Program Mezzo

Opera Now: György Kurtág OPERA NOW is a six-part documentary series hosted by Vasco Mendonça, a composer with a passion for contemporary opera who is committed to introducing the general public to this unique world. In each episode, he presents a landmark work of the 21st century through interviews with composers, directors, and singers... In 1957, Samuel Beckett’s play Fin de Partie, written in French, premiered. A year later, its English-language version followed, and half a century later, György Kurtág adapted it into an opera! Fin de Partie : scènes et monologues, a one-act opera, thus features the four characters from the original play, engaged in an obscure dialogue: is a tragedy unfolding before our eyes, or is this a strange daily ritual? Dive into this episode of OPERA NOW to find out more…

Itzhak Perlman (violin), Daniel Barenboim (piano) Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, op. 100 1989 Directed by Janos Darvas

Geneva Competition 2024 Singing Competition, Final with orchestra Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Alevtina Ioffe (conductor) Geneva, Grand Théâtre, October 22, 2024

UNLIMITED MILES: MILES DAVIS AT 100 John Beasley (keyboards), Sean Jones (trumpet), Mark Turner (saxophone), Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Ben Williams (bass), Terreon Gully (drums) Tokyo, Blue Note Tokyo, 22 April 2026 Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis, this dream project brings together an all-star sextet led by pianist and composer John Beasley, who joined Miles Davis' band in his twenties. Joined by Sean Jones, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Ben Williams, Terreon Gully, and Beasley, the ensemble interpret Miles's music with their signature grooves, bold harmonies, and inspired improvisation blending the modal beauty of "Kind of Blue," the electric fire of "Bitches Brew," and the funk of “Amandla”.

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Robin Ticciati (conductor) Reinhold Messner (narrator) Frederic Wake-Walker (concept and director) Richard Strauss 1864 - 1949 Eine Alpensinfonie Berlin, Tempodrom, 2021 Recorded at Berlin’s Tempodrom, the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and its chief conductor Robin Ticciati present Richard Strauss’s ‘An Alpine Symphony’ as a musical and philosophical mountain hike with the legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner. The concert leads us through the Alps, lets the audience pass flowering meadows en route, through thickets and underbrush, over mountain pastures and glaciers to the summit, and finally the descent surrounded by thunderstorms. Messner provides insights into the physical and psychological borderline experiences of his mountain ascents and speaks about extreme situations, the perception of nature, and his mental state on the night before departure, during the conquest of the peak, during the long, onerous descent and the exhausted, contented return home. Directed by Andreas Morell

Médée ‘Tragédie en musique’ in a prologue and five acts by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 – 1704) Libretto by Thomas Corneille First performance in Paris, Opéra, 4 December 1693 Concert version Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet (Conductor) Véronique Gens (Médée) Cyrille Dubois (Jason) Judith van Wanroij (Créuse) Thomas Dolié (Créon) David Witczak (Oronte) Hélène Carpentier (La Victoire / Nérine / l’Amour) Adrien Fournaison (Le Chef du peuple / Un habitant / Un Argien / La Vengeance) Floriane Hasler (Bellone) David Tricou (Un berger / Le premier Corinthien / Un Argien / Le troisième captif / Un démon / Le troisième fantôme) Fabien Hyon (Un berger / Arcas / Le deuxième Corinthien / La Jalousie) Jehanne Amzal (Une Italienne / Cléone / 1re bergère / 1re captive / 1er fantôme) Marine Lafdal-Franc (La Gloire / 2e bergère / 2e captive / 2e fantôme) Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 27 March 2023 Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet (Conductor) Véronique Gens (Médée) Cyrille Dubois (Jason) Judith van Wanroij (Créuse) Thomas Dolié (Créon) David Witczak (Oronte) Hélène Carpentier (La Victoire / Nérine / l’Amour) Adrien Fournaison (Le Chef du peuple / Un habitant / Un Argien / La Vengeance) Floriane Hasler (Bellone) David Tricou (Un berger / Le premier Corinthien / Un Argien / Le troisième captif / Un démon / Le troisième fantôme) Fabien Hyon (Un berger / Arcas / Le deuxième Corinthien / La Jalousie) Jehanne Amzal (Une Italienne / Cléone / 1re bergère / 1re captive / 1er fantôme) Marine Lafdal-Franc (La Gloire / 2e bergère / 2e captive / 2e fantôme) Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 27 March 2023