Tenor Ian Bostridge has had to cancel his appearance at the Turku Music Festival for health reasons. He is recovering from heart valve repair surgery and has been advised by his doctors to clear his calendar for the summer. He will, however, be coming to Turku in October to appear at the Turku Book Fair and to perform Schubert’s Winterreise at Sigyn Hall.
Ian Bostridge will be replaced in Mahler’s songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn at the opening concert of the Turku Music Festival by Thomas Hampson, one of the most prominent names in the world of opera today. It has been many years since his previous visit to Finland. Tickets already purchased for the opening concert will be honoured as is.
Thomas Hampson, America’s foremost baritone, has received international honors and awards for his captivating artistry and cultural leadership. Lauded as a Metropolitan Opera Guild “Met Mastersinger” and the Gramophone’s “Hall of Fame,” Hampson is one of the most respected and innovative musicians of our time.
“Having an artist like Thomas Hampson to perform at the Turku Music Festival in such short notice and especially with Mahler is a great thing for us” says the festival’s Managing director Liisa Ketomäki.
Ian Bostridge’s first performance in Finland has been rescheduled for October: he will be giving a recital with pianist Saskia Giorgini at Sigyn Hall in Turku on Monday 7 October 2019 at 18.00. The recital features Schubert’s Winterreise, which Bostridge performs frequently and about which he has written an award-winning book, Schubert’s Winter Journey (Basam Books).
He was also scheduled to give a talk on ‘Character portrayal in opera – bringing characters in a score to life’ at Turku City Library on 9 August. This talk has been rescheduled for the Turku Book Fair, specifically for Sunday 6 October 2019. The exact time will be confirmed when the Book Fair programme is published.
Ian writes: “For health reasons I’ve had to cancel three months of work including my planned appearance at the Turku Festival in August. I’m delighted that we’ve found another date in October this year, and honoured that Ms Jenni Haukio has invited me to speak at the Book Fair in the same period. I look forward hugely to singing in Finland for the first time.”
Tickets for the recital will go on sale on 9 May at 09.00 at all Lippupiste points of sale.
The Turku Music Festival is the oldest consecutively running annual music festival in Finland. This summer, from 8 to 22 August, it is being held for the 60th time. There are more than 40 events and concerts on the programme, and the festival will take a head start on 2 June with a concert performance of Handel’s opera Agrippina with a star-studded cast at Turku Concert Hall.
Thomas Hampson, America’s foremost baritone, has received international honors and awards for his captivating artistry and cultural leadership. Lauded as a Metropolitan Opera Guild “Met Mastersinger” and the Gramophone’s “Hall of Fame,” Hampson is one of the most respected and innovative musicians of our time. With an operatic repertoire of over 80 roles sung in all the major theaters of the world, his discography comprises more than 170 albums, which include multiple nominations and winners of the Grammy Award, Edison Award, and the Grand Prix du Disque.
Notable engagements for his 2018/19 season include Hampson’s highly anticipated debut at the Canadian Opera Company, singing the title role in the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian, as well as his debut at Houston Grand Opera as the famed librettist Lorenzo da Ponte in the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix. Further, he sings one of his signature roles, Scarpia, in Tosca, at the Wiener Staatsoper, and returns to Teatro alla Scala as Altair in Strauss’ Die ägyptische Helena. Hampson frequently gives recitals all over the world with his long-time musical partner Wolfram Rieger.
His recurring international master class schedule is a continuing online resource of the Manhattan School of Music, Medici.tv, and The Hampsong Foundation livestream channel. He is the Artistic Director of the Heidelberg Lied Academy, and collaborates with the Barenboim-Said Academy Schubert Week in Berlin each year.