Saturday 15th August, 6-7pm (AEST)
Eva Kong / Soprano
Alex Raineri / Piano
Claude Debussy: Apparition
Francis Poulenc: C from Deux poems de Louis Aragon
Darius Milhaud: Chansons de Ronsard
Heitor Villa-Lobos (arr. Raineri): Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Vocalise from 14 Romances, Op. 34
Karol Szymanowski: Roxana’s Song from King Roger
John Adams: China Gates
John Adams: I am the wife of Mao Tse-Tung from Nixon in China
With a versatile portfolio of operatic roles traversing Mozart, Wagner and John Adams, Korean soprano Eva Kong is one of Australia’s most in-demand artists. Joined in recital by Brisbane Music Festival Artistic Director Alex Raineri at the piano, this program is a thrilling collection of colorful works.
Commencing with the perfumed harmonies of Debussy’s exquisite Apparition, a particular highlight is the rarely performed Chansons de Ronsard by Darius Milhaud that sees the soprano frequently leap above the stave to thrilling vocal heights.
The recital concludes with an extract from John Adams’ opera Nixon in China. Here, Kong reprises her Green Room Award winning and Helpmann Award nominated performance of Madam Mao for Victorian Opera in 2017, a performance praised for its “spectacular coloratura” (Sydney Morning Herald).