View a photo gallery from concert two.
Dawid Kimberg - South Africa
Largo al factotum (Il barbiere di Siviglia) - Rossini
Figaro introduces himself, in this famous 'patter' aria. Not only is he the barber of Seville, with his well-stocked shop, but he is also the general factotum of the city. He is happy to run errands, arrange meetings and perform all kinds of services - as long as he gets paid for it.
Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen (Die tote Stadt) - Korngold
Fritz, a pierrot, is an admirer of the heroine, Mariette, and he serenades her with Pierrot's Tanzlied (Dance Song). This is one of the best-known arias from the 1920 opera The Dead City. He sings with sad yearning of the magic of the dance, how he dreams of his lost love and how the extremes of intoxication and misery are a clown's lot.
L'orage s'est calmé (Les pêcheurs de perles) - Bizet
Zurga is king of the fishermen, and best friend of Nadir. In the past, they had been rivals for the hand of Leila, but both gave her up in the name of friendship. When Nadir and Leila meet again, they fall in love, and when Zurga finds out, he condemns them to death. But he is unsure of his decision, and contrasts his troubled state of mind with the calm weather following the recent storm.
Ji-Min Park - Republic of Korea
L'amour! L'amour! ... Ah! Lève-toi, soleil! (Roméo et Juliette) - Gounod
Roméo has fallen in love with Juliette, a love doomed by the hatred between their families. He steals into Juliette's garden at night, and sees her at her window from beneath the balcony. He sings of the light radiating from her beauty and sends her his pledge of love.
È la solita storia del pastore ... Anch'io vorrei dormir così (L'arlesiana) - Cilea
Federico is heartbroken because he loves a girl of ill-repute, and his family is making him marry someone else. In this lament, he wishes he could sleep like a shepherd boy. Now, he will never find peace. He will never forget his own true love.
Avete torto - Firenze è come un albero fiorito (Gianni Schicchi) - Puccini
Rinuccio is in love with Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi's daughter. His relatives berate him for contemplating marriage to the daughter of an ignorant upstart peasant, but Rinuccio says they are wrong, that Schicchi is clever and knows the law and can help them with the problem of a relative's will. He sings that Florence is like a tree in flower, drawing its strength from far-flung roots.
Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Das Land des Lächelns) - Lehár
Prince Sou-Chong has fallen in love with Lisa, the daughter of a Viennese nobleman, and when he is recalled to China to become prime minister, she goes with him and they move in together. The Prince is told that he should take four wives, but in 'You are my heart's delight' he declares that his heart belongs only to Lisa.
Anna Stephany - England
Oh! La pitoyable aventure! (L'heure espagnole) - Ravel
Concepción is married to a clockmaker. When he is away winding the town clocks, Ramiro the muleteer comes to get his watch mended. While Ramiro waits, Concepción gets him to move a grandfather clock into her bedroom. There follows a farcical situation when her two lovers turn up; each ends up hidden inside a clock, with Concepción ordering Ramiro to move them in and out of the bedroom. In this aria Concepción derides both her useless lovers.
Lieto del dolce incarco - Se Romeo t'uccise un figlio (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) - Bellini
Romeo appears at the home of his arch enemies, the Capulets, disguised as a messenger and offers his condolences for the death of Capulet's son. He goes on to offer a peaceful settlement between his family, the Montagues and the Capulets - to be sealed by the marriage of Romeo to Juliet.
Dopo notte (Ariodante) - Handel
Ariodante and Ginevra are in love. Their relationship is sabotaged by Polinesso, who wants Ginevra for himself and sets events in motion to show Ariodante that Ginevra is unfaithful. After much intrigue, disguise, duelling and false rumours, Polinesso confesses his guilt. Ariodante sings of his joy that, after the night of nightmares, the sun of happiness has risen. The part was originally written for the celebrated castrato, Carestini.
Octavio Moreno - Mexico
Ya vas lyublyu (The Queen of Spades) - Tchaikovsky
Prince Yeletsky is in love with Liza, who in turn is in love with Herman. At a masked ball, Yeletsky sings this ardent aria, declaring his great love for Liza. He would do anything for her, but feels she does not return his feelings.
Gioco di rea fortuna! - O Lisbona, alfin ti miro! (Don Sebastiano) - Donizetti
Camoëns was a real person - a famous Portuguese poet. He has joined the King of Portugal's entourage, going to war against the Moors. Wounded in battle, Camoëns has returned to Lisbon, and stands in the main square, reflecting on his love for his country. He may be reduced to poverty and be bleeding from his wounds, but at least he is at home, with his memories to strengthen him. If he must die, at least it will be beneath the skies of his beloved homeland.
O sainte médaille ... Avant de quitter ces lieux (Faust) - Gounod
Valentin is about to go to war and his sister Margeurite has given him a medallion to protect him from injury in battle. He is concerned about Marguerite's safety while he is away and tells his friends to look after her.
Ekaterina Shcherbachenko - Russia
Temerari ... Come scoglio (Così fan tutte) - Mozart
Fiordiligi and her sister Dorabella are being wooed by two strangers, who are actually their lovers in disguise. Fiordiligi, the more strong-minded of the sisters, delivers this strong diatribe on fidelity, saying that she will remain firm as a rock in her loyalty, despite all temptations.
Ruskai pogibnu (Tatyana's Letter Scene) (Eugene Onegin) - Tchaikovsky
Tatyana is a teenage girl who has fallen in love with Onegin, a world-weary man about town. Firstly, she finds the courage to write him a letter declaring her love for him; then she writes portions, reading them out and making changes. She spends the whole night completing the letter to her satisfaction before sending her maid to deliver it to him.
