René Pape Makes West Coast Recital Debut at Los Angeles Opera

René Pape, who triumphed earlier this season as Boris Godunov at the Metropolitan Opera, will present the most intimate side of his art when he makes his West Coast recital debut on January 15 at the Los Angeles Opera. The program will feature some of the greatest, deepest songs by Schubert, Schumann, and Hugo Wolf, with Brian Zeger accompanying on piano. Reviewing a similar program, which the German bass presented for his long-awaited Carnegie Hall recital debut in spring 2009, New York Times critic Allan Kozinn marveled at the "depth and power of Mr. Pape's sound, as well as the subtlety of his interpretive style." Kozinn added that Pape makes even the most famous Schubert songs, like "Ständchen," sound fresh, thanks to "the balance of drama and gentleness" in his singing. Along with Schumann's plaintive cycle Dichterliebe, Pape will also sing Wolf's less familiar Michelangelo songs, which at Carnegie moved Kozinn with their "pure, soul-wrenching introspection."

Full program details of the Los Angeles Opera recital are given below.

Pape's spring highlights: Boris at the Met and Wotan in Berlin

Among Pape's spring 2011 highlights is the March 9-17 Metropolitan Opera reprise of his acclaimed interpretation of the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, with Valery Gergiev conducting. Writing after Pape's first Met performance as Boris in October, New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini praised his emotional power in this titanic Russian role: "In every language, Mr. Pape makes words matter. ... During the coronation, there is a soul-searching moment when Boris removes his crown and voices his remorse to himself. Some great Borises have conveyed the character as beset with internalized torment. Mr. Pape's anguish is always raw, fitful, and on the surface. But the volatility is balanced by the magisterial power he conveys."

In April, Pape makes his role debut as Wotan in Wagner's Die Walküre at the Berlin State Opera, under Daniel Barenboim. Of Wotan's compelling, very human qualities, Pape has said: "There is something about Wotan's plight, wanting control and love, that I think most of us recognize; we see how hard it is, perhaps impossible, to have both." Welcoming Pape's combination of sensitivity and authority in the role, Germany's Die Welt declared his portrayal of Wotan bound to "change the perception of this Wagner character for decades to come."

René Pape - recital at the Los Angeles Opera (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion), January 15
With Brian Zeger, piano

Franz Schubert (1797-1828): from Schwanengesang
"Aufenthalt" (Ludwig Rellstab)
"Ständchen" (Ludwig Rellstab)
"Der Atlas" (Heinrich Heine)

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903): Michelangelo-Lieder (after sonnets by Michelangelo)
"Wohl denk' ich oft"
"Alles endet, was entstehet"
"Fühlt meine Seele"

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
"Der Einsame," Op. posth. (Karl Lappe)
"An die Musik," Op. 88, No. 4 (Franz Schober)
"Lachen und Weinen," Op. 59, No. 4 (Friedrich Rückert)
"Heidenröslein," D. 257 (J. W. von Goethe)
"Der Musensohn," Op. 92, No. 1 (J. W. von Goethe)
"Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren," Op. 65, No. 1 (J. Mayrhofer)
"Prometheus," Op. posth. (J. W. von Goethe)

Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Dichterliebe, Op. 48 (Heinrich Heine)

René Pape: winter/spring 2011 engagements

January 15: Los Angeles
Los Angeles Opera
Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf
Brian Zeger, piano

January 31: Munich, Germany
Herkulessaal
Lied recital
Camillo Radicke, piano

February 15: Tokyo, Japan
Suntory Hall
Concert performance / Valery Gergiev
Wagner: Parsifal, Act III

February 19: Tokyo, Japan
Toppan Hall
Lied recital
Camillo Radicke, piano

March 9, 12, & 17: New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera / Valery Gergiev
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (title role)

April 17, 22, & 25: Berlin, Germany
Berlin State Opera / Daniel Barenboim
Wagner: Die Walküre (Wotan)

www.renepape.com