Author Archive

La Clemenza di Tito at the Met

This spring, Elza van den Heever stars as Vitellia in the classic Ponnelle production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Metropolitan Opera. Mozart’s opera of vengeance and forgiveness, set during the Roman Empire, also stars Joyce DiDonato as Sesto and Matthew Polenzani in the title role, with Ying Fang, Emily D’Angelo, and Christian Van Horn completing the principal cast. Lothar Koenigs conducts. The performances take place from March 30 until April 20.

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Chrysothemis in Chicago

From February 2 until the 18, Elza van den Heever returns to the role of Chrysothemis, Elektra’s meek and accommodating sister, in Richard Strauss’ dramatic opera at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Elektra, sung by Nina Stemme, is the Mycenaean princess whose father, Agamemnon, was murdered by her mother, Klytemnestra, Michaela Martens, leaving Elektra hell-bent on revenge. As Strauss’s staggeringly powerful orchestra moves inexorably toward the opera’s hair-raising finale, the music gives you a composer at his zenith—magnificently theatrical and devastatingly moving.

Ms. van den Heever last sang the role last March at the Metropolitan Opera. Operawire described her performance as “a revelation and arguably the scene-stealer of the night”.

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Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder in Lyon and Lausanne

On November 30 and December 1, Elza van den Heever appears at the Lyon Auditorium to sing five Wesendonck-Lieder by Richard Wagner, melodies on poems by Mathilde Wesendonck, wife of the musician’s patron and lover of the latter.

The program for this dates also features Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 7, Escaich’s Évocation II and Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, with Riccardo Minasi on the podium.

On December 17 and 18, she sings this Lieder set again in Lausanne, this time under the baton of Simone Young, in addition to Richard Strauss’ Wiegenlied and Morgen. The program opens with Siegfried-Idyll by Wagner, followed by Ms. van den Heever’s appearance, and end with Henze’s  Die blaue Stunde.

 

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Lohengrin in Vienna

From October 23 – November 7, Elza van den Heever stars as Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Wiener Staatsoper. The rest of the cast features Andreas Schager in the title role, Kwangchul Youn as Heinrich, Evgeny Nikitin as Friedrich and Petra Lang as Ortrud. Simone Young conducts.

Ms. van den Heever has sung this role before to great acclaim. About her 2014 Frankfurt performance, Bachtrack wrote she “added acting skills that also were highly commendable to her tremendous vocal range”. She returns to that production for these upcoming performances.

The performance on November 2 is scheduled for a live broadcast via the Vienna State Opera’s streaming website. The stream starts at 6 p.m. local time / 1 p.m. EDT / 10 a.m. PST. Tickets start at 14€ (approximately $16 USD) and can be purchased directly on their website.

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Norma in Frankfurt

Felice Romani, the librettist for Bellini’s greatest masterpiece, Norma, was inspired by Soumet’s tragedy about the child murderer Norma and Chateaubriand’s novel Les Martyrs. Romani changed the wild celtic woman into a multi facetted character: the seer Norma became involved with her people’s deadly enemy: she has two secret children with the Roman proconsul Pollione. But he is now attracted to another, younger woman: he has been summoned back to Rome and intends to take the novice Adalgisa with him. Torn between love and her sacred vow of chastity, Adalgisa seeks Norma out and tells her all. After she came close to killing her children out of desperation and all hopes have been dashed that Pollione will come back to her, she proclaims war on the Romans. Pollione is attacked in the temple and sentenced to death. Norma, who still loves him, tells her horrified people of her indiscretion and offers her life instead of his. She ends up on the funeral pyre.

From June 10 – 27 at Oper Frankfurt, Elza van den Heever stars in the title role, with Stefano La Colla as Pollione and Gaëlle Arquez as Adalgisa and Antonino Fogliani on the podium.

Of Ms. van den Heever’s Norma at Dallas Opera, Scott Cantrell from Dallas News said in his review: “As the eponymous Druid high priestess, Elza van den Heever’s Norma has it all: the power when needed, the nuanced intimacy elsewhere; coloratura of seemingly effortless fluidity; tenderness and vulnerability and scorching fury. Even at full tilt, the voice is never raw or edgy.”

For more information and tickets, click here.

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“Il Tabarro” recording release

On April 6 Capriccio releases a new recording of “Il Tabarro”, starring the late Johan Botha in the role of Luigi and Elza van den Heever as Giorgetta. Wolfgang Koch is Michele and Bertrand de Billy conducts the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. This CD is essential as it is the final recording made by Botha, who passed away in 2016.

With “Il Tabarro” Puccini wrote the first part of his projected opera triptych, with which he ultimately intended to parody and reverse Wagner’s Ring tetralogy by stringing together three completely incoherent short stories. Bertrand de Billy knows how to make the score come alive with a fantastic cast on his side. Tenor Johan Botha was at the top of his career at the making of this album, and the results of the entire ensemble together are historically beautiful.

Purchase your copy here.

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Elektra broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera

Returning to the Metropolitan Opera stage in March, Ms. van den Heever will debut as Chrysothemis in Strauss’ Elektra. The March 1 performance and the March 17 matinee are scheduled for broadcast on Met Opera Radio and the Saturday Matinee Broadcast.

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Role debut as Chrysothemis at the Metropolitan Opera

Returning to the Metropolitan Opera stage this spring, Elza van den Heever debuts as Chrysothemis in Strauss’ Elektra. For these performances, from March 1 until the 17, she is joined by Christine Goerke in the title role, Michaela Schuster as Klytämnestra, Jay Hunter Morris as Aegisth and Mikhail Petrenko as Orest. Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

The production by Patrice Chéreau was featured in the Met in HD series shown in movie theaters all over the world. Watch a clip from that performance below:

Fore more information and tickets, click here.

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