Stavanger Symphony Orchestra / Jan Willem de Vriend / Mari Eriksmoen

Arias and Overtures

Price: € 19.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917283228
Catnr: CC 72832
Release date: 12 February 2021
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917283228
Catalogue number
CC 72832
Release date
12 February 2021

"In Zurich as in Aix-en-Provence, a dream Pamina. Tender without sentimentality, limpid without harshness, musician of every second"

Diapason, 01-2-2022
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Artist(s)
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About the album

The profile of Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen continues to rise through her regular appearance on Europe’s major opera, concert and recital stages, and she is consistently praised for her compelling blend of radiant stage personality and purity of vocal tone.
This is her first opera arias recital and is focused on Handel and Mozart.

Previously on disc, Eriksmoen features on Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Daniel Harding, Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, both with Akademie für alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs and Glyndebourne Festival conducted by Robin Ticciati, and in a ​“poised, elegant and persuasive” (Guardian) debut recital disc featuring songs by Grieg, Grøndahl, Wolf and Strauss with Alphonse Cemin (Alpha).
Het is voor het eerst dat dirigent Jan Willem de Vriend een album opneemt met het Stavanger Symfonie Orkest. En voor de Noorse sopraan Mari Eriksmoen is dit haar eerste opera-aria recital opname. Het album bevat een weldoordachte selectie van aria’s en ouvertures van Georg Friedrich Händel en Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Onder de voortreffelijke leiding van Jan Willem de Vriend is het een mooie opname opname geworden met harmonieuze klanken om volop van te genieten.

Mari Eriksmoen is een rijzende ster aan het firmament van de operawereld door haar regelmatige verschijning op Europa's grote opera-, concert- en recitalpodia. De sopraan wordt alom geprezen om haar meeslepende mengeling van stralende podiumpersoonlijkheid en zuivere stem. De Franse krant Le Monde schrijft over haar: "Rond, delicaat en met een heerlijk timbre. De stem van Mari Eriksmoen is van begin tot eind een genot!" Zo ook op dit album met de prachtige aria’s van Händel en Mozart.

Neem ‘Al destin che la minaccia’ uit Mitridate, re di Ponto, Mozarts eerste operasucces. Hij schreef het op veertienjarige leeftijd. Het libretto is gebaseerd op Racines toneelstuk Mithridate. Aspasia, verloofd met koning Mitridate, houdt in het geheim van Sifare. Haar krachtige aria "Al destin che le minaccia" in de eerste akte weerspiegelt haar emotionele conflict.

Of ‘Da tempeste il legno infranto’ uit Julius Caesar, de zeventiende opera van Händel uit 1724. Losjes gebaseerd op historische gebeurtenissen, was deze opera in zijn tijd een groot succes en is het een van de meest uitgevoerde barokopera's. De aria ‘Da tempeste il legno infranto’ in akte drie wordt gezongen door Cleopatra. Caesar is naar haar kamp gereisd en ze is dolblij om hem te zien.

En zo staan er nog meer prachtig gezongen en gespeelde aria's op deze opname. Er valt een hoop te genieten met dit album Arias and Overtures.
Der Bekanntheitsgrad der norwegischen Sopranistin Mari Eriksmoen steigt durch ihr regelmäßiges Auftreten auf Europas großen Opern-, Konzert- und Rezitalbühnen weiter an, und sie wird immer wieder für ihre fesselnde Mischung aus strahlender Bühnenpersönlichkeit und reinem Gesangston gelobt.
Dies ist ihr erstes Opernarien-Recital und legt den Schwerpunkt auf Händel und Mozart.

Zuvor war Eriksmoen bei Schumanns Szenen aus Goethes Faust mit dem Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks unter Daniel Harding zu hören, bei Mozarts Die Entführung aus dem Serail, beides mit der Akademie für alte Musik Berlin unter René Jacobs und dem Glyndebourne Festival unter der Leitung von Robin Ticciati, sowie bei einem "souveränen, eleganten und überzeugenden" (Guardian) Debüt-Recital mit Liedern von Grieg, Grøndahl, Wolf und Strauss mit Alphonse Cemin (Alpha).


Artist(s)

Mari Eriksmoen (soprano)

The profile of Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen continues to rise through her regular appearance on Europe’s major opera, concert and recital stages, and she is consistently praised for her compelling blend of radiant stage personality and purity of vocal tone. On completion of her studies in Oslo (Norwegian Academy of Music), Paris (Conservatoire National Superieur) and Copenhagen (Royal Danish Academy of Opera), Eriksmoen was invited almost immediately to debut as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) at Theater an der Wien, launching her career and marking the beginnings of a close and ongoing collaboration, appearing there since as Olympia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Euridice (Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo), Agilea (Handel’s Teseo), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito) and as Susanna, Zerlina and Fiordiligi in the Da Ponte Trilogy conducted by...
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The profile of Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen continues to rise through her regular appearance on Europe’s major opera, concert and recital stages, and she is consistently praised for her compelling blend of radiant stage personality and purity of vocal tone.

On completion of her studies in Oslo (Norwegian Academy of Music), Paris (Conservatoire National Superieur) and Copenhagen (Royal Danish Academy of Opera), Eriksmoen was invited almost immediately to debut

as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) at Theater an der Wien, launching her career and marking the beginnings of a close and ongoing collaboration, appearing there since as Olympia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Euridice (Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo), Agilea (Handel’s Teseo), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito) and as Susanna, Zerlina and Fiordiligi in the Da Ponte Trilogy conducted by the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Eriksmoen made her role debut as Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) in an acclaimed staging for Opera Vlaanderen by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet and Marina Abramović, of which Forum Opéra wrote “her French diction was faultless, her voice like crystal, and she embodies the hypnotising fragility of this heroine to perfection.” Further performances followed at Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, and she reprises the role and staging this season marking her debut at Grand Théâtre de Genève.


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Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor)

Jan Willem de Vriend is the artistic director of Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and since 2006 the chief conductor and artistic director of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. Combattimento Consort Amsterdam devotes itself to the music of about 1600 to 1830. Since its founding in 1982, it has performed virtually throughout the world as well as on many CDs, DVDs and television productions. Since De Vriend was named chief conductor in 2006, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra has become a notable phenomenon on the Netherlands’ musical scene. It has presented semi-scenic performances of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Mendelssohn. There were premieres of works by Offenbach, Say and Mahler. And by substituting historical instruments in the brass section, it has developed its own distinctive...
more
Jan Willem de Vriend is the artistic director of Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and since 2006 the chief conductor and artistic director of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.
Combattimento Consort Amsterdam devotes itself to the music of about 1600 to 1830. Since its founding in 1982, it has performed virtually throughout the world as well as on many CDs, DVDs and television productions.
Since De Vriend was named chief conductor in 2006, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra has become a notable phenomenon on the Netherlands’ musical scene. It has presented semi-scenic performances of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Mendelssohn. There were premieres of works by Offenbach, Say and Mahler. And by substituting historical instruments in the brass section, it has developed its own distinctive sound in the 18th- and 19th-century repertoire. Recently, the orchestra performed music by Schumann at festivals in Spain. The release of Beethoven’s complete symphonies, conducted by De Vriend, is a big project which starts with the release of this current CD. Also the orchestra's long Mahler tradition is being continued in recordings and tours.
De Vriend has been a guest conductor with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hague Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Germany, Sweden and Australia. He is often invited to conduct both in the Netherlands and abroad. He has engagements pending, for example, with The Hague Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as well as orchestras in China, Germany, Austria and Italy.

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Composer(s)

Georg Friedrich Händel

Georg Frideric Handel was a composer from the Baroque period. Handel wrote primarily music-dramatic works: 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, which comes to a total amount of almost 2000 arias! Furthermore, he composed English, Italian and Latin sacred music, serenades and odes. Among his instrumental music are several organ concertos, concerti grossi, overtures, oboe sonatas and violinsonates, along with many solo works for harpsichord and organ.  Together with Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born in the same year (1685), Handel is viewed as one of the greatest composers of his time. He was extremely prolific and wrote in total more than 610 works, many of which are still performed today.  Compared to his contemporaries Bach, Telemann...
more

Georg Frideric Handel was a composer from the Baroque period. Handel wrote primarily music-dramatic works: 42 operas, 29 oratorios, more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets, which comes to a total amount of almost 2000 arias! Furthermore, he composed English, Italian and Latin sacred music, serenades and odes. Among his instrumental music are several organ concertos, concerti grossi, overtures, oboe sonatas and violinsonates, along with many solo works for harpsichord and organ.

Together with Johann Sebastian Bach, who was born in the same year (1685), Handel is viewed as one of the greatest composers of his time. He was extremely prolific and wrote in total more than 610 works, many of which are still performed today.

Compared to his contemporaries Bach, Telemann and Scarlatti, Handel was by far the most cosmopolitan. When Handel was a child, his father, who was a surgeon at the court of Saxe-Weissenfels, imagined a juridical career for him. But his musical talents did not go unnoticed at the court, which forced the father to let him study music. In Hamburg, Handel befriended Mattheson. Together they visited Buxtehude, the greatest organ player of his time, in 1703 (two years before Bach did). At that time, Handel was already an excellent musician, but it wasn't until his stay in Italy - the land of opera - that his talents and skills truly started to flourish. Back in Germany, he received a position at the court of Hannover, where the noblemen had a connection to the British throne. Thanks to these connections, Handel decided to move to London, after which a puzzling history of intrigues and political games started. For example, it is unclear what the exact political message of his famous Water Music is, which was composed for a boat ride on the river Thames by King George. Initially, Handel focused on Italian opera during his stay in London, but from the 1730s onwards he started composing English spoken oratorios, with the celebrated Messiah at its peak.


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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose actual name is Joannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a composer, pianist, violinist and conductor from the classical period, born in Salzburg. Mozart was a child prodigy. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart is considered to be one of the most influential composers of all of music's history. Within the classical tradition, he was able to develop new musical concepts which left an everlasting impression on all the composers that came after him. Together with Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven he is part of the First Viennese School.  At 17, Mozart was engaged as...
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose actual name is Joannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a composer, pianist, violinist and conductor from the classical period, born in Salzburg. Mozart was a child prodigy. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart is considered to be one of the most influential composers of all of music's history. Within the classical tradition, he was able to develop new musical concepts which left an everlasting impression on all the composers that came after him. Together with Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven he is part of the First Viennese School. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. From 1763 he traveled with his family through all of Europe for three years and from 1769 he traveled to Italy and France with his father Leopold after which he took residence in Paris. On July 3rd, 1778, his mother passed away and after a short stay in Munich with the Weber family, his father urged him to return to Salzburg, where he was once again hired by the Bishop. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death.


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Press

In Zurich as in Aix-en-Provence, a dream Pamina. Tender without sentimentality, limpid without harshness, musician of every second
Diapason, 01-2-2022

This is my first occasion listening to Mari Eriksmoen, but I will be watching for her recordings in the future. I am captivated by her purity of vocal tone and magically mellifluous coloratura.
Positive Feedback, 13-12-2021

Jan Willem de Vriend and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra provide a lively, alert orchestral accompaniment in partnership with Eriksmoen. The Stavanger is one of Scandinavia's most successful orchestras, performing its concerts in the Stavanger Concert Hall (site of this recording) which is considered one of the best concert halls in Europe. The sound quality is exceptional. Another outstanding recording from independent producer and recording engineer Bert van der Wolf, Northstar Recordings.
Positive Feedback, 13-12-2021

This disc of Handel and Mozart arias and overtures is an enjoyable way to spend 71 minutes, but leaves one wanting more than we get here.
American Record Guide, 13-10-2021

Mari Eriksmoen uses her voice with acrobatic flexibility, but at the same time her interpretations are well-thought-out and rich in detail. Eriksmoen impresses with the expression of her voice. Thanks to the colorful and dynamic voice, the arias of Mozart and Heandel performed by Eriksmoen sound dramatic and moving.
Cooltura, 02-7-2021

... she is a star here. Pamina's 'ach, ich fühl's' doesn't quite touch the heart until the very end, but the other items are exemplary. [...] Jan Willem de Vriend and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra do a good job overall. Forget the less than perfect presentation and enjoy the top-drawer singing.
Gramophone, 01-5-2021

The Norwegian soprano (who appears as Zerlina, Fiordiligi and Susanna in Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s recently-released cycle of the Mozart/Da Ponte operas) sings arias from Idomeneo, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Mitridate and Mozart’s arrangements of Messiah and Acis and Galatea, plus excerpts from Handel’s Silla, Joshua, Teseo, and Giulio Cesare; her singing here was described as ‘top-drawer’ in this month’s edition of Gramophone.
Presto, 30-4-2021

But the focus, after all, is Mari Eriksmoen’s voice, and it is superb. The natural grace of the light, agile and confident soprano voice, the cultivated declamation and the fresh liveliness, but also the often moving empathy of her singing show a singer who, far from all effects, fully convinces with a stylistically confident musicality.
Pizzicato, 15-2-2021

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Requiem KV 626 - Version for string quartet by Peter Lichtenthal (1780-1853)
Kuijken String Quartet

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