THE WORLD’S LEADING VERDI BARITONE
Italian born
PAOLO GAVANELLI
with SPECIAL GUEST
Principal Soprano of the Romanian State Opera
MARIANA COLPOS
and
The RTÉ CONCERT ORCHESTRA ~ Condutor:Colman Pearce
National Concert Hall, Dublin - Friday 1st March, 2002 @ 8.00 pm
City Hall, Cork - Sunday 3rd March, 2002 @ 8.00 pm
Sponsored by AER RIANTA – CORK
Supported by AIB Bank & The Unicorn Restaurant, Dublin
Returning to Ireland having conquered world stages, Italian born Paolo Gavanelli, who is undoubtedly the finest baritone singing today, comes to the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Friday 1st March, 2002 and the City Hall, Cork on Sunday 3rd March, 2002 to perform in two very special Opera Gala productions with special guest Romanian soprano Mariana Colpos and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, with conductor Colman Pearce.Internationally celebrated as one of the world’s most acclaimed artists, Gavanelli is a distinguished Verdi exponent and has successfully interpreted over 60 leading roles in major opera houses all over the world.
He made his debut in 1985 at Donizetti’s theatre of Bergamo, Italy as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. But his real passions are the most important roles in Verdi’s operas, such as Rigoletto, Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, Nabucco, Falstaff, La Traviata and Il Trovatore.Regarding Falstaff, he is the only baritone to have sung this role when less than thirty years of age at an important theatre such as Opera Rome in 1989.
He is a regular guest at the most important opera theatres in the world, where he sings the leading roles of the major baritone repertoire.Fortunate opera goers at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Covent Garden, London, La Scala, Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Staatsoper Vienna and at the vast outdoor venue, the famous Arena di Verona, are all familiar with Gavanelli’s splendid voice.
As a singer, he has made his name as a lyric Verdi baritone, to marvellous critical and public acclaim.His performance in the title role of Falstaff at Covent Garden in January 2001 was a major triumph for Gavanelli, and the critics praised him wholeheartedly.Rupert Christiansen in the Daily Telegraph wrote ‘Outstanding among a generally excellent cast ... (was) Paolo Gavanelli as a slyly underplayed and beautifully sung Sir John.’London’s entertainment guide What’s On proclaimed that ‘Gavanelli has made the part his own and seems to fit the role even better than Bryn Terfel...’ and the important international magazine OPERA wrote:“His eyes did as much acting as most singers do with their whole bodies, and his rich, resonant singing was gloriously direct.”
His most recent success is the title role in Rigoletto with the Royal Opera at Covent Garden in September 2001.Again, the critics were smitten by Gavanelli’s masterful performances. Hugh Canning in the Sunday Times enthused:‘Gavanelli’s jester is the greatest Rigoletto London has seen in 30 years... It’s a joy to hear such a firm Italianate timbre in a Verdi baritone, allied to adamantine diction and a thrilling grasp of the terribilita of Rigoletto’s lust for revenge’, while the Daily Telegraph wrote:‘Dominating the stage was the heart-rending Rigoletto of Paolo Gavanelli, who proved himself a worthy successor to legendary interpreters of the role such as Gobbi and Cappuccilli.I don’t think I have ever heard the element of paternal tenderness more warmly struck...’. Once again he received unmitigated critical approval in the prestigious monthly publication OPERA.Most of the magazine’s review of the Royal Opera’s production of Rigoletto was devoted to extolling Gavanelli’s performance.Some of the comments included:‘Paolo Gavanelli’s deeply thought-through, musically executed and sung Rigoletto’,‘unerringly right in terms of diction and tonal colour’ and‘This was a Rigoletto to be compared with the most telling interpreters...Tito Gobbi, Kostas Paskalis...Renato Bruson...thus recalling the great traditions of Verdi singing at Covent Garden’.
Paolo Gavanelli is also admired as a recording artist, and can be heard on recordings of Nabucco, La Boheme, Beatrice di Tenda, Poliuto and Alzira with a solo CD of popular operatic arias due for release early in 2002. After his performances in Dublin and Cork Paolo travels to Bilbao, Spain for Il Trovatore, then on to Munich for performances of Manon Lescaut and La Traviata. He then travels to Budapest to sing in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier with José Cura and after that Paolo returns to Covent Garden for La Traviata with Roberto Aronica.
Paolo’s special guest is the magnificent Romanian soprano, Mariana Colpos who made her debut in the Opera Gala series in March 2000, when she performed with the great Russian baritone, Sergei Leiferkus.Mariana captivated the audience immediately, and left the stage to thunderous roars of approval.Her return in March 2001 was equally triumphant and she was the darling of the critics.‘Colpos explodes with vocal fireworks’ announced The Irish Examiner and The Irish Times declared that ‘her vibrant tones, strong sense of theatre and commanding presence had all the essence of a true prima donna, in the best sense of that term’.Mariana is the principal soprano of the Romanian National Opera, and she is also a star with the Moldavian and the Chisinau Opera companies that tour Europe regularly.There are numerous roles in her repertoire, including Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni,Mimi in La Boheme,Violetta in La Traviataand the title roles in Norma, Aida, Toscaamongst many others. She had a wonderful success in Paris earlier in 2001 with performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo.She has recorded Verdi’s Requiem,Mahler’s 3rd Symphony and a collection of operatic arias.
This Celebrity Opera Gala featuring the extraordinary Paolo Gavanelli with his special guest, the unforgettable Mariana Colpos together with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor Colman Pearce is a truly exciting prospect for opera lovers everywhere, and a major coup for the producers, Barra O’Tuama Promotions.The Cork performance is sponsored by Aer Rianta – Cork and the tour is supported by AIB Bank and The Unicorn Restaurant, Dublin.The Sunday Independent, The Irish Examiner, RTÉ and Clarion Hotels must also be acknowledged for their continuing support.Tickets for this prestigious event go on sale on Monday 21st January 2002 at the Central Box Office Grand Parade in Cork; Tel:021 4543210 and in Dublin at the NCH Booking Office Tel:01 4170000
