2023-06-27 21:59:00
Alongside the staged operas, the Festival offers an abundance of instrumental or vocal evenings, in lyric or jazz, in small or large groups.
The Festival poses an almost insoluble problem to the spectator: there are too many qualitative choices. Imagine. You couldn’t attend a staged opera. What a pity. Stop moaning while swallowing calissons, raise your head and look at what you have left: a lot of things, and all of them so attractive that it is difficult to make a decision.
First there are the operas in concert version. A nice mix of 19th century romanticism: The Prophet by Meyerbeer, in the grand French opera category; Otello, the quintessence of Verdian torments, and Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti profiled for mad soprano prowess. At the controls, three great phalanxes that we would all like to hear, respectively the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), which also officiates in stage version, the orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo (conducted by Michele Mariotti), and the orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon, under the baton of its musical director, Daniele Rustioni. And if you were counting on the cast to allow you to decide between these works, you are going to face a serious headache: the American John Osborn, who came from bel canto before expanding his repertoire, will interpret the role of Jean of Leiden in the Prophet, which he had already accomplished at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, in 2017; the inimitable male star Jonas Kaufmann will sing Otello while the inimitable female star Maria Agresta will sing Desdemona (reproducing the duo that shone in Naples in this same title in 2021), and the light soprano Lisette Oropesa will play at the Grand Théâtre de Provence the Lucia who saw her triumph at La Scala in Milan this spring (with, in Aix, Florian Sempey as Henri Ashton). Too complicated to decide… You are right. Let’s move on to the concerts.
Ligeti, Tchaikovsky and Tunisian jazz
We find the LSO for two evenings conducted, one by Sir Simon Rattle, in a Betsy Jolas – Gustav Mahler program, and the other by Susanna Mälkki, who will notably pay homage to George Benjamin (see also page IV) by making his Concerto for orchestra. The British composer will also conduct the Mahler Chamber Orchestra for an evening of Ligeti, Abrahamsen, Ravel and… himself (At First Light). For those who prefer the ease of the repertoire, the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble will perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis on period instruments, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock. Again, the choice is tough. There is no way out. Especially since the recitals also put forward strong arguments: Christian Gehraher (see page VI) will sing Schumann, the soprano Asmik Grigorian of romances (Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff), and the wonderful Pretty Yende a program summoning from Rossini to Gimenez by the way by Debussy. Unless a detour via a “Portrait of the pianist Kirill Gerstein”, in two concert evenings, takes the piece away. But there is also jazz… the Mosaïc sextet, the Noé Clerc Trio, the American saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, the Tunisian trio Gharbi Twins, and the Orchester des jeunes de la Méditerranée, which will bring together all trends with cellist Camille Thomas in guest soloist… We don’t know what to choose. Pass me your calissons, go…
Kirill Gerstein (Ligeti, Brahms, Mahler), Wednesday July 5, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier d’OppèdeMosaïc, Thursday July 6, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier d’OppèdeKirill Gerstein, HK Gruber, Jos Houben and Emily Wilson, Friday July 7, 9:30 p.m., Hôtel Maynier d’OppèdeAsmik Grigorian and Lukas Geniusas, Sunday July 9, 8 p.m., Darius Milhaud ConservatoryBalthasar Neumann Ensemble, Monday July 10, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier d’OppèdeLakecia Benjamin, Tuesday July 11, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier by OppèdeSir Simon Rattle and London Symphony Orchestra (Jolas, Mahler), Friday July 14, 8 p.m., Grand Théâtre de ProvenceNoé Clerc Trio, Saturday July 15, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier by OppèdeChristian Gehraher and Gerold Huber, Sunday July 16, 8 p.m., Darius Milhaud ConservatoryPretty Yende and Vanessa Garcia Diepa, Tuesday July 18, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier d’OppèdeSir George Benjamin and Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Ligeti, Abrahamsen, Ravel, Benjamin), Wednesday July 19, Darius Milhaud ConservatorySusanna Mälkki and London Symphony Orchestra (Saariaho, Benjamin, Hinemith, Rachmaninov), Thursday July 20, 8 p.m., Grand Théâtre de ProvenceGharbi Twins, Friday July 21, 9 p.m., Hôtel Maynier d’OppèdeChœur Balthasar Neumann, Missa Solemnis, Saturday July 22, 8 p.m. Grand Théâtre de ProvenceMediterranean Youth Orchestra, Sunday July 23, 8 p.m., Grand Théâtre de Provence
#AixenProvence #everyones #choice #Liberation