One of the most brilliant contemporary opera stars, Elīna Garanča, will visit the Liepāja Great Amber Concert Hall with a special solo concert program Tribute, where the artist will look back at her roots and highlight what is most important – gratitude and a loving tribute to her mother, vocal teacher Anita Garanča, as well as her homeland of Latvia, where she was raised and educated.
The intended concert program is inviting, vibrant, and rich. A similar program was highly praised at the 2024 Salzburg Festival. In it, world-famous masterpieces by Robert Schumann, Henri Duparc, and Gustav Mahler will be put alongside solo pieces by Jāzeps Vītols, Jāzeps Mediņš, Jānis Mediņš, and Alfrēds Kalniņš. The singer will share the stage with pianist and music administrator Matthias Schulz. He is a skilled and experienced musician who also has a degree in political economy, former director of the Berliner Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and the director of the Opernhaus Zürich for the upcoming season.
Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben (A Woman’s Love and Life) is very dear to Elīna. Her mother, also a mezzo-soprano, sang this cycle quite often. It was created in the composer’s so-called ‘year of song’ – in 1840, Schumann wrote an incredible number of lieder, pieces of vocal music, during his attempts at courting his beloved Clara, resulting in his ultimate victory over Clara’s father’s objections. He completed the cycle in July and married Clara in September. This eight-song cycle reveals a young woman’s yearning, secret desires, the triumph of love, and the final song as an emotional contrast, as we see a widow. This is a brilliantly painted, psychologically intricate portrait of a woman.
In Elīna’s program, Schumann will be followed by five songs from Henri Duparc. This amazingly gifted student of César Franck’s once said that he wrote music for his small circle of friends, with no expectation of applause from a larger audience: ‘They are (and it is their only merit) the essence of myself, and it is from the bottom of my heart that I thank those who have understood it. My soul addresses their souls: I am indifferent to everything else.’ Duparc stopped composing at 36, focusing on his family and his passion for literature and painting. Around the turn of the century, he started losing his eyesight, and he lived until the age of 85 in religious contemplation and prayer. He destroyed many of his own opuses, but, out of the small collection remaining, each note is illuminated by his genius.
In the second part of the concert, we will hear some of Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder and an especially welcome selection of solo songs by Latvian composers: Jāzeps Mediņš’ masterpiece ‘Sapņojums’, two gems by Alfrēds Kalniņš, ‘Līst klusi’ and ‘Sapņu tālumā’, as well as music by Jānis Mediņš and Jāzeps Vītols.
At the conclusion of the concert, we hope for a surprise from Elīna’s less conventional repertoire.
Artists:
Mezzo-soprano Elīna GARANČA
Pianist Matthias SCHULZ
Location:
Great hall
Event duration:
19.00 / 2h 20 min
Tickets:
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
We offer special seats in the choir balcony at a reduced price. These seats are backless, with limited visibility and a view of the auditorium.
Choir balcony.pdf
Organized by:
Great Amber in collaboration with Andrejs Žagars Cultural Development Foundation
Supported by:
Liepāja City Council and State Culture Capital Foundation
Discounts:
Students, teachers, seniors – 25%
Persons with group I and II disabilities and their companions – 50%
For holders of the Honorary Family Card (“3+ Ģimenes karte”) or LT (“Šeimos kortelė”) or EST (“Perekaart”) – 25%
NB. Upon attending a concert, the attendee must show personal identification.
Group tickets:
10–30 persons – 20%
30 and more persons – 25%
Useful:
Back
