Italian Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli Performs For Irish Audiences at Nat'l Concert Hall

One of the most exciting and original classical singers in the world today, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli returns to The National Concert Hall on Tuesday 30 November 8pm with Kammerorchester Basel to perform to a sell-out house as part of the International Concert Series 2010/2011.

Judith Woodworth, Director of The National Concert Hall comments "Cecilia Bartoli is no stranger to The National Concert Hall having performed here in 2002, 2003 and was due to perform in June 2008 when, due to Illness, she was forced to cancel the concert. Irish audiences are eagerly awaiting the performance when she presents a captivating programme which centres on 18th century Naples and castrato repertoire. We are truly delighted to welcome her back to our stage for what is sure to be the highlight of this year's International Concert Series 2010/2011."

For more than two decades, Cecilia Bartoli has indisputably been one of the leading artists in the field of classical music having brought classical music to millions of people with her award-winning discography and concert and opera performances. She boasts 8 million copies of audio and video releases, four Grammys® (USA), eight Echos and a Bambi (Germany), two Classical Brit Awards (UK), the Victoire de la Musique (France) as well as many other prestigious prizes. In particular she has known enormous success with her solo CDs such as The Vivaldi Album, Italian Arias by Gluck, The Salieri Album and Opera probita.

Highlights of the current season include the release of ‘Sacrificium' in which she returned to the Baroque repertoire to produce a CD which focuses on celebrated castrato singers of 18th century Naples who at the time were considered as the ‘greatest jewels in music' but were later understood to be ‘victims of musical sensuality.' Further highlights of the season included concert performances of Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Salle Pleyel (Paris) in February 2010 and the release of Handel's Giulio Cesare with Andreas Scholl in the title role on DVD, with the Orchestra La Scintilla under Adam Fischer.

Born in Rome in 1966, Cecilia Bartoli's meteoric rise to superstardom took place over just 8 years. She began as a recitalist and then progressed to performances in opera. Her early career included collaborations with Herbert von Karajan, Daniel Barenboim and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Since then, she has worked with a host of acclaimed conductors including Pierre Boulez, James Levins, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir George Solti amongst others. Her stage appearances include prestigious opera houses and festivals such as the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, La Scala in Milan, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Salzburg Festival and the Zurich Opera House, where she has presented many of her operatic roles for the first time.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.