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Orpheus with her Lute – December 1, 2002 | Walter Hall, Toronto
The life story of the singer Pauline Viardot (1821-1910)

date: December 1, 2002

This programme was first performed in March 1994.  It tells the story of Pauline Viardot, one of the greatest opera singers of the 19th century.  Her life history reads impossibly like a Hollywood biopic.  Her father, Manuel Garcia, was the first Almaviva in Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia in 1816.  She herself knew both Lorenzo da Ponte and Richard Strauss; Schumann, Wagner, Brahms and Massenet composed for her.  At the end of her life, she was interviewed by Reynaldo Hahn, from whose description we quoted in our narration.  A highlight of her career was the title role in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, revived in a new version by Hector Berlioz in 1859.  In our concert, we were fortunate to have Diana Leblanc to read the reminiscences of Viardot.

Song Artist Composer Poet
Overture: Il barbiere di Siviglia Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Rossini, Gioachino n/a
Sérénade à Rosine Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Pomey, Louis
L’Attente Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano Wagner, Richard Hugo, Victor
Chanson mélancolique Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Viardot, Pauline Silvestre, Armand
Les Filles de Cadix Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Musset, Alfred de
Plainte d’amour Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Chopin, Frédéric, arr. Viardot, Pauline Pomey, Louis
Barcarola Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Gounod, Charles Zaffira, Giuseppe
Chère épouse! Eurydice! (Orphée et Eurydice) Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano Gluck, Christoph Willibald von Moline, Pierre-Louis
La Marquise Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Vaucaire, Maurice
Suzon Suzette Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Hugo, Victor
Rhapsodie, Op.53 Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Johnson, Will / Lambie, Jay / McBride, Michael / Sherwood, Steven, tenors; Leigh, Matthew / Nedecky, Jason / Patenaude, Julien / Powell, Calvin, baritones; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Brahms, Johannes Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
INTERMISSION
Tes yeux Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano Schubert, Franz, arr. Viardot, Pauline Pomey, Louis
None but the lonely heart, Op.6/6 Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Mey, Lev, after Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
Belle Yoli Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Beauvoir, Roger de
Ici-bas tous les lilas meurent Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Sully Prudhomme, René-François-Armand
Marche militaire française (Suite Algérienne, Op. 60) Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Saint-Saëns, Camille n/a
Hai luli! Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Viardot, Pauline Maistre, Xavier de
Puisqu’ici-bas toute âme, Op.10/1 Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Fauré, Gabriel Hugo, Victor
Chanson du pêcheur (Lamento), Op.4/1 Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Fauré, Gabriel Gautier, Théophile
Cimetière de campagne Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Hahn, Reynaldo Vicaire, Gabriel
J’ai perdu mon Eurydice (Orphée et Eurydice) Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Gluck, Christoph Willibald von Moline, Pierre-Louis
Tes yeux –   ENCORE Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Schubert, Franz, arr. Viardot, Pauline Pomey, Louis