Mezzo Mireille Lebel switches up centuries for Haydn's Ariadne auf Naxos via Early Music Vancouver, December 9 at 7:30 pm
The Vancouver-bred star was recently seen tackling the similar, but centuries-later La Voix Humaine
Photo by Pierre Etienne Bergeron
Early Music Vancouver debuts Joseph Haydn’s Ariadne auf Naxos on December 9 at 7:30 pm
TALK ABOUT versatility: star locally-bred (and normally Berlin-based) mezzo soprano Mireille Lebel wowed crowds earlier this fall in the one-woman, 20th-century emotional roller coaster La Voiz Humaine via Vancouver Opera. Now, the charismatic singer switches centuries, joining Early Music Vancouver in its rendition of Joseph Haydn’s 1791 work Ariadne auf Naxos.
Originally performed by a soprano castrato, the role is just as emotionally intense, though it’s separated by hundreds of years from Francis Poulenc’s operatic work that Lebel tackled at VO. Technically classified as a cantata, Haydn’s piece relies heavily on expressive recitatives, with only two arias. You may also be startled to see how similar the stories between the two works are: here, another woman awaits her absent lover, in this case Ariadne longing for Theseus, spiralling into deeper despair when he fails to show up.
Pacific Baroque Orchestra’s Alexander Weimann accompanies on fortepiano.
Note that EMV's digital concerts this season are posted for free, but they invite donations.
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