Opening Gala of the 32. Mozart Festival in Warsaw
Concert hall of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw
Sumi Jo – soprano
Caspar Singh – tenor
Ancient Instruments Ensemble of Warsaw Chamber Opera
Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense
Conductor
Benjamin Bayl
Just as Mozart’s operas open with wonderful overtures, also known by itself as pearls of classical music, our Mozart Festival in Warsaw has habitually been opened for several years by the Opening Gala. In this way, we welcome all music lovers for whom the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, emanating from every phrase and note of his works, is a land of beauty and sensitivity, to which we invite you each year during our multi-week cycle. Our festival has been presenting a significant part of Mozart’s legacy for over three decades. This year, absolutely outstanding world-renowned artists were invited to participate in the Opening Gala, which is the prologue of the Festival – the Korean soprano Sumi Jo and Caspar Singh – a young and talented tenor, performing daily at the Bavarian State Opera, who despite his young age has been working with the most outstanding contemporary conductors. The Ancient Instruments Ensemble of the Warsaw Chamber Opera MACV together with the aforementioned soloists will perform the most well-known and appreciated fragments of Mozart’s operas – from overtures to arias.
Sumi Jo – one of the greatest sopranos of our time. Her singing can be heard in the most famous opera theatres and concert halls in the world: from the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall to La Scala, Covent Garden and the Vienna Opera. She is particularly appreciated for her interpretations of the bel canto repertoire. However, she also performs different repertoire – her album Only Love with the most famous love songs has been sold in over 1,200,000 copies. For her recording of Richard Strauss’ opera Die Frau ohne Schatten with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Sir Georg Solti, she was awarded a Grammy Award in 1993.
Caspar Singh – the British-Indian tenor is currently a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He has performed at such venues as Garsington Opera, The Royal Opera and the 2020 Hong Kong Arts Festival. He has sung in masterclasses with Helmut Deutsch, Brigitte Fassbaender, Graham Johnson, Edith Wiens and Margreet Honig and worked with such conductors as Douglas Boyd, Asher Fisch, Kirill Petrenko or Joana Mallwitz.