Abstract
The Opernhaus Zürich has played a central role in world-renowned baritone Thomas Hampson’s career. Since 1984, he’s sung his way into the hearts of audiences here not only as the great Mozart and Verdi roles of his fach, but also as Wagner's Wolfram, Puccini's Scarpia, and Hindemith's Mathis der Maler. He returns to the main stage this coming season, once again as a painter, as he takes on the role of Jan Vermeer in the world premiere of Stefan Wirth’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Before that, though, this celebrated Lieder-recitalist returns to Zurich for a song recital with pianist Wolfram Rieger. A selection of songs by Gustav Mahler forms the first part of the program; the second will be filled with American compositions dedicated to Thomas Hampson’s homeland. The central work on the recital is the five-part song cycle Civil Words by Jennifer Higdon. The composer, born in Brooklyn, in 1962, wrote the cycle specifically for Thomas Hampson, to mark the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War.