René Pape’s Returns to the Met as Boris

Among the highlights of René Pape’s spring 2011 is the March 9-17 Metropolitan Opera reprise of his universally-acclaimed interpretation of the title role in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, with Valery Gergiev conducting.  Writing after Pape’s first Met performance as Boris last October, New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini praised the bass’s 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.”
 
On April 17, Pape makes his role debut as Wotan in Wagner’s Die Walküre at the Berlin State Opera, under Daniel Barenboim.  Of the compelling, very human qualities of Wotan, 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: winter/spring/summer 2011 engagements
 
March 9, 12, & 17: New York, NY
Metropolitan Opera
Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (title role) / Valery Gergiev
 
April 17, 22, & 25: Berlin, Germany
Berlin State Opera
Wagner: Die Walküre (Wotan) / Daniel Barenboim
 
May 1, 5, 8, 13, 17, & 20: Berlin, Germany
Berlin State Opera
Verdi: Don Carlo (King Philip) / Massimo Zanetti
 
June 5, 10, 15, & 18: Tokyo, Japan
Bunka Kaikan Theater
Verdi: Don Carlo (King Philip) / Metropolitan Opera Tour
 
June 29 & 30: Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle; Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 / Kurt Masur
 
www.renepape.com