AN EPIC TRIUMPH

Jaap van Zweden has risen rapidly in the past decade to become one of today’s most distinguished conductors. Starting with the 2018–19 season, he will be the music director of the New York Philharmonic. He has been the music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and the music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012. Van Zweden was named Musical America’s 2012 Conductor of the Year. Born in Amsterdam, van Zweden was the youngest ever concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He began his conducting career in 1995.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is recognised as Asia’s foremost classical orchestra. Presenting more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season, the HK Phil attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually. Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, has been the orchestra’s music director since the 2012–13 concert season, a position he will continue to hold until at least 2022. The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng, each conducting their own compositions, on the Naxos label.

The German-born soprano, Gun-Brit Barkmin, is noted for her exciting portrayals of some of opera’s most complex leading ladies and has a strong association with the repertoire of Richard Strauss including Salome, Chrysothemis (Elektra) and Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos). Boasting an impressively diverse repertoire, she has appeared as Jenůfa at the Komische Oper Berlin, Regan in Reimann’s Lear at the Salzburg Festival, and Elena in the world premiere of Sotelo’s El Público at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

American tenor, Daniel Brenna, is considered one of today’s most convincing Siegfrieds. His portrayal has been much celebrated at the Washington National Opera, the Longborough Festival Opera, the Stuttgart State Opera, the Wagner Days Budapest and the Odense Philharmonic Orchestra. Brenna made his successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Alwa in Alban Berg’s Lulu in 2015 and returned as Laca in Jenůfa in 2016.

David Cangelosi made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Mime in Das Rheingold, conducted by James Levine; and has returned in multiple principal roles and Ring related assignments over the past twelve years. He recently performed his role debut of the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel; Salome with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Cunning Little Vixen with the Cleveland Orchestra; and at the Saito-Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan. He also made his company debut with Houston Grand Opera, and Ring productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera. David Cangelosi currently serves as the artistic/program director of the Vann Vocal Institute in Montgomery, Alabama.

Multi-GRAMMY® award-winner, Michelle DeYoung, is a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Teatro alla Scala and the Theater Basel. She has also worked regularly with the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam. During the 2017–18 season, she made her debut at English National Opera as Amneris in a new production of Aida.

Born in Bucharest, Valentina Farcas made her debut at the 2006 Salzburg Festival singing Blonde in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail to wide critical acclaim. As a member of the ensemble at the Komische Oper Berlin she has sung numerous leading roles including Hermione in the award-winning production of Handel’s Oreste. Farcas has appeared as Adina (L’elisir d’amore) in Amsterdam, as Jenny in Weill’s Mahagonny in Toulouse, and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro in Lyon. She has performed with Deutsche Oper am Rhein and is a sought-after concert soloist. Recent engagement includes her Japanese debut with Despina in Così fan tutte.

Matthias Goerne is one of the most internationally sought-after vocalists and a frequent guest at renowned festivals and concert halls. He has collaborated with the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and pianists. Born in Weimar, he studied with Hans-Joachim Beyer in Leipzig, and later with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Goerne has appeared on the world’s principal opera stages, including the Royal Opera House, the Teatro Real, the Paris National Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, and the Metropolitan Opera. Goerne made his debut as Wotan in a concert version of Das Rheingold with the HK Phil under Jaap van Zweden in 2015.

Internationally celebrated American bass, Eric Halfvarson, is one of today’s foremost interpreters of many of the darkest Verdi and Wagner roles. A regular guest artist in many of the world’s foremost opera houses, he has sung Hagen in Götterdämmerung at the Wiener Staatsoper, Daland in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer at the Bergen National Opera in Norway, and The General in a new production of Prokofiev’s The Gambler at Opera Vlaanderen in Belgium during the 2017–18 season.

Mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble is one of Australia’s most successful international artists, renowned particularly for her Wagner appearances. Her engagements have included the Edinburgh Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg Easter Festival, Seattle Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Stuttgart Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, British Youth Opera and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, as well as the major Australian orchestras. Humble has sung several Ring Cycles, appeared in Strauss’s Elektra and Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher in Hamburg, Das Rheingold and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Hong Kong, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in Singapore, Parsifal and Verdi’s Requiem in the UK and Bluebeard’s Castle in Melbourne.

The Frankfurt born soprano Petra Lang is one of today’s foremost interpreters of the Richard Wagner repertoire. Having started as a lyric mezzo she quickly developed into a highly-in-demand interpreter of dramatic roles such as Wagner’s Brangäne, Kundry, Venus, Sieglinde, and Ortrud, Bartók’s Judith, Berg’s Marie, Berlioz’s Cassandre and Strauss’s Ariadne. Since her register change in 2012 she is a sought-after Brünnhilde and gave her highly acclaimed role debut as Isolde at the 2016 Bayreuth Festival. She won two GRAMMY® Awards for her Cassandre on the London Symphony Orchestra’s live recording of Berlioz’s Les Troyens. She teaches young singers at international master-classes.

American lyric soprano Amanda Majeski has graced many of the world’s finest opera houses, specialising in the works of Mozart, Strauss and Wagner. She has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Teatro Real in Madrid, Glyndebourne Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Semperoper Dresden, Frankfurt Opera and Washington National Opera, among others, working with some of the foremost conductors of her generation. She has starred in Metropolitan Opera live HD broadcasts of Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte and her recording of Humperdinck’s Königskinder is commercially available on Oehms Classics.

Werner Van Mechelen is a Belgian bass-baritone. His opera repertoire extends from the Baroque to great Mozartian roles. Apart from his special focus on Wagner and Richard Strauss, Van Mechelen is particularly drawn to Lieder, with a repertoire that includes not only the great song cycles but also repertoire by less known composers. In concert he has performed in Messiah, The Creation, Carmina Burana, St John Passion and in Peter Benoit’s Lucifer. Van Mechelen studied at the Lemmens Institute at Leuven with Roland Bufkens. He has participated in several prestigious singing competitions and gained several international prizes.

Heidi Melton is a critically acclaimed young American dramatic soprano. She made her role debut as Brünnhilde during the 2016/17 season in Die Walküre and Siegfried, both at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. She performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and Houston Grand Opera, in addition to appearances with the Vienna Philharmonic and English National Opera. She is a favourite of audiences in Berlin, where she was seen at the Deutsche Oper in Der Ring des Nibelungen. Melton is the recipient of many prestigious awards and prizes including winner of the Mario Lanza Competition.

A native of New Zealand, Simon O’Neill has established himself as one of the finest Heldentenors on the international stage. He is a principal artist with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala and both the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals. Simon O’Neill is an alumnus of the University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard Opera Center. He is a Fulbright Scholar, was awarded the 2005 Arts Laureate of New Zealand and was a grand finalist in the 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, returning as guest artist in 2007.

Chinese bass-baritone, Shenyang, is celebrated for his distinguished artistry on the world’s prestigious concert and opera stages. He has performed in many operas including Die Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera and a new production of Don Giovanni conducted by Louis Langrée. His dedication to the great concert repertoire has yielded acclaimed performances with Yu Long and both the China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony orchestras, as well as Edo de Waart and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Stuart Skelton, distinguished as a Heldentenor, has a repertoire encompassing many of opera’s most challenging roles, from Wagner’s Lohengrin, Parsifal, Siegmund and Tristan to Strauss’s Kaiser, Beethoven’s Florestan, Saint-Saëns’ Samson, Dvořák’s Dimitrij and Britten’s Peter Grimes. He appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Opéra national de Paris and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden under the batons of James Levine, Philippe Jordan, Donald Runnicles, Simone Young, Edward Gardner, Asher Fisch, Valery Gergiev and Daniele Gatti, among others. His symphonic diary includes a broad range of concert work ranging from Beethoven and Mahler to Janáček and Stravinsky.

Falk Struckmann made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 1993 as Kurwenal, under Daniel Barenboim. Since then he has sung in numerous productions at the Staatsoper Berlin, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam and at the Hamburg State Opera where he was seen in the Ring cycle. He also performed at the Met in New York (Otello), Bilbao Opera (Tosca), Oper Frankfurt (Lohengrin), and Lyric Opera Chicago (Otello), among others. In 2016, Struckmann played Hunding in Die Walküre with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.