On February 3, Elza van den Heever sings Strauss’ Four Last Songs with l’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Limoges and conductor Robert Tuohy. The “Enigma” themed programme also includes Mahler’s Totenfeier and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Tickets and additional information about the concert can be found at the following link.
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Elza van den Heever sings Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, in concert on January 20 & 22 at Oper Frankfurt. Ms. van den Heever is joined by an illustrious international cast, including Alfred Kim in the title role and Quinn Kelsey as Don Carlos, with conductor Simone Young leading the Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester and Oper Frankfurt Chorus.
Plot synopsis from Oper Frankfurt: Three men are squabbling over the heart of the beautiful Elvira: her uncle, the vindictive, ageing, Spanish Grande Don Ruy Gomez de Silva, an aristocratic scion, Ernani, whose affections she returns, who travels around with a band of robbers, and the hot-blooded Spanish King, Carlos who, after being elected German Emperor, turns into a wise, noble and self sacrificing do-gooder. When a happy end for the two lovers seems almost within reach, an abstruse sense of honour ruins everything.
After Giuseppe Verdi’s first big success with Nabucco in 1842 he wanted to explore new avenues: for Ernani, written for La Fenice in Venice, he chose a play by Victor Hugo, not by chance a key French romantic work. In the foreword to his 1827 verse drama Cromwell, Hugo drew up a manifesto for a new literary movement which turned its back, once and for all, on classical aesthetics and looked back with renewed interest to the past values of Shakespeare, to perverse, horrible, grotesque driven extremes. Inspired by the vascillating, fragile characters in Hugo’s Hernani ou L’Honneur castillian, Verdi created an exciting opera, breathing life into the inwardly torn figures on stage.
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The December 21 performance of Britten’s Peter Grimes from the Wiener Staatsoper will be streamed LIVE online worldwide, via the Staatsoper’s streaming service. Elza van den Heever stars as Ellen Orford, with Stephen Gould in the title role, and Brian Mulligan as Balstrode. Graeme Jenkins conducts the Staatsopernorchester, with stage direction by Christine Mielitz. Visit the Staatsoper online to see the broadcast time in your area.
Comments Off on ‘Peter Grimes’ live stream from the Wiener StaatsoperOn December 13, 16, 18 & 21 Elza van den Heever sings the role of Ellen Orford in Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes at the Wiener Staatsoper. Stephen Gould stars in the title role, with Brian Mulligan featured as Balstrode. Graeme Jenkins leads the Staatsopernorchester for these performances, with stage direction by Christine Mielitz.
Ms. van den Heever previously sang the role to great acclaim with the San Francisco Symphony and English National Opera:
“Elza van den Heever, a superb South African soprano who looks and sounds remarkably like the young Joan Sutherland, stands out from the herd as a stolid and sensible Ellen Orford, with a voice of angelic sheen and purity promising hope and redemption.” (The Telegraph)
“Former San Francisco Opera Merola and Adler Fellow Elza van den Heever, who made her debut in the role of Ellen Orford opposite Skelton in the English National Opera‘s “Grimes” earlier this year, continues to show why she is a singer to watch and hear at any opportunity. Here, she maintains a dramatically significant control in Ellen’s early scenes. The voice is clear, precise, reflecting Ellen‘s quiet determination to stand up to the villagers in her defense of the man she hopes to marry. … Later, when she discovers a bruise on the neck of the new apprentice… and wavers in her belief in Peter, van den Heever unleashes a glorious lyrical ribbon of pain and beauty, every bit of loneliness and heartbreak spilling out of her. Her rendition of the “Embroidery Aria” in the third act, that quiet moment meant to suggest the calm between an ebbing and crashing wave, was etched in wistful resignation. ” (San Francisco Chronicle)
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Elza van den Heever returns to the Canadian Opera Company this season, to star in the title role of Bellini’s timeless tragedy, Norma. Performances take place October 23, 26 & 28 and November 5 at the Four Seasons Centre, and also feature Russell Thomas as Pollione, Isabel Leonard as Adalgisa, and Dimitry Ivashchenko as Oroveso, with Maestro Stephen Lord and the COC Orchestra and Chorus. The production, featuring stage direction by Kevin Newbury, was first seen at San Francisco Opera.
Ms. van den Heever previously performed the role to an enthusiastic response from audiences and critics at the Opéra National de Bordeaux:
“The role of Norma is considered a great platform of the lyric repertoire, and the South African Elza van den Heever makes the most of her abilities in this production. It is an opportunity for truly bravura singing, with demands on the soprano for accuracy in the upper reaches, concentration in rapid passages and sheer endurance for the two hours and 30 minutes of music.” (Facts & Arts)
Elsa will also sing Norma later this season (April-May) at The Dallas Opera.
Comments Off on ‘Norma’ at the Canadian Opera CompanyElza van den Heever sings Strauss’ Four Last Songs on August 23 with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Conductor Sebastian Weigle leads the all-Strauss programme, which also includes Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28 and Sinfonia domestica, Op. 53.
Comments Off on Strauss’ Four Last Songs in JapanElza van den Heever sings Leonore in a concert presentation of Beethoven’s Fidelio this summer at Caramoor. The performance takes place on July 31 at Caramoor’s outdoor venue, the Venetian Theater, and is a highlight of the festival’s season. The cast also includes Paul Groves (Florestan); Georgia Jarman (Marzelline); Kristinn Sigmundsson (Rocco); Andrew Owens (Jaquino); and Alfred Walker (Don Pizarro). Pablo Heras-Casado leads the Orchestra of St. Luke’s for this not-to-be-missed performance.
Comments Off on ‘Fidelio’ at CaramoorThis season, Elza van den Heever stars as Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlo, in Strasbourg at the Opéra national du Rhin. She performs June 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 & 28 and July 8 & 10, with Andrea Carè and Gaston Rivero alternating in the title role, Tassis Christoyannis as Posa, and Stephen Milling sings Filippo II.
Image: Opéra national du Rhin
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