Beethoven’s Fidelio – opera in concert

Time: 15 & 17-5-2010 Sat & Mon 8PM
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Price (HK$): $520 $380 $280 $180

conductor: Edo de Waart

Florestan: Simon O’Neill
Leonore: Susan Bullock
Jaquino: Jon-Michael Ball   
Marzelline: Lisa Larsson
Rocco: Kristinn Sigmundsson
Don Pizarro: Eike Wilm Schulte
perform: Shanghai Opera House Chorus

Programme
BEETHOVEN Fidelio opera in concert
WITH CHINESE AND ENGLISH SURTITLES

As the 18th century turned into the 19th, and as the Classical era metamorphosed into the Romantic, a truly creative radical thinker was at the helm of music. Beethoven changed the course of music with his nine monumental symphonies, his many concertos, string quartets, sonatas, songs and chamber music. But there is only one opera in the Beethoven legacy – Fidelio. Its story of unfailing love and devotion set against a background of political imprisonment and eventual freedom from tyranny still resonates in the 21st century, elevated by Beethoven’s enlightened music and revolutionary ideals. Returning to Hong Kong following the triumph of her performances as Salome and Elektra in de Waart’s first two concert-opera projects, Susan Bullock is joined by tenor Simon O’Neill as the couple finally reunited in the opera’s glorious finale.

Simon O’Neill
One of the most gifted and distinguished singers of his generation, Simon O’Neill has rapidly established himself as a tenor in great demand on the international stage. A native of New Zealand, he is a principal artist with the Metropolitan Opera, the Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and the Salzburg Festival appearing with such illustrious conductors as James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Antonio Pappano, Sir Charles Mackerras, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Donald Runnicles and Christoph Eschenbach amongst many others.

Simon O'Neill's role début as Siegmund in the new Ring Cycle at the Covent Garden Royal Opera House with Antonio Pappano and at the Metropolitan Opera with Donald Runnicles both received wide critical acclaim. He was described as "the star"..."an exemplary Siegmund, terrific of voice"..." the finest I've heard"..."a towering presence" and "a turbo-charged tenor". He is next due to perform Die Walküre in the new David McVicar production at L’Opéra National du Rhinin Strasbourg. On the concert stage he performed the title role of Parsifal in Rome at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Daniele Gatti, Rachmaninoff's The Bells with Edo de Waart and the Hong Kong Philharmonic and returned to New Zealand for concerts with Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Jonathan Lemalu.

Coming debuts include the title role of Lohengrin at Covent Garden and Sergei in Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk for Opera Australia. He will also tour Europe with Daniel Barenboim and the East West Divan Orchestra for performances of the first act of Die Walküre, and further performances with Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia.

On the concert stage O'Neill performs Caesar in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra with New York City Opera at Carnegie Hall, Ferdinand in Martin's Der Sturm at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Mahler's Eighth Symphony in Montreal with Kent Nagano, returns to the Bundaleer Festival in Adelaide and makes his BBC Proms début performing the Glagolitic Mass with Pierre Boulez. O'Neill will also record his début CD of operatic arias for EMI with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Looking further to the future O'Neill has performances of the title role of Lohengrin at Houston Grand Opera, Max in Die Freischütz at Theater an der Wien, Parsifal at Barcelona's Teatro Liceu, Florestan in Fidelio in Houston, Boris in Katya Kabanova at Opera de Oviedo and Die Walküre at the Royal Opera House and Hamburg State Opera.

During the 2006-07 season, Simon O'Neill made his Metropolitan Opera début as the Gran Sacerdote in Mozart's Idomeneo with James Levine, Florestan in Fidelio at the Royal Opera House, performed the role of Mitch in Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire at Theater an der Wien and several performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Leonard Slatkin, Daniel Harding and Christoph von Dohnanyi. He also returned to the role of Rodolfo in the New Orleans Opera production of La Bohème and concert performances of Don Jose in Carmen at Wolftrap and Florestan in Fidelio with the Auckland Philharmonia.

In 2006, Simon O'Neill made his debut at the Royal Opera House, singing Jenik in Smetana's The Bartered Bride under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras. He also gave his first performances of the title role of Parsifal with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra at the New Zealand International Festival and Sam in Susannah at the Wexford Festival. He appeared at the Salzburg Festival in Die Zauberflöte with Riccardo Muti which was released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon and joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in presentations of Lohengrin and Die Walküre. He performed as guest artist at the Metropolitan National Council Audition Grand Final and toured Japan with the Metropolitan Opera covering Plácido Domingo in the role of Siegmund.

O’Neill’s other performance highlights include Chairman Mao in Nixon in China with Minnesota Opera, Dimitri in Boris Godunov with New Zealand Opera, Canio in Pagliacci in concert with the Auckland Philharmonia, and recorded the role of Lancelot with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the Grammy nominated Le Roi Arthus by Chausson. O'Neill also made his Carnegie Hall début under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation in Zankel Hall and performed Goldschmitt's Songs of the Mediterranean at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. He has also returned to the Bard Music Festival to perform Skuratov in Janacek’s From the House of the Dead and The Diary of One Who Vanished with pianist Ken Noda. With San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program and Western Opera Theatre, he sang Rodolfo in La bohème. He has performed the title role in La Clemenza di Tito with Wolf Trap Opera as well as the title role in Idomeneo, Sam in Susannah, and Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites under the baton of Julius Rudel while studying at the Julliard Opera Center.

Awarded the 2005 Arts Laureate of New Zealand, Simon O’Neill was a grand finalist in the 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Auditions and has been awarded the 2003 Sullivan Foundation Award of New York, 2003 United Kingdom Wagner Society Prize, 1999 Metropolitan Opera Audition Competition Encouragement Award, 1998 Fulbright Scholarship and was the inaugural Young Artist in Residence with Opera New Zealand. He records for Decca, EMI and Telarc records and appeared on the 1998 New Zealand one-dollar performing arts postage stamp. Simon O’Neill holds degrees from the University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard Opera Center.

Free Pre-concert Talk
Time: 15/5/2010 Sat 7:15pm - 7:45pm (Cantonese)
17/5/2010 Mon 7:15pm - 7:45pm (English)   
Venue: HK Cultural Centre Auditoria Building 4/F Foyer   
Speaker: Rupert Chan

Age
For ages 6 and above

Discount Schemes
Club Bravo: 15% off
Members of Young Audiences Scheme: 10% off
Students, Citizens aged 60 or above, People with Disability and CSSA recipients: 50% off (With Quota)
Group discount: 10-19: 10% off; 20 or above: 20% off

Address: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2721 2030
Reservations: (852) 2734 9009