Denis Sedov

bass
Born in St.Peterburg, Mr.Sedov holds a degree from Jerusalem Academy. He was a
member of Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut
in Gordanis Fedora in a cast with P.Domingo and M. Freni.
Since then he appeared at La Scala,
Covent Garden, The MET, Opera de
Paris, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires,
Santiago de Chile, San Francisco
Opera,
La
Monnaie
Bruxelles,
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro
Reggio Turin and many others.
Mr.Sedovs
concert repertoire
includes
performances
with
Bayrische Rundfunk (Munich), Los
Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland,
Atlanta and San Francisco symphony
Orchestre de Paris, Radio France,
St.Petersburg philharmonic and a
concert at the opening ceremony of
winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Collaborating with conductors such
S.Ozawa, K.Mazur, R.Muti, P.Boulez,
Ch.Dutoi, A.Pappano, Ch.Echenbach,
Gergiev
As a recording
released:

artist

the
as
V.

Mr Sedov

Handels Ariodante (Deutche Grammophon Archive), Berlioz double CD Romeo and

Juliette, Les Nuites dEte (also on DG), Rossini Maometto II (Naxos), Puccinis La
Boheme (Telarc), P.Eotvos Three Sisters (DG), a DVD of Monteverdis LIncoronazione
di Poppea and others. Due for release in the future a DVD of Mahlers 8 th Symphonie
Recently: Ariodante Liceo Barcelona, Mephisto in Faust Cincinnati, I Puritani Seattle,
Pearl Fishers Wshington opera, Orlando Teatro Maestranza Seville
La Boheme Buenos Aires, Mozart and Salieri Rio de Janeiro, Mahler 8th Carnegie Hall.

Opera News hails Denis Sedov for tall and commanding, gifted with a splendid
physique and a bass to match and his ability to seduce with his voice as well as
with his presence. His engagements in the 2012-2013 are with Puerto Rico
Symphony with a song cycle that was composed for him by Carlos Alberto Vazques.
The Malerhs 8th Symphony with American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie hall in
New York. Le Rossignol by Stravinsky at Teatro Municipal Sao Paulo. Christmas
Oratorio with Mitteldeutshes Kammerorchester on Sylt Island in Gemany. A concert
tour of seventeen cities in Russia to commemorate the 140 anniversary of birth of

Fyodor Chaliapin. And both Verdis Missa di Requiem and Hundig in Wagners Walkure
with orquestra Filarmonica de Minas Gerais in Brazil. As well as engagements in Israel
and China.
Mr. Sedovs recent international engagements include his debut with the Royal Opera
House at Covent Garden as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni
under the baton of Riccardo Muti at Teatro alla Scala, and Colline in La Bohme at
Paris Opera. Also in Paris, he sang the title role in Don Giovanni and Count Rodolfo in
La sonnambula at the Opra Comique and in Florence. Further performances include
Il Re di Scozia in Ariodante at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Don Profondo in
Il viaggio a Reims with La Monnaie, Timur in Turandot at Opra de Montral, King
Henry VIII in Anna Bolena in Torino, Selim in Il Turco in Italia in Marseille, Mustafa in
L'Italiana in Algeri with Opra du Rhin, Walter in Luisa Miller in Bordeaux, the tutor in
Le Comte Ory in Toulouse, his Teatro Colon debut in Buenos Aires as Oroveso in
Norma, Rossinis Maometto Secondo in Strassbourg, Colline in La Bohme, more
performances of Ariodante with Les Musiciens du Louvre, Sarastro in Die Zauberflte
in Lyon, and Frere Laurent in Romo et Juliette with L'Opera de Montreal and in
Salerno. He has also sung further performances of Sarastro in Die Zauberflte and
Seneca in Monteverdis Lincoronazione di Poppea at Aix-en-Provence in a production
that he repeated in Vienna and Paris as well as Somnus in Seneca in Monteverdis
LIncoronazione di Poppea at the Spoleto Festival dei due Mondi. Cincinnati Opera for
both Colline in La bohme and Lodovico in Otello and the Atlanta Symphony for the
Chamberlain in Le rossignol in Atlanta as well as for performances at Carnegie Hall.
He also joins the Teatro Colon for further performances of Colline in La bohme,
Atlanta Opera for Sarastro in Die Zauberflte, Palm Beach Opera for Leporello in Don
Giovanni, Asociacion Gayarre Amigos de la Opera in Pamplona for Escamillo in
Carmen, and Vancouver Symphony for Mahlers Symphony No. 8. He sang Nourabad
in Les pcheur de perles with Washington National Opera, both Zoroastr in Handels
Orlando and Bachs St. Matthew Passion with Al Ayre Espaol, Shostakovichs Song of
the Forest at the Grant Park Music Festival, and the world premiere of Carlos Alberto
Vazquezs Requiem Domesticus at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico.

He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Nicola in Fedora after having been one of
very few non-American singers ever invited to join the companys prestigious Young
Artist Development Programm. He has since joined the company for Colline in La
Boheme, Orlick in Mazeppa and on tour in Japan for its production of Don Giovanni.
Other American engagements include Giorgio in I Puritani with Seattle Opera,
Escamillo in Carmen and Achilla in Giulio Cesare with San Francisco Opera, Assur in
Semiramide with Minnesota Opera, and Mphistophls in Faust with Cincinnati
Opera, and Il Re in Aida at the Aspen Music Festival. He also joined the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra for performances of Colline in La Bohme with under the baton
of Robert Spano that were recently released on the Telarc label.
He recorded Handels Ariodante with Marc Minkowski conducting Les Musiciens du
Louvre (Deutsche Grammophon). He also recorded the role of Soliony in the world
premiere of Trois Soeurs by Peter Etvs (Deutsche Grammophon), having originally
performed by the role at Opra de Lyon and the Chatelet and his recording of Berlioz
Romeo et Juliette with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez has also

recently

been

released

on

the

Deutsche

Grammophon

label.

Denis Sedov is an equally engaging concert singer, recently joining Christoph

Eschenbach and the LOrchestre de Paris for Mahlers Symphony No. 8 (performances
of which have been released commercially on DVD) as well as the Quebec Symphony
for the same work. Audiences at the Spoleto Festival heard his performances
Mendelssohns Elijah and Berliozs LEnfance du Christ. He sang Haydns Creation for
the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp with Minkowski conducting and in Bordeaux. The bass
made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut singing the Verdi Requiem, his debut with
the San Francisco Symphony with Beethovens Symphony No. 9. He has also
appeared with major orchestras throughout Israel including the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra in Berlioz Damnation of Faust and Verdis Otello under the baton of
Pappano. A worldwide audience of television viewers saw Mr. Sedov sing the
Beethovens Symphony No. 9 in Japan conducted by Seiji Ozawa as part of the winter
Olympics in 1998.
Denis Sedovs repertoire list.
(performed roles) opera
Monteverdi

LIncoronazione di Poppea

Handel

Ariodante
Rinaldo

Rossini

Il Re
Argante

Giulio Cesare

Achilles

Semele

Somnus

Samson

Harafat

Orlando

Zoroastro

Judas Maccabeus

Bass

Messiah

Bass

Maometto II ( venice/naples vers) Title role

Semiramide

Assur

Turco in Italia

Selim

Italiana in Algeri

Mustafa

Viaggio a Reims

Don Profondo

Le Comt Ory

Gouveneur

Barbiere
Mozart

Seneca

Nozze di Figaro

Don Basilio
Title role

Magic flute

Sarastro

Don Giovanni

Title role

Leporello
Commendatore
Masetto
Bellini

Sonnambula

Il Conte

Norma

Oroveso

I Puritani

Georgio

Capuletti I Montechi

Capulet

Donizetti

Anna Bolena

Enrico VIII

Verdi

Luisa Miller

Walter

Rigoletto

Sparafucile

Otello
Puccini

Ludovico

La Boheme

Colline

Turandot
Bizet

Timur

Carmen

Escamillo

Pearl Fishers
Gounoud

Chaikovsky

Nourbad

Faust

Mephisto

Romeo et Juliette

Fraire Laurent

Onegin

Gremin

Iolanta
Rimsky Korsakov

Stravinsky

King Rene

Tsars Bride

Sobakine

Mozart and Salieri

Salieri

Rossignol

Chamberlain

Oedipus Rex

Tiresias

Pulcinella
Wagner
Hundig

Walkure

Concert repertoire (large format)

Haydn
eng )
Bach

Creation
St. Matteus
H-moll mass

ger./

Christmas Oratorio
Bass Cantatas
Berlioz

Romeo et Juliette

Fr. Laurent

LEnfance du Christ

Herode, Pere

Beethoven

9th

Britten

War Requiem

Mendelsohn

Elijah

( eng./ ger )

Mahler

8th

Pater Profundus

Verdi

Missa di Requiem

Chostakovich

14th (chamber)

Rossini

Bariton

Basso

Cantata Songs for the forest

Bass

Stabat Mater

Bass

Requiems by Faure, Mozart, Dvorjak etc

Seductive Sedov
By MAXIM REIDER
LAST UPDATED: 01/27/2012 16:57
Acclaimed Russian-born opera singer Denis Sedov is at home on the concert
stage and the light music circuit.
Denis Sedov Photo: Courtesy
Denis Sedov, an accomplished bass singer,
will perform two vocal recitals next week.
Sedov, who lives in St. Petersburg, considers
himself an Israeli. Im currently residing in
the city of my birth, he says, but my mother
lives in Israel, and I always try to combine
family
visits
with
performances.
Says Sedov, who made aliya in 1991, I
planned to study conducting but missed the exams. But as a graduate of the
Leningrad Choral College with honors, I was admitted to the vocal faculty of the
Music
Academy
without
exams.
We will never know what the world of conducting has lost, but the world of singing
has
undoubtedly
gained
a
lot.
I begin counting my operatic career from 1994, says Sedov, when I was fortunate
to be on the stage of the Israeli Opera production of Nabucco with conductor Daniel
Oren. I shared the stage with such stars as Leo Nucci and Gena Dimitrova. Later I
sang
in The
Barber
of
Seville with
the
Israeli
Opera.
In 1995 Sedov became one of only four non-American singers ever invited to join the

prestigious Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Development Program and has since
performed throughout the world: Opera theaters of Santiago, Buenos Aires, San
Francisco, Metropolitan, Chicago, Covent Garden, Opera Paris, Lyon, Munich you
name it, recounts Sedov, switching from language to language he is fluent in six.
The role in Puccinis La Boheme is my favorite because this opera is both dramatic
and musically rich. I have also participated in eight different productions of this opera
and will sing in the ninth in April in California. I also love Rossinis operas, and as I am
getting older and more mature, I would like to approach the more serious Verdian
repertoire,
says
the
bass.
His other dream is to sing in Boris Godunov if the opera world survives, of course,
he adds. The opera world is going through the hard times, he elaborates. Opera
theaters are being closed, the seasons are shortened, the budgets are cut, and many
singers are unemployed. The other problem is that there are quite a few people who
became singers because they have not had anything better to do with their lives.
They have a certain knack for it, they are trained, but when problems start, they
leave the profession and only those who were born to sing stay. But again, there are
many
and
they
are
strong
competition.
Unwilling to be dependent on music institutions, especially in times of crisis, Sedov
has developed an independent career in another musical field. In addition to his
operatic and liturgical repertoire, he sings lighter music, accompanying himself on
the guitar. I perform a repertoire of Russian songs and other programs with a small
ensemble. We travel everywhere. So we take off to Latin America and Canada.
Our program includes Argentinean tango, Brazilian samba, Neapolitan songs, French
chansons, as well as hits by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, and I enjoy it a lot. In my
other project, I perform with my college friend and we play bossa nova from the
repertoires
of
Tom
Jobim
and
Joao
Gilberto.
In Arad, Sedov will perform Russian songs and arias from Russian operas,
accompanied by pianist Ella Passik. The Petah Tikva program includes opera arias.
Denis Sedov performs on February 3 at the Dolev Auditorium in Arad; February 4 at
the Sharett Center in Petah Tikva at 8 p.m. For reservations: 0546-733-117
http://www.jpost.com/LifeStyle/Seductive-Sedov

Denis Sedov
baixo
Eugene Onegin
"Denis Sedov was an unusually dashing Prince Gremin, displaying fine legato and a
rich lower register in his aria."
Cincinnati
Opera News

Opera

Lucia di Lammermoor
...the priest Raimondo, sung with ample depth by Denis Sedov...
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Tribune
Die Zauberflte

Opera

Denis Sedov sang Sarastro with ringing low tones and appeared the very
embodiment of wisdom.
ATLANTA
Opera News

OPERA

Maometto II
Tall and commanding, gifted with a splendid physique and a bass to match, Denis
Sedov (Maometto) seduced with his voice as well
as
OPERA
Opera News

with
DU

his
RHIN,

presence.
STRASSBOURG

Maometto
Denis Sedov in the title role surprised with his command of coloratura, offering a
complete
portrayal.
Opera
Rinaldo
"Mr. Sedov, whose hurtling enthusiasm gives bad deeds a winning flavor, ... has an
attractive
bass
and
a
high-energy
charm."
NEW
YORK
CITY
OPERA
New York Times
Ariodante
"Denis Sedov left the biggest impression on the public. His voice, despite his youthful
appearance,
sounded
astonishingly
mature."
OPERA
DE
CLAIRMONT-FERRAND
Review-Translation La Montagne
Recital
"The most remarkable musical discovery was Russian bass Dennis Sedov, who...is
devilishly handsome and displays a voice of thunderous proclivities...this one really
brought
down
the
house."
MARILYN
HORNE
FOUNDATION
The Westsider

O Navio Fantasma 2014

"O baixo russo Denis Sedov (que, registre-se, fala portugus) foi um perfeito Daland,
Capito noruegus e pai de Senta. Desde a cena inicial com os marinheiros,
passando pelo grande dueto com o Holands, quando vislumbra a possibilidade de
grandes vantagens, pela cena em sua casa, e at sua derradeira participao, o
artista demonstrou grandes qualidades, como uma voz segura, expressiva e bem
projetada."
Leonardo Marques, movimento.com, setembro 2013
"Daland, o capito noruegus, pelo baixo russo Denis Sedov, obteve neste um
grande intrprete. Voz plena, graves e centro de seu registro muito seguros, agudos

bem alados aliados beleza timbrstica. A atuao cnica do pai amoroso de Senta
convincente e a realizao da sua ria Mogst du, mei Kind (My child, will you
bid) foi muito bela, bem como o dueto entre ele e o holands: Wie? ists
moglich
?"
Marco Antnio Seta, movimento.com, setembro 2013
http://www.artematriz.com.br/index.php?
option=com_jartists&view=artist&layout=press&Itemid=483&id=54:denissedov&lang=es

Despre basul rus Denis Sedov, prestigioasa revist de specialitate Opera News
afirm c solistul seduce att prin vocea sa ct i prin prezena fizic. De altfel,
Opera News a urmrit i a consemnat ascensiunea tnrului solist care colaboreaz
cu opere din Europa i America, printre care i celebrele Metropolitan Opera New
York, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Londra, Teatro alla Scala Milano, Opera din
Paris, Teatro Colon din Buenos Aires, etc.; de asemenea sala de concerte Carnegie
Hall din New York reprezint un punct de referin n agenda solistului de oper.
Pentru calitile sale scenice i interpretative, la debutul carierei sale internaionale a
contribuit i Metropolitan Opera, incluzndu-l n programul Lindemann Young Artist
Development, apoi cooptndu-l n repertoriul teatrului.
Repertoriul lui Denis Sedov este impresionant, cuprinznd principalele roluri
de bas din opere aparinnd tuturor epocilor (de la creaiile lui Claudio Monteverdi
pn la operele lui Richard Wagner sau Igor Stravinski). Aadar, roluri precum Figaro
din Nunta lui Figaro sau rolul titular din Don Giovanni de W.A. Mozart, Mefisto din
Faust de Charles Gounod, Gremin din Evgheni Oneghin de P.I. Ceaicovski, Hundig
din Walkyria de Richard Wagner, Colline din La boheme de Giacomo Puccini fac
parte din palmaresul solistului. Repertoriul vocal-simfonic nu a fost ocolit, aa nct
Denis Sedov interpreteaz i partituri dintr-o palet larg, de la oratoriile de J. S. Bach
sau Joseph Haydn i pn la Messa di Requiem de Giuseppe Verdi sau War Requiem
de Benjamin Britten.
Muzician complex, Denis Sedov l-a inspirat pe Carlos Alberto Vzquez
(compozitor din Puerto Rico, unul dintre cei mai apreciai compozitori contemporani
ai Americii Latine), care a compus ciclul de cntece pentru bas i orchestr
Caribbean Echoes.
Totodat, solistul este captivat i de alte genuri muzicale, astfel nct
numele Denis Sedov este ntlnit i pe afiele unor concerte susinute de celebra
formaie ruseasc Bis-Quit; alturi de aceasta, n 2011, a poposit i n Romnia,
pentru a inaugura Zilele culturii spirituale ruseti n Romnia. De asemenea, s-a
alturat proiectului romnesc Mozart Rocks, interpretnd muzic clasic pe ritmuri
rock. Cltoriile n Brazilia l-au adus n contact cu un gen autentic, Bossa Nova (jazzul brazilian), muzica i ritmurile acestuia provocndu-l s iniieze un nou proiect pe
care n 2014 Agenia EvArt i propune s-l prezinte i publicului romnesc.

Corul Catedralei Sfntul Isaak din Sankt Petersburg, dirijat de Lev Dunaev i avndu-l
ca solist pe basul Denis Sedov, va susine un turneu n premier n Romnia, n
perioada 18 - 22 aprilie. TIRI PE ACEEAI TEM Romnia va aplica msuri speciale
de control al bagajelor la frontier... Romnia va exporta n China peste 500.000 de
vaci n urmtorii 7-10 an... Un blogger se laud c organizeaz prima tabr
paramilitar din Romn... Turneul va cuprinde trei concerte: pe 18 aprilie, la
Filarmonica "Banatul" din Timioara, pe 20 aprilie, la Opera Naional Romn Iai, i
pe 22 aprilie, la Ateneul Romn din Bucureti, potrivit unui comunicat remis
Mediafax. n program sunt cuprinse lucrri clasice de muzic sacr, semnate de P.I.
Ceaikovski, Serghei Rahmaninov, Dimitri Bortnianski, Dobri Hristov, Pavel Cesnokov,

Pavel Tolsteakov i muzic tradiional rus. Corul Catedralei Sfntul Isaak din Sankt
Petersburg i-a ctigat, sub bagheta maestrului Lev Dunaev, un renume binemeritat
n ultimul deceniu, fiind invitat de onoare la toate marile evenimente culturale din
Rusia. La rndul su, basul Denis Sedov este o prezen constant pe marile scene
de oper ale lumii, de la Mariinski la La Scala, pn la Covent Garden, The MET,
Opera de Paris etc. Evenimentul este organizat de Agenia EvArt, cu sprijinul
Ambasadei Federaiei Ruse la Bucureti i este plasat sub naltul patronaj al
Mitropoliei
Banatului.
Denis Sedov
"... Sedov not only gave a superb dramatic performance but his singing was
masterful. His long legato lines were rich and full of emotion, and his quick staccato
lines were seemingly effortlessly moved ..."
Opera News hails Denis Sedov for tall and commanding, gifted with a splendid
physique and a bass to match and his ability to seduce with his voice as well as
with his presence. His engagements in the 2010-11 season include Raimondo
in Lucia di Lammermoor with Pittsburgh Opera, Frere Laurent in Romo et
Juliette at the Teatro Municipale Giuseppe Verdi di Salerno, and a return to Cincinnati
Opera for Gremin in Eugene Onegin. He also sings Rachmaninoffs The Bells with
the Orquesta del Palau de la Musica in Valencia and Prokofievs Ivan the
Terrible with the Orquesta Filarmnica de Mlaga. In the 2009-10 season, he
returned to Cincinnati Opera for both Colline in La bohme and Lodovico
in Otello and the Atlanta Symphony for the Chamberlain in Le rossignol in Atlanta
as well as for performances at Carnegie Hall. He also joined the Teatro Colon for
further Colline in La bohme, Atlanta Opera for Sarastro in Die Zauberflte, Palm
Beach Opera for Leporello in Don Giovanni, Asociacion Gayarre Amigos de la Opera
in Pamplona for Escamillo in Carmen, and Vancouver Symphony for
Mahlers Symphony No. 8 .
Mr. Sedovs recent international engagements include his debut with the Royal Opera
House at Covent Garden as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don
Giovanni under the baton of Riccardo Muti at Teatro alla Scala, and Colline in La
bohme at Paris Opera. Also in Paris, he sang the title role in Don Giovanni and
Count Rodolfo in La sonnambula at the Opra Comique and in Florence. Further
performances include Il Re di Scozia in Ariodante at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in
Barcelona, Don Profondo in Il viaggio a Reims with La Monnaie, Timur
in Turandot at Opra de Montral, King Henry VIII in Anna Bolena in Torino, Selim
in Il turco in Italia in Marseille, Mustafa in L'italiana in Algeri with Opra du Rhin,
Walter in Luisa Miller in Bordeaux, the tutor in Le Comte Ory in Toulouse, his
Teatro Colon debut in Buenos Aires as Oroveso in Norma, Rossinis Maometto
Secondo in
Strassbourg,
Colline
in La
bohme,
more
performances
of Ariodante with Les Musiciens du Louvre, Sarastro in Die Zauberflte with Opra
de Lyon yon, and Frere Laurent in Romo et Juliette with L'Opra de Montreal. He
has also sung further performances of Sarastro in Die Zauberflte and Seneca in
MonteverdisLincoronazione di Poppea at Aix-en-Provence in a production that he
repeated in Vienna and Paris as well as Somnus in Seneca in
MonteverdisLincoronazione di Poppea at the Spoleto Festival dei due Mondi.
He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Colline in La bohme after having been
one of very few non-American singers ever invited to join the companys prestigious
Lindemann Young Artist Development. He has since joined the company Orlick
in Mazeppa and on tour in Japan for its production of Don Giovanni. Other
American engagements include Nourabad in Les pcheur de perles with
Washington National Opera, Giorgio in I puritani with Seattle Opera, Escamillo
in Carmen and Achilla in Giulio Cesare with San Francisco Opera, Assur
in Semiramide with Minnesota Opera, and Mphistophls in Faust with Cincinnati
Opera, and Il Re in Aida at the Aspen Music Festival. He also joined the Atlanta

Symphony Orchestra for performances of Colline in La bohme with under the baton
of Robert Spano that were recently released on the Telarc label.
He recorded Handels Ariodante with Marc Minkowski conducting Les Musiciens du
Louvre (Deutsche Grammophon). He also recorded the role of Soliony in the world
premiere of Trois Soeurs by Peter Etvs (Deutsche Grammophon), having originally
performed by the role at Opra de Lyon and the Chatelet and his recording of
Berlioz Romo et Juliettewith the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez
has also recently been released on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Denis Sedov is an equally engaging concert singer, recently joining Christoph
Eschenbach and the LOrchestre de Paris for Mahlers Symphony No. 8 (performances
of which have been released commercially on DVD) as well as the Quebec Symphony
for the same work. He has sung Mendelssohns Elijah and Berliozs Lenfance du
Christ at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A., Shostakovichs Song of the Forest at the
Grant Park Music Festival, and the world premiere of Carlos Alberto
VazquezsRequiem Domesticus at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. He sang
Haydns Creation for the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp with Minkowski conducting and
in Bordeaux. The bass made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut singing the
Verdi Requiem,
his
debut
with
the
San
Francisco
Symphony
with
Beethovens Symphony No. 9. He has also appeared with major orchestras
throughout Israel including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Berlioz Damnation
of Faust and Verdis Otello under the baton of Pappano. He sang Zoroastr in
Orlando and Bachs St. Matthew Passion with Al Ayre Espaol. A worldwide
audience of television viewers saw Mr. Sedov sing the Beethovens Symphony No.
9 in Japan conducted by Seiji Ozawa as part of the winter Olympics in 1998.
http://www.artpro.co.il/vocalists/bass/denis-sedov/cv.html
Denis Sedov
Israeli bass DENIS SEDOV, born in Russia, was one of only four non-American
singers ever invited to join the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Young Artist
Development Program, an invitation that led to several performances at the Met,
including appearances in La bohme during the 1998/99 season, a role he also
performed the at Paris Opra Bastille in June 1999. He made his Met debut during
the 1996/97 season, appearing in performances of Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, and
Giordanos Fedora. He has also performed several other roles, including Figaro in
Mozarts Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and at Seattle
Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni and Rodolfo in Bellinis La sonnambula at the
Opra-Comique in Paris; and Seneca in Monteverdis Lincoronazione di Poppea at the
Aix-en-Provence Festival. He has also appeared at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, where
his performances as Somnus in a 1997 production of Handels Semele were met with
critical acclaim. His other concert performances have included a performance of
Beethovens Ninth Symphony in Japan with conductor Seiji Ozawa, which was seen by
a worldwide audience of television viewers as part of the opening ceremonies at the
1998 Winter Olympics.
http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/denis-sedov
I can't figure out why the San Francisco Opera doesn't have Denis Sedov on their
roster after his stunning performances in Carmen and Giolio Cesare. Up the coast in
Seattle,
he's
singing
in
Puritani.
This is a guy who can be sexy in the low range roles like Colline in Boheme, King

Henry the Eighth in Anna Bolena and Leporello in Don Giovanni. It would be nice to
see him in the lead role in Don Giovanni. He'll be singing Nourabad in Pearl Fishers at
the Washington Opera later this year alongside Hunkentenor Charles Castronovo.
Sedov has what I call a beautiful, rolling bass voice. It is absolutely soothing to listen
to and he's not too bad to look at either.
http://barihunks.blogspot.ro/2008/02/denis-sedov-watch-out-dmitri.html

Mephistopheles Debuts in Cincinnati

Watch
out
for
bass
Denis
Sedov.
As an opera singer, his job is to "fool people," he said, especially in Gounod's
"Faust," which opens Cincinnati Opera's 2007 summer festival at 8 p.m. tonight at
Music
Hall.
Russian-born Sedov, 33, sings Mephistopheles in "Faust," the Devil posing as
benefactor who bargains for the aging philosopher's soul. It will be his debut in the
role
and
he
intends
to
make
it
vivid.
"I do him as physical as I can," said Sedov, before a "piano tech" rehearsal at Music
Hall last week (a rehearsal on the set with piano accompaniment, where
technical issues such as lighting are worked out). "I try to bring many poses into the
character. He (Mephistopheles) is many, many things. He just has a
human
coat
on
him."
Six-feet-four-inches tall, slender, with piercing eyes and a wicked smile, Sedov
promises to be an arresting Mephistopheles. Though he has been working
on the role since he caught opera artistic director Evans Mirageas' eye and ear at an
audition in New York City two years ago, Sedov is particularly happy to
be making his debut in the Gounod opera with the artistic team in Cincinnati. They
include conductor Julius Rudel, former general director of New York City
Opera and guest conductor at Cincinnati Opera since the days it performed at the
Zoo, and stage director Bernard Uzan, former general and artistic director of Montreal
Opera. Both are old "Faust" hands. Metropolitan Opera tenor Richard Leech, who is
singing Faust, is well known for the role. Soprano Ruth Ann Swenson sang Marguerite
at
the
Met
this
spring.
"Rudel is a great maestro," said Sedov. "He had so many little things to say about
every single phrase and how should it go and the coloring. It's little things that make
all the difference. This detailed work should really be done the first time you do a
role,
for
your
debut."
Born into a theater family in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Sedov began going to
the Kirov (now re-named Mariinsky) Theater when he was 3 years old.
"My parents
were amateur musicians, but they were both working in the Kirov." He attended
Glinka Choir College in St. Petersburg, a famed music school for boys 7-18, where he
sang eight hours a week and studied "all the other musical disciplines."
"When I was 16, I had an octavo, which means a bass extension in the low register.
When I was 17, I was offered a job in a radio/TV choir in St. Petersburg, one of the
best choirs at the time." He turned it down, however, and in 1991, after earning his
diploma
in
choral
conducting,
left
St.
Petersburg
for
Israel.
"Everybody was leaving (the Soviet Union was breaking up at the time). My parents
left before me. I just joined the big crowd. Some of my friends from
school I see Germany, Spain, places like that." Sedov planned to study conducting in
Israel, but upon arrival in Jerusalem he found he had missed the
deadline to apply for a spot in the conducting program there. They asked, " 'What
else can you do?' And I said, 'Well, I can sing.' " He trained four years in

Jerusalem and "people started giving me jobs as a singer," he said. He auditioned for
the
opera
in
Tel
Aviv
and
was
given
some
cover
roles.
"Actually, the first time I ever went singing onstage in a professional opera (Israeli
Opera in Tel Aviv) I went on as a cover (a kind of music understudy). I
was covering Il Gran Sacerdote (High Priest of Babylon) in 'Nabucco' (Verdi). It was in
'94 and Leo Nucci was singing his first Nabucco. I went on with Ghena
Dimitrova
singing
Abigaille.
That
was
way
fun."
He
hasn't
looked
back
since.
For four summers, he participated in the prestigious International Vocal Arts
Institute in Tel Aviv, where he met and worked with some of world's greatest
singers, conductors and directors. "I sang for people there and they said 'You have to
come and sing for Jimmy at the Met' (artistic director, now music
director James Levine)." He joined the Met's Young Artist Development Program, one
of the few non-American singers ever invited to do so. "It was a great time for me,
from
'95
through
'97.
That's
when
I
made
my
Met
debut."
Sedov
has
a
way
of
starting
at
the
top.
"The first time I went on the Met stage, it came out on DVD. It was 'Fedora' (by
Umberto Giordano) in '96 with Placido (Domingo). I had a tiny role right at
the beginning of the opera, one of 20 singers in the first act, which is only 13 minutes
long.
It
was
quite
a
kickoff.
If you "start at the top," said Sedov, "you have to learn to stay at the top. And that
you can only learn with being in a profession for years and years and
years."
(first published in The Cincinnati Post June 14, 2007)
Tall and commanding, gifted with a splendid physique and a bass to match, Denis
Sedov (Maometto) seduced with his voice as well as with his presence.
Maometto II, Strassbourg Opera; Opera News
Opera News hails Denis Sedov for tall and commanding, gifted with a splendid
physique and a bass to match and his ability to seduce with his voice as well as
with his presence. In the 2013-14 season, he joins Opra de Nice as Somnus and
Cadmus in Semele and creates the role of Ledo Jimnez in the world premiere of
Carlos Vzquezs La mina de oro in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and sings Daland in Der
fliegende Hollnder with the Orquestra Sinfnica do Theatro da Paz. He also joins
the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra for Verdis Requiem. Last season, he returned
to the American Symphony Orchestra for Mahlers Symphony No. 8; joined the
Virginia Arts Festival for Stravinskys Les Noces, Orquesta Filarmnica de Minas
Gerais as Hunding in Die Walkre and for Verdis Requiem, Mitteldeutsches
Kammerorchester on Sylt Island for Bachs Christmas Oratorio; and reprises the
Chamberlain in Le rossignol at the Teatro Municipal in So Paulo. He also premiered
a song cycle by Carlos Alberto Vazquez with the Puerto Rico Symphony.
Mr. Sedovs recent international engagements include his debut with the Royal Opera
House at Covent Garden as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don
Giovanni under the baton of Riccardo Muti at Teatro alla Scala, and Colline in La
bohme at Paris Opera. Also in Paris, he sang the title role in Don Giovanni and
Count Rodolfo in La sonnambula at the Opra Comique as well as in Florence.
Further performances include Il Re di Scozia in Ariodante at the Gran Teatre del
Liceu in Barcelona, Don Profondo in Il viaggio a Reims with La Monnaie, Timur
in Turandot at Opra de Montral, King Henry VIII in Anna Bolena in Torino, Selim
in Il turco in Italia in Marseille, Mustafa inL'italiana in Algeri with Opra du Rhin,
Walter in Luisa Miller in Bordeaux, the tutor in Le Comte Ory in Toulouse, Oroveso
in Norma and Colline in La bohme at the Teatro Coln, Don Giovanni at the
Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Rossinis Maometto Secondo in Strasbourg, Colline

in La bohme, more performances of Ariodante with Les Musiciens du Louvre,

Sarastro in Die Zauberflte with Opra de Lyon, Frere Laurent in Romo et
Juliette with L'Opra de Montreal and at the Teatro Municipale Giuseppe Verdi di
Salerno, and Escamillo in Carmen with the Asociacion Gayarre Amigos de la Opera in
Pamplona. He has also sung further performances of Sarastro in Die
Zauberflte and Seneca in Monteverdis Lincoronazione di Poppea at Aix-enProvence in a production that he repeated in Vienna and Paris as well as Somnus
inSemele at
the
Aspen
Music
Festival.
He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Colline in La bohme after having been
one of very few non-American singers ever invited to join the companys prestigious
Lindemann Young Artist Development. He has since joined the company Orlick
in Mazeppa and on tour in Japan for its production of Don Giovanni. Other
American engagements include Nourabad in Les pcheur de perles with
Washington National Opera; Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Pittsburgh
Opera, Giorgio in I puritani with Seattle Opera; Escamillo in Carmen and Achilla
in Giulio Cesare with San Francisco Opera; Sarastro in Die Zauberflte with
Atlanta Opera; Assur in Semiramide with Minnesota Opera; Leporello inDon
Giovanni with Palm Beach Opera; Mphistophls in Faust, Gremin in Eugene
Onegin, Colline in La bohme, and Lodovico in Otello with Cincinnati Opera; and Il
Re
in Aida at
the
Aspen
Music
Festival.
He recorded Handels Ariodante with Marc Minkowski conducting Les Musiciens du
Louvre (Deutsche Grammophon). He also recorded the role of Soliony in the world
premiere of Trois Soeurs by Peter Etvs (Deutsche Grammophon), having originally
performed by the role at Opra de Lyon and the Chatelet. He also joined the
Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez for Berlioz Romo et Juliette (also
on Deutsche Grammophon) and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Colline in La
bohme conducted
by
Robert
Spano
(Telarc).
Denis Sedov is an equally engaging concert singer, and recently joined Christoph
Eschenbach and the LOrchestre de Paris for MahlersSymphony No.
8 (performances of which have been released commercially on DVD) as well as the
Quebec Symphony and Vancouver Symphony for the same work. He has sung
Chamberlain in concert performances of Stravinskys Le rossignol with Robert
Spano conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchesra in Atlanta and on tour to Carnegie
Hall in addition to joining the orchestra for Rachmaninoffs The Bells. He also also
sung Seder Leader in Dessaus Hagadah Shel Pesach with the American Symphony
Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, MendelssohnsElijah and Berliozs Lenfance du
Christ at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A., Mozarts Requiem with the Orquestra Sinfnica
Brasileira, Shostakovichs Song of the Forest at the Grant Park Music Festival,
further performances of Rachmaninoffs The Bells with the Orquesta del Palau de la
Musica in Valencia, Prokofievs Ivan the Terrible with the Orquesta Filarmnica de
Mlaga, and the world premiere of Carlos Alberto Vazquezs Requiem
Domesticus at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. He sang Haydns Creation for the
Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp with Minkowski conducting and in Bordeaux. The bass
made his debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic singing Verdis Requiem and San
Francisco Symphony with Beethovens Symphony No. 9. He has also appeared with
major orchestras throughout Israel including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in
Berlioz Damnation of Faust and Verdis Otello under the baton of Pappano. He
sang Zoroastr in Orlando and Bachs St. Matthew Passion with Al Ayre Espaol. A
worldwide
audience
of
television
viewers
saw
Mr.
Sedov
sing
the
Beethovens Symphony No. 9 in Japan conducted by Seiji Ozawa as part of the
winter Olympics in 1998.
http://www.guybarzilayartists.com/Denis-Sedov
Bio

Denis Sedov made his debut at Seattle Opera as Figaro in the 1997 production of
Mozarts Nozze di Figaro. Sedovs international engagements include his debut with
the Royal Opera Covent Garden as Figaro, Leporello in Mozarts Don Giovanni at
Teatro alla Scala, the Don in Santiago, Colline in Puccinis Bohme at Paris Opera
(Telarc), and Oroveso in Bellinis Norma in Buenos Aires. Further European
performances include Sarastro in Mozarts Zauberflte in Lyon, Don Giovanni, King
Henry VIII in Donizettis Anna Bolena in Turin, the title role in Rossinis Maometto
Secondo in Strasbourg (Naxos), Mustaf in Rossinis Italiana in Algeri in Nice, Count
Rodolfo in Bellinis Sonnambula in Florence, and Walter in Verdis Luisa Miller in
Bordeaux. At the Metropolitan Opera, Sedov made his debut in Giordanos Fedora,
and subsequent roles there include Orlick in Tchaikovskys Mazeppa and Colline. With
San Francisco Opera, he has sung Achilla in Handels Giulio Cesare and Escamillo in
Bizets Carmen. Recent roles include Figaro in Minneapolis, Mphistophls in
Gounods Faust in Cincinnati, and King of Scotland in Handels Ariodante in Barcelona
(Archive D.G.).

http://www.seattleopera.org/bios/index.aspx?name=denis_sedov
Tickets
Saturday,
November
13,
Tuesday,
November
16,
Friday,
November
19,
Sunday, November 21, 2010 - 2:00 PM

2010
2010
2010

8:00
7:00
8:00

PM
PM
PM

A chill goes up your spine as the theater darkens...the orchestra's first notes are
portentous. That's only the beginning of the psychological thriller that is Lucia di
Lammermoor, in the production recently named one of the top 10 arts events of the
decade in Pittsburgh. Lucia's forced marriage sets off a chain of events that leads to
the
most
spectacular
mad
scene
in
opera.
Laura Claycomb (Rigoletto, 2005; The Capulets & the Montagues, 2008) is Lucia;
David Lomel and Denis Sedov make their PIttsburgh Opera debuts as Edgardo and
Raimondo; Bruno Caproni (Rigoletto, 2005) returns as Enrico. Music Director Antony
Walker
conducts;
Doug
Scholz-Carlson
directs.
2010-11
Season
Sponsor:
PNC
Media Sponsor: WSHH 99.7 FM
Join us one hour before each performance for the Pre-Opera Talk. Free to all
performance ticketholders, Pre-Opera Talks are full of insights on the opera, the
composer and more!
All
performances
at
the
Benedum
Center
Sung in Italian with English texts projected above the stage
http://www.pittsburghopera.org/shows/view/16

Review: Pacific Symphony's' 'La Bohme' marks fine return to opera

Orange County back in the opera game with 'La Bohme' and a beautiful
performance by the Pacific Symphony, Pacific Chorale and Southern California
Children's Chorus.
April 20, 2012|By Richard S. Ginell, Special to the Los Angeles Times

In November 2008, as the Great Recession pounded away, Opera Pacific closed its
doors. Orange County was suddenly without a major resident opera company. But
after nearly four years of drought, the Pacific Symphony is trying to step into the
breach with concert opera over three years, one per season. It's a small step, but it's
a step.

They aren't taking any chances with repertoire, that's for sure.
First out of the chute was that guaranteed crowd-pleaser, Puccini's "La Bohme" -and yes, Rene and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall looked almost full on the ground
floor Thursday night. There was some playful outreach in the lobby: an amusing
multiple-choice quiz, "Which Bohemian Are You?"; trading cards of the four lead
characters with descriptions that read like horoscopes.
Next year, it's "Tosca;" the third opera not yet determined. Small steps.
As so often happens, this "Bohme" fielded a young ensemble cast with energetic,
knock-'em-dead-in-the-balcony voices in which subtlety was at a premium (the best
voice of the lot was bass-baritone Denis Sedov's sonorous Colline).
In a gesture of continuity, the stage director, A. Scott Parry, just happened to be the
director of Opera Pacific's final production, "The Barber Of Seville" and he
encouraged the cast to engage in the usual physical horseplay amid a sparse
collection of props spread in front of the orchestra.
Yet it was clear from the first notes that the real star of this performance was the
Pacific Symphony, with European-opera-house-seasoned Carl St.Clair providing onthe-dot pacing. With reportedly short rehearsal, the orchestra played beautifully,
illuminating aspects of Puccini's orchestrations that are so often obscured in the pit.
And the Pacific Chorale's and Southern California Children's Chorus' singing was at
such a high level that you almost didn't miss the color and clamor of a fully-staged
Act II.
calendar@latimes.com

"La Boheme" with Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony; Rene and Henry
Segerstrom Concert Hall; 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; 8 p.m. Saturday and
Tuesday; $25-$185; (714) 556-2787 orhttp://www.pacificsymphony.org

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/20/entertainment/la-et-la-boheme-20120421
Despre basul rus Denis Sedov, prestigioasa revist de specialitate Opera
News afirm c solistul seduce att prin vocea sa ct i prin prezena fizic. De
altfel, Opera News a urmrit i a consemnat ascensiunea tnrului solist care
colaboreaz cu opere din Europa i America, printre care i celebrele Metropolitan
Opera New York, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Londra, Teatro alla Scala
Milano, Opera din Paris, Teatro Colon din Buenos Aires, etc.; de asemenea sala de
concerte Carnegie Hall din New York reprezint un punct de referin n agenda
solistului de oper. Pentru calitile sale scenice i interpretative, la debutul carierei
sale internaionale a contribuit i Metropolitan Opera, incluzndu-l n programul
Lindemann Young Artist Development, apoi cooptndu-l n repertoriul teatrului.
Repertoriul lui Denis Sedov este impresionant, cuprinznd principalele roluri
de bas din opere aparinnd tuturor epocilor (de la creaiile lui Claudio Monteverdi
pn la operele lui Richard Wagner sau Igor Stravinski). Aadar, roluri precum Figaro
din Nunta lui Figaro sau rolul titular din Don Giovanni de W.A. Mozart, Mefisto din
Faust de Charles Gounod, Gremin din Evgheni Oneghin de P.I. Ceaicovski, Hundig
din Walkyria de Richard Wagner, Colline din La boheme de Giacomo Puccini fac
parte din palmaresul solistului. Repertoriul vocal-simfonic nu a fost ocolit, aa nct
Denis Sedov interpreteaz i partituri dintr-o palet larg, de la oratoriile de J. S. Bach
sau Joseph Haydn i pn la Messa di Requiem de Giuseppe Verdi sau War Requiem
de Benjamin Britten.
Muzician complex, Denis Sedov l-a inspirat pe Carlos Alberto Vzquez
(compozitor din Puerto Rico, unul dintre cei mai apreciai compozitori contemporani
ai Americii Latine), care a compus ciclul de cntece pentru bas i orchestr
Caribbean Echoes.
Totodat, solistul este captivat i de alte genuri muzicale, astfel nct numele
Denis Sedov este ntlnit i pe afiele unor concerte susinute de celebra formaie
ruseasc Bis-Quit; alturi de aceasta, n 2011, a poposit i n Romnia, pentru a
inaugura Zilele culturii spirituale ruseti n Romnia. De asemenea, s-a alturat
proiectului romnesc Mozart Rocks, interpretnd muzic clasic pe ritmuri rock.
Cltoriile n Brazilia l-au adus n contact cu un gen autentic, Bossa Nova (jazz-ul
brazilian), muzica i ritmurile acestuia provocndu-l s iniieze un nou proiect pe
care n 2014 Agenia EvArt i propune s-l prezinte i publicului romnesc.

Three Sisters
Festival
Theatre,
Special report: the Edinburgh festival 2001

Edinburgh

Andrew Clements
theguardian.com, Monday 27 August 2001 00.00 BST

o
o

Since it was first performed in Lyons in 1998, Peter Eotvos's Chekhov opera has been
staged widely across Europe, and has already appeared on disc. In a perfect world it
should have arrived here in a full production, too, but a concert performance,
conducted by the composer, was at least a first chance for a British audience to
encounter an intriguing and important work that repays close attention.
But for those in the Festival Theatre on Saturday who had not been able to do any
preparation Three Sisters may have been a puzzling experience. Apart from printing
the libretto in an English translation and a background interview with the composer,
the programme booklet offered little in the way of an aid to comprehension. Eotvos
and his librettist Claus Henneberg (who was not even mentioned in the programme)
transformed the four acts of Chekhov's drama into three compressed sequences,
written in German, and then translated back into Russian, which reinterpret the
events of the play from the perspectives of two of the sisters, Irina and Masha, and
their brother, Andrei.
The action is also filtered through the tradition of Japanese kabuki; the cast is entirely
male, with the three sisters themselves sung by countertenors, and the other two
female roles (Andrei's wife Natasha and the maid Anfisa) also taken by men. Anyone
without some prior knowledge could have been rather confused, but still should have
been gripped by the sure-footed dramatic pacing - as the action becomes ever
bleaker and more intense - the lyrical power of Eotvos's vocal writing, and the vivid
imagery of the orchestral score.
The orchestra is split into two: an ensemble of just 18 players is in the pit, another 50
musicians are positioned behind a gauze at the back of the stage. Perspectives shift:
the instruments in the pit ensemble characterise the protagonists - flute for Olga, cor
anglais for Irina, clarinets for Masha, bassoon for Andrei, and so on - and the main
orchestra supplies the ominous backdrop; every detail counts.
With the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Eotvos and Errico Fresis as second
conductor, the action moved with easy certainty, and the cast was remarkably
assured. Oleg Riabets, Lawrence Zazzo and David Cordier were the sisters; Wolfgang
Newerla was Andrei, powerfully eloquent in his great monologue that ends the
second sequence, while the rich-timbred bass Denis Sedov made much of the role of
Solyony. A fascinating experience, but now we badly need to see Three Sisters on
stage.
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/aug/27/edinburghfestival2001.edinburghfe
stival
Boulez
Romo
Timothy Ball | Sunday, June 06, 2004
Berlioz
Romo

et

Juliette,

Melanie
Op.17 Kenneth

et

Juliette

Diener
Tarver

(soprano)
(tenor)

Les Nuits d't, Op.7

Denis

Sedov

(bass)

The
Cleveland
Orchestra
Chorus
The
Cleveland
Orchestra
Pierre
Boulez
Recorded in May 2000,
Auditorium, Cleveland

Masonic

DG 474 237-2 (2 CDs) 2 hours 4 minutes

Like so many of his works, Berlioz's Romo et Juliette is not easily defined or
categorised. Described by the composer as a 'Dramatic Symphony', it is
nevertheless a hybrid piece with elements of cantata and opera alongside the
purely symphonic. The soprano and tenor soloists are heard only in the
Prologue, Strophes and Scherzetto, and then comparatively briefly the tenor
especially so. The bass has an extended, indeed named role Pre Laurence
and appears solely in the finale where the full chorus is also heard for the first
time. In the Prologue, a semi-chorus sings largely in a recitative-like manner,
setting the scene and outlining the tale. Two offstage male choruses sing as
they leave the Capulets' ball at the start of part two, and a chorus of Capulets
lament Juliet's demise. But the most substantial of the seven movements are
the purely orchestral ones, and these have often been extracted from the whole
work and, in fact, recorded more frequently than the complete symphony.
Pierre Boulez, in his first recording of Berliozs Romo et Juliette, seeks to
emphasise the symphonic aspects of this disparate piece. Thematic material is
presented with meticulous lucidity, and one can follow the threads of the
musical argument with unusual clarity. Thus the opening, with its bristling fugue
and subsequent brass pronouncements (representing the fighting families and
the Prince of Verona's intervention), sounds less like incidental music than a
genuinely introductory symphonic movement. The choral recitatives that follow
are delivered in a matter-of-fact manner; effective enough, though a little more
flexibility would not have gone amiss. The orchestral interjections are
characterful, and the coda in which Romeo is reported to reveal himself to Juliet
is given with due rapture, as befits the 'Appassionato' marking in the score.
Although not the contralto specified by Berlioz, soprano Melanie Diener sings
the strophes with a beguiling expression, accompanied by liquid harp and
palpitating winds and, in the second stanza, the cellos add their ardent countermelody with impeccable phrasing. Kenneth Tarver is nimble as is Boulez in
the 'Mab' Scherzetto, if without quite the ideal lightness of characterisation that
can be found in native French singers, such as Jean Dupouy on Seiji Ozawa's
Boston recording, also on DG. With these vocal sections, the Prologue concludes
and the orchestra-dominated symphonic portions begin.
Part Two, commencing with Romeo alone and culminating in the Ball, is initially
given a remote, otherworldly quality from the violins, who trace their
melancholy line without excessive vibrato. Following an exquisite oboe solo, as
animation and colour increase, Boulez gathers the various elements together
and gives a reading of the Ball music of magnificent opulence. And when the
Romeo theme is heard in counterpoint on brass (strong, but not blaring), the
sense of thematic as well as dramatic culmination is overwhelming.
The offstage male voices, representing the departing revellers, at the start of

the Love Scene are acoustically well-placed, and the main body of this Adagio
movement is given a flowing reading with, as might be expected of Boulez,
details of scoring making their telling points. Ideally, a little more ardour and
open-hearted passion would have conveyed the expression of this passionate
music even more. Here the accompanying vibrations need to be more than just
rhythmic pulsing, but the reading has its own purpose, and fits with Boulez's
symphonically orientated conception.
The purely orchestral Queen Mab Scherzo is deftly played and brilliantly
conducted. The fleet-footed scoring surely unprecedented in symphonic music
Is realised as completely as one could wish, and the instrumental details
ranging from delicate harps and tinkling antique cymbals to snoring bassoons
register most vividly.
The chorus makes a re-appearance for Juliet's cortge. Its tolling chant,
accompanied by lamenting strings later the roles are ingeniously reversed
recalls a similar device employed by Berlioz in the Offertorium movement of
his Grande Messe des Morts. There is a danger that this movement can outstay
its welcome, but Boulez ensures that the music's momentum is maintained by
taking heed of the 'non troppo lento' marking.
The penultimate movement is the most closely linked with the dramatic action,
with brief phrases depicting specific incidents such as Juliet's awakening and
Romeo's rapturous reaction, and concluding with the death of the lovers. Some
of this music is downright strange, with a quasi-expressionistic character, and
Boulez captures this appropriately, without unnecessary exaggeration.
The finale is sometimes considered something of a letdown after the teeming
invention that precedes it. Berlioz constructs what might be termed a rather
'conventional' operatic scene. And operatic in the genre of French Grand Opera
such as Meyerbeer made his own in Paris during Berlioz's lifetime. But Berlioz's
sense of drama is, of course, personal and his orchestral characterisation, in
particular, is in a different league from those of his more commonplace
contemporaries. The still-quarrelling families are depicted with music that
recalls the Prologue and, eventually, the reconciliation is depicted in a grand,
luxuriant manner. The bass soloist has an important part to play, and perhaps
Denis Sedov is mite too youthful sounding for the gravity of Pre Laurences
authoritative utterances.
Nevertheless, this final movement does not disappoint and draws a
distinguished reading of the whole symphony to a rousing conclusion. Boulez
does not over-hype the drama; his conception is one of thorough integrity and is
a distinguished addition to this work's discography.
Most recordings of Romo et Juliette stand alone, but Boulez has an important
bonus with the presence of Les Nuits d't, arguably the first orchestral songcycle, although Berlioz does not seem to have ever performed the work
complete. Instead, individual songs were included in his concerts, with vocal
parts tailor-made for specific singers. Although we are used to primarily hearing
the Les Nuits d't with a single singer, this was not the composer's intention.
Boulez's approach is a compromise since, strictly speaking, only two of the six
songs as performed on this recording conform with the voice-type specified by
the composer Absence and Au cimetire, Kenneth Tarver the expressive
tenor. A soprano is not called for at all, but Melanie Diener is delightful in the
opening Villanelle and exhilarating in the concluding L'le inconnue both
songs specified as being for mezzo-soprano or tenor. Bass Denis Sedov takes
the contralto second song La Spectre de la rose and the baritone (or mezzo-

soprano or contralto) third, Sur les lagunes. His lugubrious delivery is not
really ideally suited to either, and some low notes are rather wanting in focus.
It might seem odd to commend a performance of songs because of their
accompaniment, but Boulez's realisation of Berlioz's orchestration is instructive
and affecting in itself. From the delicacy of Villanelle, to the poignancy of
Absence and the windswept seascape of the L'le inconnue, Boulez does not
disappoint. The performances, as ever with this musician, have been prepared
with scrupulous care. In spite of Berlioz's multi-voice conception, it would be
foolish to dismiss the now-established practice of a single singer Janet Baker
with Barbirolli (EMI) or Susan Graham with John Nelson (Sony). The latter is a
lovely reading and is coupled with arias and scenes from Berlioz operas. For a
more 'authentic' realisation of Berlioz's vocal assignations, one can turn to Colin
Davis (Philips), though there is some variable singing and the playing does not
have the finesse of the Cleveland Orchestra, which plays superbly throughout.
My only real disappointment with Boulezs issues is that some of the balance
particularly in Romo et Juliette sounds artificial; winds and solo voices are
occasionally too close, and a little more air around the ensemble generally
would have been welcome. Having said which, the acoustic does seem to 'open
out' very well for the symphonys last movement.
All told, then, this is a highly recommendable release, one deserving a place on
the shelves of admirers of Hector Berlioz and Pierre Boulez.
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_print_concert.php?id=1888
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858 1924) La Bohme: N. Amsellem (Mim), M. Haddock
(Rodolfo), F. Capitanucci (Marcello), G. Jarman (Musetta), D. Sedov (Colline), C.
Schaldenbrand (Schaunard), K. Glavin (Benoit/Alcindoro), B. Howard (Parpignol);
Gwinnett Young Singers, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Robert Spano
[recorded live during concert performances in Atlantas Woodruff Arts Center
during
September
2007;
TELARC
80697]
Another recording of La Bohme. Groan. Yes to the former, but in this case not
too much of the latter. It is easy to wish that the efforts that went into the
recording and release of thisBohme, taken from concert performances given in
Atlanta in September 2007, had been applied to another score, one more in
need of a competitive recording in digital sound (Manon Lescaut seems an
obvious candidate). It is not easy, however, to assemble a credible,
competitive Bohme, and that is what Robert Spano and TELARC have achieved.
In many respects, this Bohme, recorded under similar conditions, displays in
abundance precisely what the performance on DGG with the starrier pairing of
Netrebko and Villazn lacks: a pervasive sense of young lovers in love, of
desperate but not devastating poverty, of the gaiety of even troubled existence
in the company of friends. In short, this performance is alive, and not merely
because there are more audible signs of an audience (including welcome
laughter) and efforts at simple staging effects than in the DGG
recording. Bohmeis not an inexorable progress to tragedy in the manner of a
Gluck opera. The ultimate power of Bohmes pathos is in the speed at which
Mims condition deteriorates from her entrance in the final act: we have known
since her first appearance in Act One that she is very ill, but we have no reason
to suspect that she will not recover. Her new love for Rodolfo demands that she
recover. Rodolfo knows in those final moments of the fourth act that she is
doomed but is nonetheless stunned when the realization that Mim has died
overtakes him. In this response beats the heart of Bohme and the reason that

even hardened opera aficionados listen, even if in secret: there is always that
impossible suspension of knowledge and reality and that hope that this is the
performance when the love of two charmingly struggling young Bohemians will
conquer death. There is in Spanos performance a disarmingly nave clinging to
hope that both bolsters the inner acts of the opera and underlines the tragedy
of Mims death all the more effectively. In this performance, Bohme emerges
as what it emphatically is: a beautifully romantic tale with a sudden, annihilating
tragic ending. Villazn understood this in the DGG performance but was singing
into a veritable void. Spano and all his cast fully comprehend the nature of the
score and collectively touch the heart endearingly, defying the fact that this
may
be
the
thousandth
time
one
has
heard
the
opera.
Norah Amsellem, veteran of the first Metropolitan Opera performance I attended
(a 1997Carmen, in which she sang Micala), proves a capable, thoroughly
charming, and ultimately very moving Mim. Gifted by nature with a voice less
opulent than Netrebkos (to restrict comparison merely with her most recent
recorded rival) Amsellem uses her warm timbre, clear diction, and natural sense
of portamento to craft a Mim who is both delicate and passionate. The flood of
tone at the climax of her aria, as Mim laments the fact that the flowers she
embroiders lack the fragrances of the real blossoms after which they are
modeled, raises the temperature in the frigid garret. It is not difficult to
comprehend why a virile young poet is so immediately taken with a woman
whose simplest thoughts are inherently poetic when her music is sung with such
keen placement of the tone. Thereafter, she brings the perfect combination of
shy slyness and wide-eyed amazement to the love duet, given a performance
here that is both sensual and intimate. Amsellem makes beautiful contributions
to the second act fracas, making touching things of her comments to Rodolfo
about her observations that Marcello and Musetta remain madly in love with one
another and her pity for them. The third act, a cruel test for any Mim, brings
occasional lapses in firmness, evident mainly in a noticeable but scarcely
bothersome loosening of the vibrato at the top of the range in moments of
stress, but Amsellems resources of wit, feeling, and involvement never fail her.
In the final act, Amsellem is equally poignant in Mims fierce battle to cling to
life and in her final surrender. When this Mim dies, one senses that a light has
been extinguished, musically and emotionally: one almost imagines all the
flowers in Paris, real and embroidered, withering in sympathy. Amsellems voice
may not withstand detailed comparisons with the greatest Mims of the past, but
her performance surpasses those of many more famous sopranos and gets at
the
heart
of
Puccinis
sweetly
assured
seamstress.
Marcus Haddock, whose impressive MET dbut as Gounods Faust I witnessed,
offers a compelling performance and is very much a member of a tight
ensemble rather than a leading tenor going through the paces of a leading tenor
role. Haddock shares Amsellems clear diction and gratifyingly forward
placement of tone. Unlike Villazn on DGG (who utilized a downward
transposition), Haddock sings Che gelida manina in the autograph key and
produces a firm top C mostly free from strain. Haddocks Rodolfo is in love with
poetry and with the very notion of being in love, but Mim translates his poetic
visions into glorious reality. As noted, Haddock combines with Amsellem for an
uncommonly enjoyable performance of the love duet that ends the first act.
Haddock brings genuine feeling to his contributions to the second act, in which
Rodolfo is too often lost in the crowd. Aided by Spano, Haddock gives due
emphasis to the line in which Rodolfo introduces Mim to his friends and says
that, though he is a poet, she is poetry. When sung with sincerity and
appropriately honeyed tone, is there any more touching sentiment in opera? The
third act also brings the greatest trials for Rodolfo, vocally and dramatically, and
the heroic undertones of Haddocks voice serve him well. Variously jealous and

petulant, Haddocks Rodolfo is nonetheless as quick to forgiveness as he is to

anger. The sense of relief in Rodolfos tone when he and Mim resolve to remain
together through the winter is touchingly honest. Haddock fully explores the
dramatic turns of the final act without resorting to overwrought histrionics.
Rather than the cries of a wounded artist, Haddocks final voicings of Mims
name are the exasperated words of a young lover, a frightened and shattered
Orpheus calling to his disappearing Eurydice. Haddock lacks an easilyidentifiable, distinctive timbre, but this is a distinctive, distinguished, completely
idiomatic
Rodolfo.
Spano and his Atlanta forces surrounded Amsellem and Haddock with a team of
expert Bohemians. Georgia Jarman proves a magnificent, nearly revelatory,
Musetta, singing with poise, charm, pointed but attractive tone, and diction that
only occasionally strays from the high standard set by Amsellem and Haddock.
Jarman begins her famous waltz insouciantly, tossing off her purposefully
deceptive gaiety, and delivering climactic top notes with pinging precision.
Taken as a whole, the waltz ensemble receives from all involved one of its finest
performances on records. Fabio Capitanucci, a singer previously unknown to me,
is a Marcello who responds with eloquence to Rodolfo, Mim, and Musetta. A
measure of nostalgia is perhaps missing from Marcellos last-act duet with
Rodolfo, but Capitanucci sings throughout with nuance and well-placed tone. It
is, of course, a true pleasure to hear a native Italian in the role. Bass Denis
Sedov is one of the better Collines to be encountered in recent years: while
pointing the text with cleverness, Sedovs tone is also capable of unfurling
magnificently in a manner befitting a great bear of a character. Beginning with
Monteverdis Seneca, philosophers seem to require bass voices that can roll
voluptuously into the depths without becoming lugubrious. Kevin Glavin revels
in his double assignment as Benoit and Alcindoro, articulating both characters
without caricature or the unnecessary bluster with which many singers of these
roles seek to disguise vocal shortcomings. Completing the team of principals is
Christopher Schaldenbrand, whose performance as Schaunard confirms his
reputation as one of Americans finest young baritones. This is a singer who can
reach the lowest notes of his role to, along with Colline, anchor ensembles and
can also encompass the roles highest notes without shouting or forcing. It is
surely ironic that Schaunard, the musician of the group, so seldom receives a
truly musical performance. Schaldenbrand supplies musicality in abundance,
however, and delivers his retelling of the melodrama involving the English
Milord, the parrot, and the poisoned parsley with an increasingly-annoyed wit
that is genuinely funny. In this, Schaldenbrand brings to mind the wonderful
John Reardon, but Schaldenbrands voice is more beautiful and his theatrical
instincts
show
greater
savvy.
It is well known that Robert Spano has wrought wonders with the Symphony
during his tenure in Atlanta. To state that the Atlanta Symphony here plays
unobtrusively may seem unkind, but it is intended as a tribute to the complete
security of the playing. There is none of the symphonic preening that one often
hears from great orchestras in this score. The Symphony, guided by Spano,
simply play the score with grace, color, and perfect timing, never forgetting that
they are accompanyingrather than competing witha team of singers who
are enacting a very human drama. Director Norman Mackenzie also deserves a
word of praise for the excellent balance among the child and adult choristers.
Above all, though, it is Spano who brings this performance together, conducting
with mastery that never draws attention to itself but shapes a sequence of four
brief acts that eloquently move from first love to unmitigated celebration and
then from resignation and suspicion to bitter reunion and extraordinary sadness.
It is disheartening to note how many world-famous conductors with casts of
world-famous singers fail to make this journey in the space of La Bohmes two

hours. Spano and his cast achieve a performance that, if not displacing the
classic recordings with Albanese and Gigli, de los Angeles and Bjrling, both
entertains and inspires. Taken on its own merits, it is a performance to cherish,
and moreover one that proves that casts of brand-name singers often do not
create the same magic provided by people who simply care about the story they
are telling.
http://www.voix-des-arts.com/2008/10/cd-review-giacomo-puccini-la-bohmen.html