courtesy Metropolitan Opera
Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva is the star of the next Metropolitan Opera recital in the Met Stars Live in Concert series, featuring some of the world’s greatest operatic artists, each filmed in a different location from around the world. In Saturday’s program, Ms Yoncheva performs in the Baroque library of Schussenried Cloister in southwest Germany.
One of opera’s most versatile artists, Sonya Yoncheva performs a selection of some of the most beautiful arias in the repertoire, including Dvorák’s Song to the Moon from Rusalka, Donde lieta usci from Puccini’s La Bohème, Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Puccini’s Un bel dì from Madama Butterfly, the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen and Marguerite Monnot and Édith Piaf’s Hymne à l’amour.
Ms Yoncheva’s engagements in the early part of the 2019/2020 season included appearances as Imogene in Il pirata at Teatro Real, Madrid, Mimì in La bohème at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and in the title role of Médée at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. During the global lockdown a number of her performances were cancelled, but in summer last year, Sonya Yocheva returned to the stage for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, and she performed in the Concert de Paris, held at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and broadcast on international television.
Ms Yoncheva subsequently appeared in the title role of La traviata in an open-air concert performance at the Cavea del Teatro del Maggio, Florence, in a Puccini Gala in the composer’s hometown of Lucca, and in a gala concert at the Reggia di Caserta. She presented her new solo concert program, Renaissance, at the Salzburg Festival, appeared in a gala concert, Coming Back, in her home town of Plovdiv, and performed in a gala concert dedicated to love at Arena di Verona.
Sonya Yoncheva is accompanied in this Met Opera performance by French pianist Julien Quentin, much in demand as both a soloist and chamber musician. Mr Quentin is regularly invited to appear at festivals including Verbier, Lucerne, Gstaad, Montreux, Dresden, the Beethovenfest Bonn and Radio France Montpellier in Europe, and in the Unites States he has performed at the Ravinia, La Jolla and Mostly Mozart Festivals. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Lisa Batiashvili, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta and David Garrett.
This Met Opera recital was filmed in the magnificent Baroque library of Schussenried Cloister, regarded as one of the most important Rococo rooms in southern Germany. The monastery, in Bad Schussenried, Baden-Württemberg, was founded by monks of the Premonstratensian Order in 1183, and became an Imperial Abbey in the 15th century.
Sonya Yoncheva Live in Concert takes place on Saturday, February 27th, at 1.00 pm EST, 6.00 pm GMT and 7.00 pm CET. Tickets are available from the Metropolitan Opera website at $20 each, and the performance – which will run for approximately 75 minutes – will remain available on demand for 14 days.
Details on how to view Sonya Yoncheva Live in Concert, are available on the Metropolitan Opera website.
Information sourced from:
Metropolitan Opera program notes
Artists’ websites