JOYCE DIDONATO
Her singing radiates a luminous beauty as she tackles the feminine vision of the great Schubert’s famous Winter Journey.
TEXT BY JOYCE DiDONATO
“Das Mädchen sprach von Liebe … “
As I began my journey with this masterpiece of Schubert and Müller, there was a persistent, probing question I couldn’t find relief from: What about her? If this girl spoke of love – then surely she must have loved him.
Perhaps it’s my identification with Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther that prompted this fascination: how much I would love to know what happens to Her when the curtain comes crashing down on her shattered heart and life at the end of the opera. But that story isn’t told.
Similarly, in Müller’s world, this girl – this catalyst which prompts our protagonist to embark on his journey of discovery, sorrow, and despair – must feel deeply his departure. Does she mourn him? Resent him? Does she still love him? What has her journey been since finding “Gute nacht” etched on her gate in the morning light?
What happens to our beloved “Winterreise” when we view it through a different lens, and follow the parallel journey of the one left behind? Where does this masterful cycle take us when viewed through a different lens?
So our journey today offers the chance to think of the one left behind …
“He sent me his journal in the post … “
More info
Joyce DiDonato, one of the world’s greatest singers, and pianist Craig Terry, perform one of music’s best song cycles, Schubert’s heartbreaking and tragic work: Winterreise (Winter Journey). The beautiful songs in this cycle trace a journey through an icy winter landscape, portraying stories of alienation and loneliness. Schubert’s gift for what Liszt described as “dramatising lyrical inspirations to the highest degree” comes to life in this fascinating interpretation.
DiDonato sheds a different light on this hallowed cycle of songs depicting the story from the perspective of women and lost love. Nancy Plum of Town Topics affirms: “The question of what happened to the woman who sent the narrator on a tortuous journey was unanswered in Wilhelm Müller’s poetry, from where Schubert drew the text, but DiDonato steps into that woman’s shoes, reading from the narrator’s diary and responding to the inherent despair”. Reviews of her performance are remarkable: “What stood out was the strong emotion that came through in her singing, as she delayed a syllable here or accentuated her voice there. She created feelings with her own contrasts”. This is what the New York Classical Review published about DiDonato’s performance, whose visit to Arriaga Theatre shows all the signs of being one of the great lyrical events of the season.
The team
Mezzosoprano: Joyce DiDonato
Piano: Craig Terry
Tour Management: Askonas Holt.
Passes
1 - 19:00.
Prices
From 30 to 52€ /with discounts
Friends of Arriaga:From 25% to 35% DISCOUNT.
Groups, young people, over-65s, unemployed, large families and people with 33%+ disability:
25% DISCOUNT.
Theatre professionals:
25% DISCOUNT.
Last minute discount (for above-mentioned groups, except Friends of Arriaga):
50% DISCOUNT.
Last minute discount for Young Friends of Arriaga:
70% DISCOUNT.
People with disabilities who use wheelchairs:
50% DISCOUNT (in proscenium balcony and one accompanying person)
Duration
75 min.