SUPERSTAR AMERICAN SOPRANO DEBORAH VOIGT RETURNS TO LONDON’S ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN FOR TITLE ROLE IN RICHARD STRAUSS’S ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, OPENING JUNE 16
ARIADNE, VOIGT’S SIGNATURE ROLE, WILL BE HER FIRST PERFORMANCE WITH COMPANY SINCE HER APPEARANCE THERE AS THE KAISERIN, ANOTHER DEFINITIVE ROLE, IN FALL 2001
ONE OF THE WORLD’S FOREMOST SINGERS OF STRAUSS, VOIGT ALSO FREQUENTLY PORTRAYS HIS SALOME, HELENA, MARSCHALLIN, AND CHRYSOTHEMIS
Deborah Voigt, one of the world’s most celebrated dramatic sopranos, returns to London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, next month for one of her most famous parts: the title role in Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. The six performances between June 16 and July 1 are the first she will give with the company since October 2001, when she sang another signature role, the Kaiserin (Empress) in Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Early in her international career, the witty American diva became so famous for the role of the mythological Greek princess that she referred to herself as “Ariadne Incorporated”. A breakthrough performance in 1991 was hailed by the New York Times as the “Opera Debut of the Year — Deborah Voigt’s sumptuous statement of the title role in the Boston Lyric Opera’s production.” One review of her recording of the opera — the last conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli — confirms, “Deborah Voigt is absolutely lovely, singing with warmth and commitment, easily the equal of those stars of the so-called ‘Golden Age’. ... This Ariadne goes to the top of the list — recommended to all lovers of Strauss and great singing, and, possibly, the performance that might convert non-Ariadne lovers to true fans.” (ClassicsToday.com)
Ms. Voigt’s 2007-08 season opened with her career role-debut as Maddalena in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at Barcelona’s historic Liceu, and continued with a spectacular new production of the Richard Strauss/Hugo von Hofmannsthal fantasy Die Frau ohne Schatten at Lyric Opera of Chicago (the company that presented Deborah Voigt in her first staged performances as Strauss’s Salome the previous season).
Early this spring Voigt also sang her first Isoldes with her home company, the Metropolitan Opera, in a series of performances of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, including an internationally-acclaimed live high-definition cinema transmission. The final performance united her Isolde, at last, with the originally scheduled Tristan, Ben Heppner, in a performance that seems destined to become historic and was hailed by many critics, including the New York Times’s: “Ms. Voigt sounded liberated. With a Tristan who could match her in sheer power and vocal charisma, she, too, took risks as she sent gleaming phrases soaring over the orchestra. But what may especially linger in the memory were the moments of tender lyricism and the aching exchanges of desire during their Act II love duet.”
Ms. Voigt’s most recent Metropolitan Opera performances as Ariadne, five years ago, occasioned this comment from the New York Times:
“Ms. Voigt brought floods of cool radiant sound, arching lyrical beauty, crisp diction and sheer vocal charisma to her signature role. Both as the prima donna in a tizzy fit and as Ariadne bereft of love on her desert island, she was at once truly grand and amusingly self-deprecating, striking deadpan poses that any Broadway actor would envy.”In short, London audiences will have the opportunity to experience one of the world’s finest opera singers in one of her greatest roles — one that calls as much on her famous comedic and tragic acting talent as on her justly-renowned vocal prowess.
Deborah Voigt as Ariadne
Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
London, England
June 16, 19, 21, 25, 28 and July 1
For more on Deborah Voigt’s engagements, go to the Engagements page.
May 12th, 2008
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