Make a French connection
SOPRANO Siobhan Stagg will indulge her love of French music when she sings songs by Faure with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra on Saturday afternoon.
Stagg, who recently recorded songs by Debussy, will sing in Pelleas and Melisande by Debussy for Victorian Opera in October, and shortly afterwards will make her US debut with the title role in Cinderella by Massenet in Chicago.
The Faure songs are a set of seven arranged for voice and orchestra by English composer Colin Matthews.
“They fit together very nicely and show everything Faure could do,” Stagg said.
“There is a big, dramatic opening with Fleur Jetee Opus 39 No.2 and they finish with the lovely nuanced lullaby Les Berceaux Opus 23 No.1, with a variety in between.
“I love them all and they are well suited to my voice.”
The third song, Mandoline Opus 58 No.1, is a setting of the Paul Verlaine poem inspired by the Impressionist painting Luncheon on the Grass by Manet and has been set by a number of other French composers, including Debussy.
“I know the Debussy quite well, but the Faure is new to me,” Stagg said. “They are very different and the Faure is very beautiful.”
Les Berceaux is a favourite of Stagg’s.
“It has a rocking sound in the bass, which sounds like the waves and the boats gently rocking in the harbour,” she said.
“It tells of the sailors’ sorrow at having to leave their families.
“The music really enhances the mood of the poem.”
Stagg will also give her first performance of the concert aria Miserera, Dove Son by Mozart.
“I’ve wanted to sing it for a long time,” Stagg said.
“It’s basically about heartbreak and is virtuosic in its own way.
“It’s about a woman who has been betrayed by her father and separated from her fiance. The start is a big dramatic recitative that is followed by a long, lyrical section, and it ends with a dramatic and exciting outburst.”
Conducted by Leo Hussain, the concert at the Federation Concert Hall at 2.30pm on Saturday will also include Othello by Dvorak, Clair de Lune by Debussy and the Mozart Symphony No.40.
Tickets start at $33, go to www.tso.com.au or phone 1800 001 190 for bookings.
— PENNY THOW