Nathalie Stutzmann Winterreise at La Monnaie

From the first lied of Winterreise, Gute Nacht, we are in the minor key. His heart broken by unrequited love, a traveller walks in the depth of winter and surrenders to death : ‘I must take the path from which no traveller has ever returned.’ This song cycle, composed in 1827, is one of the last and most poignant written by Schubert when he was living alone in Vienna, already weakened by the illness that he would succumb to a year later. Many male singers have lent their voices to this farewell song, whose universality has also led some female singers to venture in the footsteps of the Wanderer. The French contralto Nathalie Stutzmann is one of them. Her deep timbre works well with the dramatic density of the cycle, whilst, at the same time, giving it more ample ethereal tonalities. Working in close harmony with the pianist Inger Södergren, she invites us to go with her on an unexpected winter journey.