Photo: Michael J. Lutch
Songs of Love and Farewell
A Liederabend of Korngold and Ullmann
Music by one who left, and by one who could not
Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs, internationally acclaimed soprano, and Michael Recchiuti, award winning conductor and pianist will explore the art of the Late Romantic 20th century German Lied.
The program will present outstanding examples composed by two Jewish artists – Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Victor Ullmann – both born in the Czech portion of the Austrian Empire before its ultimate collapse after the First World War. Both lived, studied and worked in Vienna, cultural capital of the empire. Time, politics and war would destroy their world and lead each to a dramatically different destiny. Erich Wolfgang Korngold would carve out a path of material success and create a new life half a world away from his beloved Vienna. Victor Ullmann, conversely, would stay in Europe, thereby consigning himself to artistic isolation, virtual oblivion, and, ultimately, death at the hands of the Nazis.
PROGRAM
I
Victor Ullmann
Fünf Liebeslieder von Ricarda Huch. op. 26
1. Wo hast du all die Schönheit hergenommen….
2. Am Klavier…
3. Sturmlied…
4. Wenn je ein Schönes mir zu bilden glückte…
5. O schöne Hand….
II
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Drei Lieder op. 22
1. Was du mir bist…(Van der Straaten)
2. Mir Dir zu Schweigen… (Kobald)
3. Welt ist stille eingeschlafen… (Kobald)
INTERVAL
III
Victor Ullmann
Hölderlin-Lieder
1. Sonnenuntergang
2. Der Frühling
3. Abendphantasie
IV
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Lieder des Abschieds op. 14
1. Sterblied (Rosetti - Kerr)
2. Dies eine kann mein Sehnen nimmer fassen (Ronsperger)
3. Mond, ich gehst du wieder auf (Lothar)
4. Gefasster Abschied (Lothar)
General admission: $30; seniors, students: $20. Tickets may be purchased online through Eventbrite (plus the processing fee).
ABOUT
ELIZABETH BLANCKE-BIGGS is recognized as one of the most exciting sopranos on the international scene today. Critics have praised her virtuosic bel canto technique, the beauty of her voice, her pyrotechnic coloratura, and her unerring theatricality. A brilliant interpreter of the most demanding roles in the spinto-drammatico soprano repertory, she was heard at the Metropolitan Opera in Verdi’s La Traviata, and on the Met’s Sirius International Satellite Broadcast as Puccini’s Tosca. She recently appeared as Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West in Sergio Vela’s production at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, and with Lorin Maazel at his Castleton Festival, Turandot in a new production mounted for her by Andre Heller-Lopez at the Theatro Municipal of Sao Paolo, Brazil, for the Gala opening of the new opera house in Xian, China, and Shanghai’s Grand Theater. She appeared as Bellini’s Norma at the season opening at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Strauss’ Elektra in the “Premio Abbiati” award winning production of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Salome with the Orchesta Sinfonica Nacional at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and the Den Norsk Opera in Oslo.
MICHAEL RECCHIUTI is active internationally as a conductor, pianist, and accompanist. He has collaborated with artists of the international opera stage, and Grammy and Tony Award winners such as Carlo Bergonzi, Giuseppe Giacomini, Placid Domingo, and Roberta Peters. He was the winner of the International Conductors Competition at Siena’s Accademia Chigiana, where he studied with Carlo Maria Giulini, Franco Ferrara, and Bruno Bartoletti, and was head of the musical staff at Venice’s Gran Teatro La Fenice. He has conducted and concertized extensively in North America and Europe, and his live concert recording with tenor Chris Merritt was chosen as “Best CD of the Year” by Opera News, and won the Palme d’Or. He frequently appears in recital with American soprano Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs. Their critically acclaimed recording “Vaghissima Sembianza...Arie di Stile Antico di Stefano Donaudy” is available on all music platforms.
This event is organized by the Dvořák American Heritage Association with support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.