After a VERY busy week in Portugal in my parents’ old house which we have decided to renovate, it is difficult to leave the whole family even for a few days, but some great consolation is that I am now in Geneva with my friends of Gli Angeli Genève. Tonight we will be performing an amazing piece that we recorded a year or so ago, Josquin’s “Missa Malheur Me Bat”. This deep and moving piece couldn’t be in starker contrast to the 2 toddlers, dog, smattering of other kids and over-worked adults that I have left behind, and despite the...
“There were lively performances from Jeremy Carpenter (teetering on donkey hooves as Bottom), Samuel Boden (a flamboyant Theseus).” Opera, October 2023 “Samuel Boden as Theseus stands out among the gentlemen with his bright and smooth baroque tenor.” Svenska Dagbladet, 6 August 2023 “The British tenor Samuel Boden creates with finesse a crazy and beautifully singing Theseus” Epoch Times Sverige, 7 August 2023
As we gear up for the dress rehearsal tonight here are a few photos from the rehearsal period. It has been a lot of fun finding the character of Platée – I’m looking forward to sharing more on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme tomorrow from 5pm, and then on to opening night on Wednesday! As Platée during Garsington Opera’s Platée rehearsals @ Julian Guidera, 2024 As Platée during Garsington Opera’s Platée rehearsals @ Julian Guidera, 2024 As Platée during Garsington Opera’s Platée rehearsals @ Julian Guidera, 2024
A performance of “Que ce séjour est agréable”, an extract from Rameau’s Platée, ahead of the production run at Garsington Opera this summer. Accompanied by Christopher Bucknall. Platée @ Garsington Opera from 29 May – 30 June 2024: https://garsingtonopera.org/whats-on/…
After a break of a couple of years, it was a great pleasure to work with the cast of Lessons In Love And Violence again, under the baton of Sir George himself, on a piece that is very close to my heart. Having done about 40 fully-staged performances of Lessons, from Covent Garden to the Liceu in Barcelona, it was a challenge to be doing four concert performances of the piece, but a luxury to be with the wonderful Mahler Chamber Orchestra, for whom Written On Skin, George’s previous opera, was originally composed. Performances took place in Dortmund, Cologne, Essen...
Next week I will be working again with Damien Guillon and Le Banquet Céleste as we prepare for three performances of Telemann’s Brockes Passion, in Gent, Rennes and Caen. Here is René Jacobs with an introduction to the piece: