Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva will perform with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, led by British conductor Paul Goodwin at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on Thursday.

Titled “Baroque Extravaganza,” the concert features a program of Baroque and early Classical era music, including Handel‘s Concerto Grosso Op. 3 No. 4, as well as Recitativo “Solitudine Amate,” aria “Aure Fonti” and “Brilla Nell’Alma” from Handel‘s opera “Alessandro.” Lezhneva will also perform Mozart aria “Come Scoglio” and an overture from the opera “Cosi Fan Tutte.” Lezhneva‘s performance of Mozart aria “Ch’io Mi Scordi di Te” will close the first half of the program.

The young Russian soprano embarked on an international career in 2007, when she won the Elena Obraztsova International Competition for Young Opera Singers in St. Petersburg. Lezhneva later made her name through a performance of Rossini at the 2010 Classical Brit Awards in the Royal Albert Hall, where she was introduced by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa.

Lezhneva has performed at many prestigious venues around the world, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Lincoln Center in New York, NHK in Tokyo, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Madrid Auditorium, together with acclaimed conductors such as Giovanni Antonini, Antonio Pappano, Herbert Blomstedt, Philippe Herreweghe and Franz Welser-Moest.

Her repertoire ranges from the Baroque to Romantic and contemporary music, including Vivaldi, Broschi, Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Charpentier and Rachmaninov.

Following the intermission, British conductor Paul Goodwin -- a Baroque and Classical specialist -- will perform Purcell’s suite from “King Arthur” and Telemann‘s “Hamburger Ebb und Fluth” (“Hamburg Ebb and Flood”), also known as “Water Music,” with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.

Goodwin is currently artistic director and principal conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival and principal guest conductor of Cappella Aquileia. In 2007, the conductor was awarded the Handel Honorary Prize of the City of Halle, Germany.

(ws@heraldcorp.com)



cap - Julia Lezhneva / Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra