René Pape Begins Winter of Wagner
Rene Pape’s winter is full of his signature Wagner roles. First at La Scala, Pape will portray King Heinrich in Wagner’s Lohengrin, joining friend Jonas Kaufmann and frequent musical partner Daniel Barenboim (Dec 7-27). Early in 2013, to help mark the bicentennial of Wagner’s birth, Pape returns to the United States to sing his great Gurnemanz in the new François Girard production of Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera, led by Daniele Gatti (Feb 15-March 8).
Pape’s 2011 Deutsche Grammophon album Wagner offers a preview of the marvels the singer can produce as Wotan in Die Walküre, King Heinrich in Lohengrin and Gurnemanz in Parsifal. That recording also sees the bass once again working with fellow Wagnerian master Daniel Barenboim, who conducts the Berlin Staatskapelle. The disc was featured as an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, where Arnold Whittall’s review summed up Pape’s appeal: “It’s not often we hear this music so gorgeously intoned. … When it comes to sheer vocal refinement and the purest Wagnerian gravitas, René Pape is hard to beat.”
Already in this young season, René Pape has reprised his great Wotan at the Berlin State Opera in a production of Wagner’s Die Walküre, appeared as special guest in special concerts to celebrate the centennial of Sir Georg Solti in New York and Chicago, given a star turn as Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlos at the Vienna State Opera and made his recital debut at La Scala in Milan.
René Pape: upcoming engagements
Dec 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, & 27
Milan, Italy
Teatro alla Scala
Wagner: Lohengrin (King Heinrich)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Dec 29
Berlin, Germany
Berlin State Opera
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro)
Julien Salemkour, conductor
Dec 31; Jan 1
Berlin, Germany
Staatskapelle Berlin
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Feb 15, 18, 21, & 27; March 2, 5, & 8
New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera
Wagner: Parsifal (Gurnemanz)
Daniele Gatti, conductor
www.renepape.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Rene-Pape/44768385394