Monteverdi 450 tour brochure

Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras Presents

MONTEVERDI 450

An international tour of Claudio Monteverdi’s three surviving operas in celebration of his 450th anniversary

1

monteverdi 450 - at a glance 2017 marks an important milestone in Western cultural history, as it celebrates the 450th anniversary of the birth of Claudio Monteverdi, one of the founders of opera who in his time was hailed ‘the creator of modern music’. Of the many works written in the early days of opera, few remain. Monteverdi himself is believed to have written around twenty dramatic works, but only three full-length operas survive intact: L’Orfeo (1607), Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1639-40), and L’incoronazione di Poppea (1642-43).

tour dates 10 Apr | 8.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria

Festival de Pâques, Aix-en-Provence

12 Apr | 7.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria

Colston Hall, Bristol 03 May | 8.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria

Palau de la Música, Barcelona 08 May | 7.30pm L’incoronazione di Poppea 28 May | 7.30pm L’Orfeo

Colston Hall, Bristol

16 Jun | 7pm L’Orfeo 17 Jun | 3.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria 18 Jun | 3.30pm L’incoronazione di Poppea 19 Jun | 7pm L’Orfeo 20 Jun | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria 21 Jun | 7pm L’incoronazione di Poppea

Teatro La Fenice, Venice 26 Jul | 7pm L’Orfeo 28 Jul | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria 29 Jul | 7pm L’incoronazione di Poppea

Salzburg Festival 14 Aug 15 Aug 17 Aug

| 7pm L’Orfeo | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria | 7pm L’incoronazione di Poppea Edinburgh International Festival

22 Aug 25 Aug 26 Aug

| 7.30pm L’Orfeo | 6.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria | 6.30pm L’incoronazione di Poppea Lucerne Festival

02 Sep 03 Sep 05 Sep

| 7pm L’Orfeo | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria | 7pm L’incoronazione di Poppea Musikfest Berlin

2

07 Sep | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria 08 Sep | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria

Wratislavia Cantans Festival 16 Sep | 7.30pm L’Orfeo 17 Sep | 7.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria 18 Sep | 7.30pm L’incoronazione di Poppea

Philharmonie de Paris 12 Oct 13 Oct 15 Oct

| 7.30pm L’Orfeo | 7.30pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria | 2pm L’incoronazione di Poppea Harris Theater, Chicago

18 Oct 19 Oct 21 Oct

| 7pm L’Orfeo | 7pm Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria | 7pm L’incoronazione di Poppea White Light Festival, New York

introduction

Monteverdi has been a constant presence in my life since I was a small boy. He is the composer with whom I started my career as a conductor and whose music has marked all its milestones and turning points.

I cannot conceive of a more fitting way to celebrate his 450th anniversary, therefore, than by setting out to perform all three of his surviving operas back-to-back in concert halls across Europe and the USA. Between them these wonderful theatrical works encapsulate many aspects of human nature. Monteverdi’s Orfeo is a semi deo, a charismatic musician, even a proto-rockstar. But he is also human and weak – a self-centred, insecure mortal who is only intermittently heroic and god-like. Indeed, perhaps we are drawn to him as much by his fallibility as by his charisma.

3

Monteverdi’s Ulisse is a different kind of flawed hero, a lone wanderer who has to undergo cruel tests and terrible hardships before he can win back his long-suffering Penelope. Monteverdi’s Poppea is a minx – an amoral strumpet who stops at nothing in pursuit of her ambitions, but she is also a sympathetic anti-heroine who charms us and reduces us to a pulp, thanks to the beguiling music Monteverdi assigns to her.

By performing the trilogy in consecutive performances we hope to take audiences on a voyage – from the pastoral world to the court and the city, from myth to political history, from innocence to corruption, from a portrait of man subject to the whim of the gods to a hero imprisoned by his human condition, and finally to a dual portrait of mad lovers, uncontrolled in their ambition and lust. Who wins in the end? Could La Musica (the personification of music in the Prologue to L’Orfeo, an implied presence hovering over Poppea’s coronation) be the only true victor of the trilogy?

Isn’t that Monteverdi’s message to us?

I do hope you will join me on this voyage of rediscovery – to experience quite how beautiful, poignantly human and modern these works are.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner Artistic Director and Founder Claudio Monteverdi

A BRIEF HISTORY Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) was the most significant composer in early seventeenth-century Italy. His music moves away from the vocal polyphony of the Renaissance towards more emotional styles for solo voice(s) and accompaniment typical of the musical Baroque. His nine books of madrigals, three of church music and three surviving operas both summarised and revolutionised the field.

Born in Cremona, he was taught there by the cathedral’s Director of Music, Marc’ Antonio Ingegneri. In 1590 he moved to Mantua as court musician of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, to whom he then became Maestro della Musica in 1601.

Monteverdi’s Fourth (1603) and Fifth (1605) books of madrigals reflect new developments influenced by the poetry of Tasso and Guarini. They were also highly controversial for their breaking of the traditional rules of counterpoint, harmony, and mode. Monteverdi justified these licenses by the notion of a ‘second practice’ (seconda pratica) which, in contrast to the prima pratica of the Renaissance masters, made the music subservient to the expressive demands of the text.

Mantua Cathedral

Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga His first opera, L’Orfeo (1607), placed a genre newly invented in Florence on a secure musical and dramatic footing.

His second, Arianna (1608), is now lost save for its famous lament for the title-character that was widely performed and imitated.The mammoth Sanctissimae Virgini missa senis vocibus, published two years later (the ‘1610 Vespers’) is a masterpiece of the various current styles of church music.

Soon after the death of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga in early 1612, Monteverdi was discharged from Mantuan service. He moved to Venice the next year to take up the prestigious post of Director of Music at St Mark’s Basilica. Now enjoying the fame and security of perhaps the leading musical position in Italy he there embedded himself firmly in Venetian circles, composing for the city’s churches, confraternities, and

4

private patrons. He also developed associations with the Habsburg court in Vienna. Emperor Ferdinand III was hence the dedicatee of the Eighth Book of Madrigals (1638), the Madrigali guerrieri, et amorosi, that appeared during a temporary lull in the Thirty Years’ War. Late in life, Monteverdi returned to the theatre, taking advantage of the recent development of ‘public’ opera in Venice to produce Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (1640), Le nozze d’Enea in Lavinia (1641; now lost), and L’incoronazione di Poppea (1643).

His three surviving operas are the earliest to have a sure place in the repertory today. L’Orfeo sits squarely within the tradition of late-Renaissance court entertainments, rich in visual and sonic splendour, and clearly designed to show off the virtuoso singers and instrumentalists employed by the Gonzagas in Mantua. Monteverdi takes the new style of recitative music recently developed in Florence but turns it to far more dramatic ends, also vying to find a way of representing the singing of Orpheus, the greatest musician of Classical Antiquity. Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea, on the other hand, cater to the fast-burgeoning opera industry in Venice: the characters are more human, and their emotions more visceral. Here, too, Monteverdi exploits new styles of aria with more tuneful melodies and turns them to dramatic ends, whether to represent Penelope’s joy at recovering her long-lost husband Ulysses or, if in more troublesome fashion, to represent the nefarious love affair between Roman Emperor Nero and his mistress Poppea.

For all the power of the music, the moral dilemmas are clear, and those same dilemmas go on to animate the history of opera for centuries to come.

Tim Carter, Professor of Music University of North Carolina 5

MONTEVERDI TUSCANY ADVERT

6

Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras

Presents

MONTEVERDI 450 An international tour of Claudio Monteverdi’s three surviving operas in celebration of his 450th anniversary

l’orfeo

‘Favola in musica’ in a Prologue and five acts First performed 1607 at palace of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga, Mantua

il ritorno d’ulisse in patria

First performed 1639 at Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

l’incoronazione di poppea

First performed 1643 at Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

John Eliot Gardiner Conductor and Co-director

Elsa Rooke Co-director

Monteverdi Choir Chorus

Rick Fisher Lighting Designer

English Baroque Soloists Orchestra

Matthew Muller Production Manager

Paolo Zanzu Antonio Greco Music Assistants

Noel Mann Stage Manager

Matteo Dalle Fratte Language Coach

7

Patricia Hofstede (Atelier Paradis) Costumes

l’orfeo Music: Claudio Monteverdi Libretto: Alessandro Striggio Edition: John Eliot Gardiner, published by Chester Music

Cast & Characters Orfeo Krystian Adam La Musica/Euridice Hana Blažíková Messaggera Lucile Richardot Lea Desandre (US only) Proserpina Francesca Boncompagni Caronte/Plutone Gianluca Buratto Speranza Kangmin Justin Kim Ninfa Anna Dennis Apollo Furio Zanasi Pastore I Francisco Fernández-Rueda Pastore II/Spirito I/Eco Gareth Treseder Pastore IV/Spirito III John Taylor Ward Pastore III Michał Czerniawski Spirito II Zachary Wilder

8

The history books tell us that L’Orfeo was one of the earliest surviving operas, and the most frequently performed of its era. Monteverdi and his librettist called it a ‘fable in music’, one which re-enacts the famous story of Orpheus who descends to the underworld in an attempt to bring his dead bride, Eurydice, back to life.

His journey through Hades proves fruitless, as, being unable to resist looking back at Eurydice as she follows him back to the living world he thus inadvertently condemns her to return to the world of the dead. Orpheus suffers, loses himself in the violence of grief, grows and finally comes to a new and deeper understanding of himself.

L’Orfeo is a magical introduction to Monteverdi’s probing investigation of human nature, character and desire by means of music.

il ritorno d’ulisse in patria Music: Claudio Monteverdi Libretto: Giacomo Badoaro Edition: prepared for these performances

by John Eliot Gardiner, Paolo Zanzu and members of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras

Cast & Characters Ulisse Furio Zanasi Penelope Lucile Richardot Marianna Pizzolato (US only) Telemaco Krystian Adam Minerva/Fortuna Hana Blažíková Tempo/Nettuno/Antinoo Gianluca Buratto Pisandro Michał Czerniawski Anfinomo Gareth Treseder Eurimaco Zachary Wilder Melanto Anna Dennis Giove John Taylor Ward Giunone Francesca Boncompagni Iro Robert Burt Eumete Francisco Fernández-Rueda Umana fragilità Carlo Vistoli Amore Silvia Frigato Ericlea Francesca Biliotti

9

Based on the second half of Homer’s Odyssey, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria is a tale of treachery and deception eventually overcome by fidelity and love.

When Ulysses, King of Ithaca, returns home from the Trojan wars he finds his faithful queen, Penelope, being besieged by a trio of fawning suitors and being urged by her advisors to accept one of them as her new husband. Ulysses (with both the help and hindrance of the quarrelling gods) eventually convinces her of his true identity, drives away the three suitors and regains his kingdom.

Monteverdi and his librettist Badoaro chart the trials and twists of Ulysses’s journey, introducing us to a Shakespearean cast of characters, from the quarrelling gods to the noble protagonists, their scheming servants, the evil courtiers, and rustics that are either innocent, faithful or merely foolish. It is astonishing how accurately and subtly Monteverdi’s music reflects the salient features of each persona.

Most strikingly, he underlines the essential humanity of Ulysses and Penelope, so that we are moved to share in their sorrows and joys.

l’incoronazione di poppea Music: Claudio Monteverdi Libretto: Giovanni Francesco Busenello Edition: based on the edition by Clifford Bartlett, amended by Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras with some orchestrations

by Peter Holman and Chad Kelly

Cast & Characters Poppea/Fortuna Hana Blažíková Nerone Kangmin Justin Kim Ottavia Marianna Pizzolato Seneca Gianluca Buratto Ottone Carlo Vistoli Drusilla/Virtù/Pallade Anna Dennis Arnalta/Venere Lucile Richardot Reginald Mobley (US only) Amore/Valletto Silvia Frigato Soldato I/Liberto Furio Zanasi Famigliari Gareth Treseder Lucano Zachary Wilder Damigella Francesca Boncompagni Mercurio/Littore John Taylor Ward Nutrice Michał Czerniawski Soldato II Robert Burt

10

Monteverdi’s final opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea, first performed in the 1642–43 carnival season in Venice, was unusual in its time for abandoning mythology in favour of a retelling of historical events.

The opera portrays Poppea’s progression from Nero’s mistress to his acknowledged queen. In stark contrast to L’Orfeo and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Monteverdi’s operatic swan-song is a celebration of carnal love and ambition triumphing at the expense of reason and morality.

Set in the decadence of Imperial Rome it explores the emotional core of a group of characters as they form and dissolve alliances to achieve their amorous goals and social ambitions. From the outset Monteverdi achieves stark contrasts – the way, for example, he juxtaposes a scene in which two disgruntled sentry guards satirise Rome’s degenerate society and prepare us to despise Nero and Poppea, and then follows it with a portrayal of the two lovers as they exchange and entwine musical lines which leave us under their irresistible spell

monteverdi choir Soprano Charlotte Ashley Zoë Brookshaw Amy Carson Angela Hicks Alison Hill Eleanor Meynell Angharad Rowlands Countertenor Rory McCleery Timothy Morgan Simon Ponsford Richard Wilberforce Matthew Venner

Tenor Rory Carver Hugo Hymas Graham Neal Bass Alex Ashworth Daniel D’Souza Samuel Evans Ben Kazez Lawrence Wallington

english baroque soloists Violins Kati Debretzeni (Leader) Iona Davies Henry Tong Anne Schumann (Second Principal) Henrietta Wayne Davina Clarke Alison Bury (Guest Leader) Recorders Rachel Beckett Catherine Latham Cornetti Jamie Savan Frithjof Smith Richard Thomas Darren Moore Sackbuts (Orfeo only) Adam Woolf Miguel Tantos Sevillano Martyn Sanderson Abigail Newman Stephen Saunders Stephanie Dyer Harp Gwyneth Wentink

11

Violas Fanny Paccoud Lisa Cochrane Małgorzata Ziemkiewicz Aliye Cornish Cello Marco Frezzato Gamba/Lirone Kinga Gáborjáni Double Bass Valerie Botwright Harpsichord Antonio Greco Paolo Zanzu Chitarrone/Lutes David Miller Alex McCartney Eligio Luis Quinteiro Josías Rodríguez Gándara Elizabeth Kenny Dulcian Györgyi Farkas

Using our energy to support the Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras is just one of the things that makes us different

The 1st Italian Energy Supplier in Great Britain. www.greennetworkenergy.co.uk 12

CREATIVE TEAM Sir John Eliot Gardiner Conductor & Co-Director Sir John Eliot Gardiner is revered as one of the world’s most innovative and dynamic musicians, constantly in the vanguard of enlightened interpretation and standing as a leader in contemporary musical life.

His work, as founder and artistic director of the Monteverdi Choir (MC), English Baroque Soloists (EBS) and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR), has marked him out as a key figure both in the early music revival and as a pioneer of historically informed performances.

As a regular guest of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Gardiner conducts repertoire from the 17th to the 20th century. He was awarded the Concertgebouw Prize in January 2016.

The extent of Gardiner’s repertoire is illustrated in the extensive catalogue award-winning recordings on major labels. In 2013 Deutsche Grammophon released a special 30-CD collection to celebrate Gardiner's 70th birthday. Since 2005, his recordings have appeared on the Monteverdi ensembles’ independent label, Soli Deo Gloria. Sir John Eliot Gardiner has received more Gramophone Awards than any other living artist. His many accolades for his recordings include two GRAMMY Awards.

Gardiner has also conducted opera productions; at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (ROH), at the Vienna State Opera and at Teatro alla Scala, Milan. From 1983 to 1988 he was artistic director of Opéra de Lyon, where he founded its new orchestra.

Following the success in 2008 of Verdi Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House, Gardiner returned there in 2012 to conduct Verdi Rigoletto, and in 2013 Mozart Le nozze di Figaro, to coincide with the 40th anniversary since his ROH debut. In autumn 2015, he returned again to ROH to conduct Gluck Orphée et Eurydice, with the MC and EBS, co-directed by Hofesh Shechter and John Fulljames.

The 2016 Edinburgh International Festival included two concerts with the MC, Schumann Manfred with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Bach St Matthew Passion with the EBS, sung from memory and part of a year-long European tour of the work.

An authority on the music of J S Bach, Gardiner’s book, Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach, was published in October 2013 by Allen Lane, leading to the Prix des Muses award (Singer-Polignac). Among numerous awards in recognition of his work, Sir John Eliot Gardiner holds several honorary doctorates. He was awarded a knighthood for his services to music in the 1998 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

13

Elsa Rooke Co-Director Parisian stage-director and drama coach Elsa Rooke has directed at Opéra National de Bordeaux, Opéra National de Lyon, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra de Genève (The Turn of the Screw), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cenerentola, Idomeneo, Hansel und Gretel, Dialogues des Carmélites).

A long-term collaborator of Adrian Noble, Elsa has revived many of his opera productions, she also worked in partnership with Gwenaël Morin on Peter Handke’s introspection and on four plays by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

She directed the European Premières of both Dominic Argento’s Postcard from Morocco and Conrad Susa & Anne Sexton’s Transformations for the Opéra de Lausanne and wrote the libretto in English, French and German for a new opera, based on the life and works of Annemarie Schwarzenbach: Le Ruisseau Noir, composed by Guy-François Leuenberger.

Rick Fisher Lighting Designer Born in Philadelphia, Rick is winner of two Olivier Awards for Best Lighting Design and two Tony Awards for An Inspector Calls and Billy Elliot (Broadway). He has previously worked with John Eliot Gardiner on productions of Leonora, The Magic Flute and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His theatre credits include: Consent (National Theatre, London), Rent (UK tour), What’s in a Name, An Inspector Calls, Sunny Afternoon, Judas Kiss (New York, Toronto, London); The Audience (West End, Broadway), Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Billy Elliot.

Antonio Greco Music Assistant Antonio graduated in Piano, Choral Conducting and Renaissance Polyphony. He teaches Choral music at the Ravenna Conservatory and Baroque music at Accademia del Belcanto Rodolfo Celletti in Martina Franca, Italy. Along with the period instrument ensemble, Cremona Antiqua he founded the Costanzo Porta Choir, which has won numerous prizes and competitions. He has conducted baroque operas at Festival della Valle d’Itria (Puglia), and has recorded for Discantica, Tactus, Bongiovanni, Challenge Classics, Sony and Dynamic.

Paolo Zanzu Music Assistant Harpsichordist, pianist and conductor Paolo Zanzu studied in Italy, then at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris and Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2010 Paolo won third prize at the Bruges International Harpsichord Competition and from there went on to perform with some of the world’s greatest music-makers including Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras and Le Concert d’Astrée. He made his debut as a soloist at the BBC Proms in London in 2014 and his recording of Handel’s harpsichord suites has appeared on the Musica Ficta label.

14

cast

Krystian Adam tenor Krystian regularly works with eminent conductors, including John Eliot Gardiner, Giovanni Antonini, Teodor Currentzis, Stefano Montanari, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Andreas Spering, Werner Ehrhardt, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Václav Luks, Fabio Biondi and Fabio Bonizzoni. Among his recent engagements: Mozart Great Mass in C Minor, Le nozze di Figaro and Adriana Lecouvreur (ROH); Idomeneo (La Fenice); Bach Magnificat (Berlin) and La Fanciulla del West (La Scala, Milan).

Francesca Biliotti contralto A graduate from Conservatorio Cantelli in Novara, Francesca is the winner of several singing competitions. Previous operatic performances include Rossini L’Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola and Gluck Orfeo. In concert she has performed Vivaldi Dixit Dominus at Yaroslavl Festival with the Soloists of Moscow, Bach St Matthew Passion, Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Salve Regina, Vivaldi Stabat Mater, Mozart Requiem, and Handel Messiah. In 2016 she recorded Lotti Se con stille frequenti with Sara Mingardo (Arcana Records).

Hana Blažíková soprano Born in prague, Hana specialises in the interpretation of baroque, renaissance and medieval music, performing with ensembles and orchestras around the world, including Collegium Vocale Gent, Bach Collegium Japan, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, L’Arpeggiata, Gli Angeli Genève, La Fenice, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Tafelmusik, Collegium 1704, Tiburtina ensemble, among others. Hana appears on more than 30 CDs, including the Bach Cantatas with Bach Collegium Japan.

Francesca Boncompagni soprano Franceca has worked with top early music ensembles across Europe including Collegium Vocale Gent, Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Accademia Bizantina, Cappella Mediterranea and Cappella Neapolitana and with leading conductors Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie and Paul Agnew. She has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls including Philharmonie, Salle Pleyel and Théatre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Berlin Philharmonie, Alte Oper (Frankfurt), and also at the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

Gianluca Buratto bass Gianluca recent engagements include: Mozart and Jommelli Betulia liberata (Salzburg), Bach St John Passion (Spain, Germany), Macbeth (Salzburg, Rome, Chicago, Milan), Le nozze di Figaro (Barcelona), La bohème and I Due Foscari (Valencia), Rota’s Mysterium (Italy), Rinaldo and Admeto (Vienna), L’Orfeo (Paris), La bohème (Rome, Florence, Palermo, Amsterdam), I Puritani (Florence), Le Duc d’Albe and Semiramide (Opera Rara), Monteverdi L’Orfeo and Vespers (US and Europe), Guglielmo Ratcliff (Wexford Festival Opera), Donizetti’s Requiem, and Turandot (Bregenzer Festspiele).

15

Robert Burt tenor Robert studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is most associated with the role of Iro in Monteverdi Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Chicago‚ New York, Opera North‚ Deutsche Oper am Rhein‚ Geneva‚ Madrid, Aix-enProvence and on DVD). Other credits include Dancing Master Manon Lescaut (ROH), Sweeney Todd (Adelphi Theatre)‚ The Fairy Queen (Glyndebourne), L’incoronazione di Poppea (Montpellier), St John Passion and Sweeney Todd (Nederlandse Reisopera)‚ Die Fledermaus‚ Alice in Wonderland‚ Adriana Lecouvreur‚ Madama Butterfly (Opera Holland Park).

Michał Czerniawski countertenor Michał has worked extensively with William Christie, Masaaki Suzuki and Mark Padmore. Recent concert performances include Messiah, Solomon (Solomon's Knot), Scarlatti Salve Regina (London Handel Festival) and Scarlatti Il Primo Omicidio (Wratislavia Cantans). Operatic roles include Corrindo in Cesti L'Orontea (Innsbruck, Wigmore Hall), Purcell The Fairy Queen (Szczecin, Poland), and Steffani Orlando Generoso (Birmingham).

He has also performed The Fairy Queen, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Cavalli Giasone and Handel Agrippina with English Touring Opera.

Anna Dennis soprano Operatic roles include Gluck Paride ed Elena and Iphigenie en Tauride (Nuremberg), Katherine in Dr Dee (ENO), Emira in Handel Siroe and Rosemene in Imeneo (Göttingen Händel Festspiele), Bersi in Giordano Andrea Chénier (Opera North). She has also performed in Francisco Coll Café Kafka (ROH) and Britten Death in Venice (La Scala, Milan). Concert performances include Britten War Requiem (Berlin Philharmonie), Thomas Adès Life Story (Lincoln Center) and appearances with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and Concerto Copenhagen.

Lea Desandre mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre graduated from Le Jardin des Voix (Les Arts Florissants) and has appeared at major concert venues including Musikverein (Vienna), Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Alice Tully Hall, Sydney Opera House, Philharmonie de Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Opéra de Bordeaux, Théâtre du Chatelet, Tchaïkovski Concert Hall, Theater an der Wien, Salle Blanche KKL Luzern, Shanghai Symphony Hall. She has worked with leading conductors including William Christie, Jordi Savall, Emmanuelle Haïm, Fabio Biondi, Raphael Pichon, David Stern, Leonardo Garcia

Francisco Fernández-Rueda tenor Francisco studied at Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya and is an alumnus of Le Jardin des Voix. He regularly works with ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants, Concerto Köln and La Capella Reial de Catalunya. He has performed in major festivals such as Händel-Festspiele, SWR Schwetzinger Festspiele, Festival International d'Opéra Baroque de Beaune. He has worked with conductors including Jordi Savall, William Christie, Fabio Biondi and Paul Agnew. Operatic performances include Don Giovanni, Anna Bolena, Acis & Galatea, Hippolyte et Aricie, Tamerlano.

He has recorded for Accent, Naxos and Fra Musica.

16

Silvia Frigato soprano Silvia was winner of the Francesco Provenzale International Baroque singing competition in Naples (2007). Recent engagements include: Monteverdi L’incoronazione di Poppea (La Scala, Milan), Jommelli’s L’Isola Disabitata (Naples), Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice, Debussy Pélleas et Mélisande (Florence), Monteverdi Vespers (Prague, Dresden), Pergolesi Stabat Mater (Venice, Milan), Juditha Triumphans (Ferrara), Monteverdi 2.0 (France), Martinu’s Mirandolina (Venice), Biber’s Missa Salisburgensis (Salzburg), La Serva Padrona (Lugo).

Kangmin Justin Kim countertenor After studying in the US and at the Royal Academy of Music Justin quickly established himself as one of today’s most sought-after countertenors. His performances this year include Vinci Catone in Utica in Cologne, Handel Parnasso in festa (Amsterdam) with Andrea Marcon, Orff Carmina Burana (Seoul), Vivaldi Arsilda on tour with Collegium 1704, L'Orfeo (Dijon), and Giulietta e Romeo (Schwetzingen).

He recently made his Paris debut in Die Fledermaus at Opéra Comique conducted by Marc Minkowski and La belle Hélène at Théâtre du Châtelet.

Reginald Mobley countertenor Reginald Mobley’s most notable highlights include a reconstruction of Bach St. Mark Passion (Oregon Bach Festival), performance and recording of Lotti Gloria in C (Piedmont Baroque Consortium) and touring Bach St. Matthew Passion with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Other recent engagements include a tour and recording of Bach Magnificat with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Handel Messiah with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, performances with the Seattle Symphony and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras as well as Bach Reconstructed with the Academy of Ancient Music.

Marianna Pizzolato mezzo-soprano Marianna regularly sings in the most prestigious venues and festivals in the world, including: ROH, Opéra National de Paris and Nikikai Opera Theatre,Tokyo and has worked with conductors such as: Bruno Campanella, Daniele Gatti, James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Antonio Pappano, Alberto Zedda. Recent engagements: Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri (The Met), Rossini Stabat Mater (Edinburgh, Tanglewood Festival) and Il viaggio a Reims (Bolshoi Theatre). Her future projects include Rossini Stabat Mater and La Donna del Lago (Liège), Handel Radamisto (Athens), Verdi Falstaff (Madrid).

Lucile Richardot mezzo-soprano Lucile performs regularly with Europe’s top early music ensembles.

She has worked with Les Solistes XXI, Correspondances, Pygmalion, Le Poème Harmonique and Les Arts Florissants. Highlights include Bach St John’s Passion with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Agnew, the role of First Aunt in Philippe Boesmans Yvonne, Princesse de Bourgogne (2009), performed with Ensemble Intercomporain in Kurtág Omaggio a Luigi Nono (2014) and this year Lisea in Vivaldi Arsilda with Collegium 1704.

17

Gareth Treseder tenor Gareth studied at the University of Bristol and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and was an apprentice with Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir. Solo engagements include Bach Cantata 61 and Cantata 70 (Cité de la Musique, Berlin Philharmonic and Cadogan Hall), The Shepherd in Stravinsky Oedipus Rex with the LSO (Barbican) and with the Berlin Philharmonie, Handel Dixit Dominus (Buckingham Palace), Monteverdi Vespers (Carnegie Hall, King’s College Cambridge, and Château de Versailles), Mozart Requiem (Royal Albert Hall) and Handel Messiah (Colston Hall).

Carlo Vistoli countertenor Carlo graduated from Ferrara Conservatorio and Bologna University. His previous operatic roles include: Tamerlano in Handel Tamerlano (Warsaw), Purcell King Arthur (Rome and Bologna), Piritoo in Cavalli Elena (Rennes/ Nantes), Tolomeo in Handel Giulio Cesare (China), Febo in Caldara Dafne with Teatro La Fenice Orchestra and Giovanni Montanari (Venice), Spirit in Purcell Dido and Aeneas (Turin) and Ottone in Handel Agrippina (Brisbane). Other engagements include: Handel Dixit Dominus (Rome), Handel Messiah and L’Orfeo with Les Arts Florissants.

John Taylor Ward baritone John Taylor has performed with Les Arts Florissants, Roomful of Teeth, L’Arpeggiata, Bach Collegium Japan, the New York Philharmonic, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Recent credits include the US premiere of Claude Vivier Kopernikus directed by Peter Sellars, Caronte in L’Orfeo with Ensemble L’Arpeggiata, Aeneas in Dido & Aeneas at the Kennedy Center, and the DVD release of Christina Phuhar Orfeo Chaman.

Zachary Wilder tenor Zachary is recognised for his work in 17th and 18th-century repertoire on both the concert and operatic stages. He has performed with leading ensembles including Les Arts Florissants, Bach Collegium Japan, Boston Early Music Festival, Cappella Mediterranea, Collegium Vocale Gent, Le Poème Harmonique, Les Talens Lyriques, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent highlights include a tour with Ensemble Pygmalion, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for Handel Messiah and Les Arts Florissants.

Furio Zanasi baritone Furio has appeared in the main opera houses and most prestigious festivals in Europe, US and Japan, singing under many of the world’s famous conductors. He has sung Orfeo in Monteverdi L’Orfeo on tour and in a new production at Den Norske Opera, Oslo recorded by Naïve. He was Ulisse in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria at La Scala, Milan where he took part in the Monteverdi Trilogy with Rinaldo Alessandrini, directed by Robert Wilson.

He has recorded more than 60 CDs for a variety of labels including Harmonia Mundi, Accord, Naxos and Chandos.

18

monteverdi choir

‘The Monteverdi Choir has dominated the choral scene worldwide for more than 50 years now, and their singing remains wonderfully committed and scrupulously focused’ The Guardian Founded by Sir John Eliot Gardiner as part of the breakaway period-instrument movement of the 1960s, the Monteverdi Choir has always focused on bringing a new perspective to its repertoire. Combining consummate choral technique with historically-informed performance practice, the Choir goes beyond the music, exploiting venues and spaces in search of immediacy and drama. The Monteverdi Choir has been consistently acclaimed over the past 50 years as one of the best choirs in the world.

Amongst a number of iconic tours was the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, during which the Choir performed all 198 of J S Bach’s sacred cantatas in more than 60 churches throughout Europe and America. The entire project, recorded by the company’s record label Soli Deo Gloria, was hailed as ‘one of the most ambitious musical projects of all time’ by Gramophone magazine. The Monteverdi Choir has over 150 recordings to its name and has won numerous prizes.

The Choir is also committed to training future generations of singers through the Monteverdi Apprentices Programme. Many Apprentices go on to become full members of the Choir, and former Choir members have also gone on to enjoy successful solo careers.

Last season the Choir took part in a variety of projects across different repertoires – from an extensive tour of Bach St Matthew Passion (performed from memory) with the English Baroque Soloists to Berlioz Roméo et Juliette at the BBC Proms and Festival Berlioz with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner it also collaborated with both the London Symphony Orchestra on Mendelssohn Ein Sommernachtstraum and the Tonhalle Orchestra on Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass.

The Choir has also participated in several staged opera productions, including Le Freischütz, Carmen (Opéra Comique, Paris), Les Troyens (Théâtre du Châtelet) and most recently, Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, working in collaboration with the Hofesh Shechter dance company.

19

INTESA SANPAOLO

ADVERT

20

english baroque soloists

‘The intimacy of the English Baroque Soloists’ accompaniment judged to perfection.’

The Guardian L’incoronazione di Poppea at Colston Hall, 2017 The English Baroque Soloists have long been established as one of the world’s leading period instrument orchestras. Throughout their repertoire, ranging from Monteverdi to Mozart and Haydn, they are equally at home in chamber, symphonic and operatic performances and the distinctive sound of their warm and incisive playing is instantly recognisable.

The ensemble has performed at many of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Teatro alla Scala, Milan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Sydney Opera House. During the course of the 1990s they performed Mozart’s seven mature operas and recorded all of his piano concertos and mature symphonies.

The English Baroque Soloists are regularly involved in joint projects with the Monteverdi Choir, with whom they famously took part in the iconic Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, performing all of Bach’s sacred cantatas throughout Europe. They also toured Gluck Orphée et Eurydice to Hamburg and Versailles, following a staged production at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in collaboration with the Hofesh Shechter dance company.

Highlights in 2016 included tours of Bach Magnificat in E flat, Lutheran Mass in F major, and Cantata ‘Süßer Trost’ with the Monteverdi Choir in venues around Europe, and Bach St Matthew Passion as well as a mixed programme of Mozart Symphonies 39-41, Requiem and Great Mass in C Minor. Their most recent recording is Bach St Matthew Passion, which was released by Soli Deo Gloria in March 2017.

21

our work

Alongside our performance and project work, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras (MCO) is committed to providing opportunities for professional development and education.

We believe passionately in nurturing future generations of players and singers and developing emerging talent. Our Monteverdi Apprentices Programme enables outstanding young musicians to spend an entire year training and performing with our three world-class ensembles, under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

In addition, we run an Arts Management Training Programme to support those wishing to pursue a career in arts administration. Previous trainees have gone on to secure positions with major arts organisations including the Royal Opera House, Sage Gateshead and The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

As part of our education and outreach work, we are currently working with Bristol Plays Music on a project that ties in with our Monteverdi 450 celebrations, to give local school children and university students an insight of what we do, through vocal workshops, talks with members of our ensembles and attendance at dress rehearsals.

It is our long-term ambition to continue education projects of this nature as we seek to inspire future generations of music-makers by sharing our knowledge and expertise.

22

membership & support Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras is committed to producing work of the highest calibre and to sharing our distinctive performance practice with audiences around the world. Our supporters are a group of dedicated and discerning music lovers who take pride in the knowledge that their donations help us to achieve our artistic vision.

As a registered charity without public subsidy, our benefactors are crucial to our work, helping us to produce top-quality performances, remunerate artists accordingly, nurture young talent, and consolidate the company’s ongoing sustainability.

We value and welcome your support. By joining us you can help us achieve our ambitions.You can get involved in the following ways:

join the monteverdi membership scheme

You’ll have the opportunity to meet our musicians at open rehearsals, attend our special events and meet other distinguished supporters.

make a donation

Every donation makes a difference to our organisation.

corporate support

We welcome corporate support, and will tailor partnership packages to meet your business needs, including entertainment opportunities at performances in the UK and around the world.

‘The generosity of our supporters make it possible for MCO to continue making music and offering a fertile training ground for young musicians in the years to come.

Thank you.’

Sir John Eliot Gardiner For more information, to make a donation, or to request a confidential conversation with our General Director, please contact us on +44 (0)20 7719 0120 or email us at development@monteverdi.org.uk.

Additional information can be found on our website www.monteverdi.co.uk.

legacy giving

By choosing to leave a legacy gift to Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras you’ll be playing a crucial role in securing the future of our three ensembles.

+44 (0) 20 7719 0120 | info@monteverdi.org.uk

www.monteverdi.co.uk Find us on Social 23

mco supporters Patron

HRH The Prince of Wales

President

Ian Hay Davison CBE

Benefactor Sir David Walker

the monteverdi membership scheme bach members

Michael Beverley, DL David & Sandra Brierwood Mrs Julia Chappell Andrey Kidel Kevin Lavery Michael Likierman William Lock Margo & Nicholas Snowman

beethoven members

Lord Burns Sarah & Nick Delfas Peter & Stephanie Chapman Victoria & Stephen Swift

brahms members

Berlioz members

Mr A Agterhuis, Brian AndrĂŠ & Peter Folstar, Geoffrey Barnett, Donald D Campbell, Peter J Chapman, Miss Vanessa Claypole, Mrs Melanie Edge, Flora Fraser, Anthony de Grey, Donald J Gorman, Doug & Mary Hawkins, Patrick Heininger, JĂĄnos & Dietlinde Hidasi, Jenny & George Hill, Richard Jacques, Gareth Keene, J. Kittmer, Lydia Lau & Family, John Julius & Mollie Norwich, Alessandro Orsaria, Peter W. Parker, Simon Perry, Mary Pinnell, Nicola F. E. Ramsden, Dr Paul A Sackin, Steven & Olivia Schaefer, Christopher J H Thornhill, Andrew Tusa, Veronica Uribe & Andres Ortega, David & Hilmary Quarmby, Andrew Wales, David Ward And those who wish to remain anonymous

corporate partners Morgan Stanley Greensill Capital Limited Green Network Energy Ltd Intesa Sanpaolo

trusts and foundations Dunard Fund The Scheide Fund

Roger & Rosemary Chadder, Michael Estorick, Felicity & John John Fairbairn, Mrs Juliet Gibbs, Gordon Gullan, Gracia Lafuente & Jake Donavan, Mr Duncan Matthews QC, Lady Nixon, Christian & Mytro Rochat, Antony C Shoults, Christopher Stewart, Victor & Tina Vadaneaux, Dr David Ritchie, Mrs Elaine Spence, Mrs Elisabeth Duncan, Mr Roy Blackwell, Mrs Jennifer Jones, Miss Stephanie Plackett, Ms Mary Johnson, Mr John Comerford, Dr Lourdes St George, Mr Spencer White, Mr Ken Dent Mrs Diana Dent, Rev. Richard Fabian, Mr David Stancliffe, Ms Vanessa Hall-Smith

supporters of the monteverdi apprentices programme

And those who wish to remain anonymous

In Memoriam

24

Mr Roger Chadder Ian Hay & Morny Davison Mr & Mrs John Fairbairn Mrs Helen Skinner Ernest Cook Trust The Garrick Charitable Trust The Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

american friends

Jeffrey Calman, John Skinner, Ferne Mele, Francesca Hayslett, Rodney N.M. Johnson MBE, Judith McCartin Scheide

John Baker, William Barnaby, Lady Foley, Annette Pils, Ruth Zeigler and Sir Ralph Kohn F.R.S

monteverdi 450 supporters The Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras would like to thank the supporters of the Monteverdi 450 project for their kindness and generosity.

HRH The Prince of Wales Mr & Mrs Baha Bassatne Michael Beverley William & Judith Bollinger Bette Jane Booth David & Sandra Brierwood Julia Chappell Michael L Cioffi, Monteverdi Tuscany, Castiglioncello del Trinoro, Italy Morny & Ian Hay Davison Dunard Fund The Fort Foundation & Edward S Fort OBE Green Network Energy Ltd Greensill Capital Mrs Carol Colburn Grigor & Mr Murray Grigor Intesa Sanpaolo Jill Jachera Patricia Kenneally Kevin Lavery William Lock London Women's Clinic Foundation Morgan Stanley One Medical Group Ivan & Emma Pearce-Molland Nicola Ramsden Judith McCartin Scheide The Scheide Fund Seneca Partners Lena Chang Sheeran John G Turner & Jerry G Fischer Sir David Walker Mr Bruno Wang Philip Wilbraham Winton Group And those who wish to remain anonymous

25

GREENSILL CAPITAL ADVERT

26

management

board

Dr Rosa Solinas General Director

Michael Beverley, DL Chair

Martin Wheeler Finance & Administration Manager Matthew Broom Artistic Planning Manager Jonathan Broad Marketing & Communications Manager Emily Parker Tours & Concerts Manager Rachel Hinds Production & Events Coordinator James Halliday Artistic Advisor & Librarian Vivian Gonley Administration Esther Kippax Office Assistant Helen Lewis Choir Manager Philip Turbett Orchestra Manager Robin Jennings Edmund Pickering Keyboard Technicians Ian Bonner Instrument Transport Matthew Muller Production Manager Noel Mann Stage Manager Georgiana Butler Wardrobe Supervisor

Brochure design: Jonathan Broad

Printing: ARC-UK 27

David Brierwood Deputy Chair David Best Mrs Virginia Fraser Sir John Eliot Gardiner Lady Gardiner Joanne Merry Antony Peattie Nicola Ramsden Nicholas Snowman Prof. John Fletcher Smyth Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their kind assistance with the Monteverdi 450 project.

Martin Pearlman Isabella Gardiner Tim Carter Hugh Benson Alice Godfrey

Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras Limited Level 6, 20 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 4AD Tel: 020 7719 0120 info@monteverdi.org.uk www.monteverdi.co.uk Registered charity 272279 Company registered in England and Wales 1277513 Find us on Social

+44 (0) 20 7719 0120 | info@monteverdi.org.uk

MORGAN STANLEY ADVERT

28