In this the centenary year of her birth, such is the fascination with Maria Callas that organisations all around are hosting their own tributes to one of the most famous opera singers the world has ever known. In collaboration with director Joris Nassenstein and much-loved Dutch soprano Francis van Broekhuizen, Phion Orchestra in East Netherlands has created its own glamorous tribute to an artist who not only spanned the cultural divide, but whose interpretation of some of the greatest arias ever written are part of our cultural heritage in a way many other classical musicians have dreamed of.
This current project from Phion brings Callas’s life story to audiences across the Netherlands in a multi-media extravaganza. Running through it all is Francis van Broekhuizen who gives a dramatic and energetic narration, interspersed with fifteen operatic arias performed by herself and the talented young Dutch soprano, Elenora Hu – the 2021 winner of Omroep Max’s TV opera competition ARIA
All the while, photos and footage from Callas’s life are projected onto a vast set, giving a vivid and informative depiction of her tumultuous life.
A life-long fascination
Van Broekhuizen’s well-known fascination with Callas, previously shared with audiences in the Francis and Dominic Show earlier this year, has resulted in the accumulation of a vast personal collection, including recordings of Callas’s entire back catalogue and rooms full of posters and other memorabilia. Her love for Callas is real!
Indeed, van Broekhuizen finds inspiration and even sees certain similarities between Callas’s life and her own: the struggles Callas experienced with how the wider public viewed her, and the repertoire which they have both performed. Thankfully our Dutch soprano has a very happy personal life, so that is where the parallels end. But this parallel between artist and individual is key to a deep understanding of Callas – an artist who openly identified parallels between her own life and the lives of the tragic Italian operatic heroines she would depict on stage.
An infectious love for this repertoire and every aspect of Callas’s life shines through in a performance full of impassioned and even tear-jerking arias. Elenora Hu, who depicts the young Callas, is an inspired pairing. Her confidence on stage is uplifting, and as she appears in ever more glamorous outfits, an artist truly blossoms before our eyes.
Watch out for the two ‘Titanic’ moments!
What better way to spend an evening than listening to the finest operatic arias ever written in the company of the Phion orchestra led by the Greek conductor, George Petrou. Enjoy!
Programme and ticket information …
Clare joined the cast and orchestra for their final rehearsal before the first performance on Friday 24th November, 2023 in the MuziekCentrum, Enschede
Read more from Clare
Inside the Rehearsal Room with Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Oliemans and Phion bring Bannink’s music home to Enschede
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