Shakespeare-Lieder (Programme 2012)

With: Elizabeth Watts – soprano, Simon Lepper – piano
Songs by Thomas Morley, John Dowland, Thomas Arne, Sir Henry Bishop, Johannes Brahms, Ivor Gurney, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Richard Strauss

Lenght: 1 hour and 30 minutes including interval

Price category: C

Shakespeare's universal works have served as inexhaustible sources of inspiration for composers in the centuries to follow and Elizabeth Watts was a sensational musical discovery in last year's festival; a great voice on its road to success. She was immediately ready to create a programme of Shakespeare-inspired songs, together with her fabulous escort, Simon Lepper, who will be to guest this year for the third time.
Thus we will encounter Shakespeare in compositions from German composers such as Brahms, Strauss and Korngold or in the form of Elizabethan tunes from England. Ophelia's disdained love and her romantically transfigured death especially became a matter of middle-class musical interest. The musical adaptations of Shakespeare's subject matter, in each era respectively, allow insight into the ever-changing history of reception of the Elizabethans- and promise the festival visitors a lovely concert.

Introduction 45 minutes before the performance

Elizabeth Watts
Simon Lepper