GESUALDO SHADOWS

Conductor and composer Bo Holten has long been fascinated by Carlo Gesualdo - an Italian prince and one of the most extreme composers of the late Renaissance, whose dramatic life and bitter fate form the plot of Holten and librettist Eva Sommestad Holten's 'modern baroque opera' Gesualdo - Shadows. Reflecting the present, this is a drama about a great artist lost between outer duties and inner fragility: from a passionate youth to an old age characterized by mystery, violence and melancholy. Gesualdo's own madrigals, inscribed in the score, contribute to a captivating universe of pain and beauty.

Cast:

Bo Holten - composer and conductor
Eva Sommestad Holten - librettist, set designer
Deda Cristina Colonna - set design, choreography
Gert Henning-Jensen - tenor
Tor Lind - baritone
Hanna Kappelin - soprano
Rasmus Kure Thomsen - bass-baritone
Ann-Christin Wesser Ingels - soprano
Anders Jakobsson - bass
Guido Paevatalu - baritone
Musica Ficta - vocal ensemble

Concerto Copenhagen:
Oboe: Per Bengtsson
Trombone I: Wenche Tjentland
Trombone II: Martin Chorell
Violin I: Peter Spissky
Violin II: Antina Hugosson
Viola: Rastko Roknic
Cello: Ingrid Andersson
Double bass: Mattias Frostenson
Teorbe: Fredrik Bock
Harpsichord/organ: Allan Rasmussen