Decca Signs Exciting Polish Soprano Aleksandra Kurzak

By -

Decca Classics has signed an exclusive recording contract with the young Polish soprano, Aleksandra Kurzak, who, as one of the most exciting young singers on the international opera stage, has been thrilling press and public alike with performances in Europe and the US.

Aleksandra Kurzak’s debut recording with Decca – which will be released in Autumn 2011 – will be a showcase of contrasting lyric and coloratura arias. Just recorded with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, conducted by its dynamic young Music Director Designate Omer Wellber, the album will focus on roles which she has either performed or is preparing to sing on stage: Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, bel canto roles from Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Bellini’s I Puritani and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, plus the First Act scena from La Traviata, which showcases Kurzak’s effortless agility as well as the full, warm intensity of a Verdi lyric soprano. The disc also acknowledges the soprano’s roots with the key soprano aria from Straszny Dwór (The Haunted Manor) – perhaps the greatest Polish opera of the 19th Century.

Aleksandra Kurzak will also feature on the latest Decca album from Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja – to be released in Fall 2011 – in which she sings duets from Puccini’s La Bohème and Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles.

Aleksandra Kurzak first came to international attention in the 2004-05 season, with debuts at the Met (Olympia) and Royal Opera (Aspasia in Mitridate), followed by notable appearances at the Royal Opera in L’elisir d’amore (Adina) and Don Pasquale (Norina). She rose to international prominence in 2008 when she triumphed in the title role of Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran, also at the Royal Opera, opposite Decca tenor star Juan Diego Flórez. As The Guardian critic wrote “Flórez’s sparring partner here is Aleksandra Kurzak, his equal in technique and vocal glamour.” She returns to Covent Garden on January 18th, singing Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with the Royal Opera.

Decca’s Paul Moseley said, “It is always a big moment when we welcome a new soprano to Decca, the singers’ label. I am convinced that Aleksandra is the new star we were seeking. Her warm, flexible voice records beautifully and above all she is a true musician as well as a phenomenal actress and singer.”

Aleksandra Kurzak said, “For me to sign a contract with a record company is a dream come true. And to be the part of the Decca family with such great singers as Pavarotti, Freni, Sutherland, Tebaldi, Bartoli and Fleming is a huge honor and happiness for me. It makes me particularly proud to be the first Polish singer to sign an exclusive contract with such a legendary company.”

In the current season Aleksandra Kurzak recently triumphed in her debut as Lucia in the new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in Seattle, sings Violetta (La Traviata) in Hamburg, Warsaw and Turin, Adina (L’elisir d’amore) in Valencia and Vienna (Staatsoper), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Covent Garden and Susanna in the new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in Madrid. She will also give a recital at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more