Their Master’s Voice with Cecilia Bartoli and John Malkovich

From the heroes of Metastasio’s operas per-formed by castrati to the abundant travesty roles of the Romantic repertoire, we can affirm that in opera gender is a rather fluid concept. Throughout the 18th century no one was surprised to see kings and gods interpreted by artists with ethereal voices, nor, later, to see the ardent Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro disclosing the secrets of his heart in the lustrous colours of a mezzo-soprano’s timbre.

The concept of Their Master’s Voice was inspired by the mutual desire of two artists who hold each other in high esteem, namely John Malkovich, the memorable Valmont in Stephen Frears’ Liaisons Dangereuses, and Cecilia Bartoli, an artist in a constant search for reinvention. During the performance we shall see the composer and teacher of the finest voices of his time confront his most prestigious pupils: Farinelli and Caffarelli. Both theatrical narration and musical celebration, and the grand arias for castrati of the Baroque era, this “gender clash” will tell us more about the composer-master and his inestimable con-tribution to the glory of these singers and their angelic voices. The Austrian director Michael Sturminger will create this specially designed production which, after Monte Carlo, will be presented during the Barocchissimo week at the Wiener Staatsoper.