Description
German Baroque opera virtuoso Simone Kermes returns to the Pasaga concert hall, renowned for its exceptional acoustics!
Blessed with an extraordinary vocal timbre, coloratura soprano Simone Kermes could easily boast of numerous prestigious accolades—the Bach Prize, the Echo Klassik awards, and the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Prize, among others. Her latest album holds the number two spot on the German classical music charts. Composers write arias specifically for her voice, and world-renowned opera theaters vie for her appearances. Yet, the singer insists that her greatest reward is not the laurels, but rather each individual performance and the captivated hearts of her audience.
S. Kermes initially studied the secrets of voice under Helga Forner, one of the finest vocal instructors, but eventually realized she needed to seek her own authenticity. In her view, mastering technique is essential at the dawn of a career; later, one must learn to break the rules and discover a distinct vocal sound that leaves no listener untouched. This, the singer notes, is the ultimate task for any performer, whether in opera or pop music.
Today, S. Kermes cannot imagine her life without Baroque music. To her, Baroque was the pop music of its era, holding the very roots of how we understand sound and structure. The artist notes that once you grasp the essence of Baroque music, the works of composers like Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, Mahler, and Strauss fully open up to you. Furthermore, Baroque opera demands that a singer entirely reveal their personality—one must surrender to every single note and breathe life into it.
S. Kermes is celebrated not only for her unconventional vocal technique, but also for a personality that radiates inner energy, matched by her exceptional sense of style. On stage, she is unafraid of eccentricity—she strives to remain spontaneous and open to the most unexpected ideas in any given moment. The singer fondly recalls a concert where she invited two women from the front row onto the stage, dancing rock and roll with them to the strains of Baroque music. Such unscripted performance moments bring the artist immense joy, and even the critics embrace them warmly.
“Will I die this time, or not?” The artist admits that before stepping onto the stage, she often feels as though she is about to walk into a gladiator arena with lions. It is only when she begins to sing that a sense of peace washes over her. Enchanting her audience remains a constant challenge—she views her own work with a critical eye, pouring her entire soul into every piece.
For opera lovers in Lithuania, experiencing this star soprano in the peaceful embrace of nature will be a truly rare occasion. S. Kermes made her last—and, to date, only—appearance in Lithuania in the autumn of 2019, at Paliesius Manor.
Jarkko Riihimäki grew up in a world steeped in music. His parents were choirmasters, meaning the future pianist spent his earliest days attending concerts and rehearsals. Certain pieces of music would move young Jarkko deeply, and the resonant sound of the organ would give him goosebumps.
Naturally, J. Riihimäki began playing the piano at an early age. He later graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and studied the art of the piano in Berlin. The pianist particularly enjoys accompanying singers. “You must understand how the singer breathes. You have to breathe together,” he says. J. Riihimäki is also a music arranger and composer.
PROGRAM:
Antonio Vivaldi
Agitata da due venti – Arie der Costanza – La Griselda
Giovanni Bononcini
Ombra mai fu – Arie des Serse aus Serse
Claudio Monteverdi
Lamento della ninfa – Amor
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Andres Maienlied
Gruß
Hugo Wolf
Das verlassene Mägdelein
Begegnung
Gioacchino Rossini
La danza
Una voce poco fa – nach Themen von Rossini variiert von Jarkko Riihimäki –
Canzonetta spagnuola
Reynaldo Hahn
A Chloris
Gabriel Fauré
Prison
Leo Delibes
Les Filles de cadiz
Hommage an Berlin und Marlene Dietrich
Lilli Marleen
Sag mir wo die Blumen sind
Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte
Sting
Fields of Gold (arrang. J. Riihimäki)
Giovanni Bononcini
M`incateni e se mi sciogli
aus San Nicola di Bari
Lady Gaga – arr. J. Riihimäki
Pokerface
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