelled at the San Francisco Opera, Paris National Opera, Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan opera and at the Salzburg Festival. In addition to Mozart’s roles, Luca Pisaroni has a rich repertoire, with which he has appeared at many top opera houses. As a devoted concert singer and recitalist he has performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York, Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam or Wigmore Hall in London. Luca Pisaroni lives in Vienna with his wife Catherine, Thomas Hampson’s daughter.
Overture to Le nozze di Figaro
Madamina, il catalogo è questo
Leporello’s aria from Act I of opera Don Giovanni
Luca Pisaroni
Hai già vinta la causa... Vedrò mentr’io sospiro
Count’s recitative and aria from Act III of opera Le nozze di Figaro
Thomas Hampson
Vous qui faites l’endormie
Mephistopheles’ serenade from Act IV of opera Faust
Luca Pisaroni
Vision fugitive
Herod’s aria from Act II of opera Hérodiade
Thomas Hampson
Restate! Al mio regal cospetto
duet of King Philip II and Rodrigo from Act II of opera Don Carlo
Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni
Vincenzo Bellini
Il rival salvar tu dei… Suoni la tromba
duet of Giorgio and Riccardo from Act II of opera I puritani
Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni
Overture to opera Attila
Sorgete… Duce di tanti eroi
Maometto’s aria from Act I from opera Maometto II
Luca Pisaroni
Credo in un Dio crudel
Iago’s aria from Act II of opera Otello
Thomas Hampson
Some Enchanted Evening
Emile de Becque’s song from Act I from musical South Pacific
Luca Pisaroni
Lonely Town
Gabey’s song from Act I of musical On The Town
Thomas Hampson
Cheti cheti immantinente
duet of Don Pasquale and Malatesta from Act III of opera Don Pasquale
Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni
