Roberto Alagna

Roberto Alagna

STABAT MATER - PART - PARIS

 

Programm

 

Stabat Mater - Arvo Pärt

Creation for 3 voices and string orchestra

 

2 instrumental pieces

 

4 pieces for counter tenor

 

 

Performance

 

Saint Louis des Invalides  Church - Paris

Thursday 17th of November 2022

 

 

Cast

 

Aleksandra Kurzak - Soprano

Andreas Scholl - Contre ténor

Roberto Alagna - Ténor 

 

Tomasz Wabnic - Alto

Yuuki Wong - Violon

 

Morphing Chamber Orchestra

Conducted by CHristian Erny

 

 

Press Review

 

Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant - Joost Gaalem - Nov.22

 

❝Countertenor Andreas Scholl and the married couple Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, together, make Pärt’s Stabat Mater an UNFORGETTABLE and PENETRATING EXPERIENCE ❞ 


READ MORE (EXCERPTS translated from Dutch) | Pärt will convince you of the meaning of existence  - […] Uncovering the spiritual power of Pärt's work, of course, requires good interpreters. He gets this inspired performance with the strings of the Viennese Morphing Chamber Orchestra and three singers of various styles, such as the 'spiritualized' countertenor Andreas Scholl and the married couple Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, who mainly perform dramatic 19th-century operas. Together, they make Pärt’s Stabat Mater an unforgettable and penetrating experience. (Five stars out of five) » 

 

 

Opera Magazine - Jacques Bonnaure - November 2022


❝ The QUALITY of the 3 soloists’ voices, the HUMILITY of their approach, always respectful of the SIMPLICITY and the INTERIORITY of the music, give a striking relief to this inhabited score. For them, we will come back to it ❞ 


READ MORE (EXCERPTS translated from French) | « This CD, called Arvo Pärt: Stabat Mater, was recorded in the studio in September 2021 and includes vocal pieces for countertenor, performed by Andreas Scholl, as well as the Stabat Mater which gives the disc its title. This time, it is a more ambitious work, [...] given here in an arrangement for three solo voices and string orchestra by Tomasz Wabnic, who conducts it with the Morphing Chamber Orchestra. Andreas Scholl, Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak venture outside their usual repertoire, but the quality of their voices, the humility of their approach, always respectful of the simplicity and the interiority of the music, give a striking relief to this inhabited score. For them, we will come back to it. »

 
 

Ôlyrix - Emmanuel Deroeux - 17th of November 22

 
❝ A self-restraint reading but rather to better deploy valiant and powerful high notes … A pleasant texture and roundness of timbre in the midrange and bass... The evening seems to suspend time and invites to meditation … Undeniable charisma, a stately, sound and introspective posture inviting us to fully appreciate the work … a few beautiful seconds of silence broken by a shower of grateful applause❞
 
READ MORE (EXCERPTS, translated from French): "Scholl, Alagna and Kurzak make Arvo Pärt's Stabat Mater resound at the Invalides accompanied by the Morphing Chamber Orchestra - For the Stabat Mater, Andreas Scholl is joined by the famous operatic couple Aleksandra Kurzak and Roberto Alagna. [...] The soprano frequently raises her eyes furtively towards her audience, easily projecting her voice as warm as radiant. This one seems to caress the vaults of the Cathedral with well placed, clear and yet pleasantly round high notes. As for the tenor, he offers a much more self-restrained reading, but rather to better deploy valiant and powerful high notes. The listener can also (and even more so) appreciate the texture and roundness that his timbre gains in the midrange and bass. […] His undeniable charisma invites us to fully appreciate the work in the manner in which he stands: stately, sound and yet in an introspective posture. The evening seems to suspend time and invites to meditation, prolonged by a few beautiful seconds of silence broken by a shower of grateful applause.”
 
 

Forum-Opera - Christophe Rizoud - 17th of November 2022

 
❝ SOLDOUT… a HEARTWARMING word ... The reason for this crowd? A contemporary work, Arvo Pärt's Stabat Mater, adapted for three solo voices and string orchestra. And what soloists! Aleksandra Kurzak, Roberto Alagna and Andreas Scholl... [Prolonging] the enchantment, the addition in the Stabat Mater of the powerfully gendered timbres of the tenor and the soprano brings the emotion to an even higher level. The voices of Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak SHINE BRIGHTLY … INHABITED BY GRACE, THEIR SINGING MAGNIFIED - if that were possible - by this music of the strange which, not only exacerbates the beauty of the sound, but also exalts the purity of the line, solving a seemingly impossible equation where temporal and timeless, tangible and intangible, material and spiritual are finally reconciled, allowing to GLIMPSE A SLICE OF ETERNITY❞
 
READ MORE (EXCERPTS, translated from French): " AS LONG AS THERE ARE GREAT SINGERS... - Soldout. While cinemas, theaters, opera houses and other theaters are struggling to find a public scalded by the economic crisis and its socio-economic consequences, the word is heartwarming. An endangered species, thought to be extinct, a quidam in search of tickets presents, in vain, a sign to the spectators who crowd the gate of the Cathedral Saint-Louis des Invalides. The reason for this rush? A contemporary work, Arvo Pärt's Stabat Mater, originally composed for a vocal and string trio, and adapted for three solo voices and string orchestra. And what soloists! Aleksandra Kurzak, Roberto Alagna and Andreas Scholl. This is the first explanation of the sell-out. As long as there are great singers... [...] [Prolonging] the enchantment, the addition in the Stabat Mater of the powerfully gendered timbres of the tenor and the soprano brings the emotion to an even higher level. Brightly than on the record, as freed from the constraints of the studio, freed from the few dullnesses highlighted by the microphones, shine the voices of Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak, as well inhabited by grace, their singing magnified - if that were possible - by this music of the strange which, not only exacerbates the beauty of the sound, but also exalts the purity of the line, solving a seemingly impossible equation where temporal and timeless, tangible and intangible, material and spiritual are finally reconciled, allowing to glimpse a slice of eternity.”
 
 

Gallery

 



13/10/2022