German soprano Diana Damrau will make her Hong Kong concert debut on May 10 at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. With the theme “All for Love”, Damrau, together with bass Nicolas Testé and pianist Mathieu Pordoy, will perform arias and duets from classic operas in the concert, including Bellini’s “Casta diva” (from “Norma”), Verdi’s “Ella giammai m’amò” (from “Don Carlos”) and Lehár’s “Liebe, du Himmel auf Erden” (from “Paganini”).
Songs from musicals such as Rodgers’ “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'” (from “Oklahoma!”) and Loewe’s “I Could Have Danced All Night” (from “My Fair Lady”) will also be featured. In addition, this performance will include an array of art songs by composers such as Duparc, Richard Strauss, and Rachmaninov.
Damrau is one of the most sought-after contemporary sopranos and has been performing on the world’s leading opera and concert stages for two decades. Her vast repertoire includes classic works such as Gräfin Madeleine in “Capriccio”, Queen of the Night in “Die Zauberflöte”, and title roles in “La Traviata” and “Roméo et Juliette”. Honored as the Bavarian Kammersängerin in 2007, she is also the recipient of the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art in 2010 and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2021.
The tickets for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department concert, titled “Encore Series: An Evening with Diana Damrau”, are priced at HK$280, HK$420, HK$560, HK$680 and HK$800 and are available here.
A pre-concert talk titled “Love in Perspectives” (in Cantonese), hosted by music practitioner Jimmy Shiu, will be held at 6.45pm on May 10 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come-first-served basis.
A masterclass (in English) will be held at 3pm on May 9 at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Damrau and Testéwill share their musicianship and experience with young vocalists and the audience. Admission is free, and online registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Header image credits: Diana Damrau
