Live at the Met (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) Lise Davidsen & James Baillieu

• Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924): Tosca:
• 1 Puccini: Tosca: Vissi d'arte (Piano Reduction) (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 03:42
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901): Un ballo in maschera:
• 2 Verdi: Un ballo in maschera: Morrò, ma prima in grazia (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 04:32
• Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949): 8 Lieder aus Letzte Blätter, Op. 10:
• 3 Strauss: 8 Lieder aus Letzte Blätter, Op. 10: No. 1, Zueignung (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 01:23
• 4 Strauss: 8 Lieder aus Letzte Blätter, Op. 10: No. 8, Allerseelen (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 02:48
• 5 Strauss: 5 Lieder, Op. 39: No. 4, Befreit (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 04:57
• 6 Strauss: 4 Lieder, Op. 27: No. 4, Morgen! (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 04:03
• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): An die Musik, D. 547:
• 7 Schubert: An die Musik, D. 547 (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 02:32
• Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118:
• 8 Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118 (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 03:15
• Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen, D. 343:
• 9 Schubert: Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen, D. 343 (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 05:07
• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957): 5 Songs, Op. 37:
• 10 Sibelius: 5 Songs, Op. 37: No. 1, Den första kyssen (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 01:31
• 11 Sibelius: 5 Songs, Op. 37: No. 4, Var det en dröm (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 01:43
• 12 Sibelius: 5 Songs, Op. 37: No. 5, Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 02:23
• 13 Sibelius: 6 Songs, Op. 36: No. 1, Svarta rosor (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 01:54
• Emmerich Kálmán (1882 - 1953): Die Csárdásfürstin:
• 14 Kálmán: Die Csárdásfürstin: Heia, heia, in den Bergen ist mein Heimatland (Piano Reduction) (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 03:00
• Frederick Loewe (1901 - 1988): My Fair Lady:
• 15 Loewe: My Fair Lady: I Could Have Danced All Night (Piano Reduction) (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 02:15
• Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883): Tannhäuser, WWV 70: Dich, teure Halle, grüss ich wieder "Elisabeth's Greeting":
• 16 Wagner: Tannhäuser, WWV 70: Dich, teure Halle, grüss ich wieder "Elisabeth's Greeting" (Piano Reduction) (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 03:23
• Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907): 12 Songs, Op. 33:
• 17 Grieg: 12 Songs, Op. 33: No. 2, Våren (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) 04:44
• Total Runtime 53:12

Info for Live at the Met (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023)

On September 14th, 2023, Lise Davidsen became one of the youngest-ever singers invited to give a solo recital at the MET, a house with which she has a very special relationship.

With pianist James Baillieu, Lise performed a programme including highlights from her Met roles, as well as a variety of song literature, plus some lighter pieces from the world of operetta and musical theater.

Peter Gelb (General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera] believes Lise Davidsen is “the greatest Wagnerian talent since Birgit Nilsson and Kirsten Flagstad. Her voice in the Met’s luxurious acoustics sounds extraordinary, with incredible beauty but amazing power.” It deeply impressed Gelb that Davidsen was “capable of wrapping her voice around the nuanced subtlety of Grieg, Sibelius, Schubert and Strauss,” but also that she could “explode with power in ‘Dich, teure Halle.’” He also greatly admired Davidsen’s “extremely elegant and composed stage presence.” Although still in her thirties, “she’s the consummate artist.”

The album is released to coincide with her MET debut as Isolde, one of the most eagerly anticipated operatic debuts of the decade.

No sets, no costumes, no orchestra: But the whole opera was there.” – The New York Times

“She is the greatest Wagnerian talent since Birgit Nilsson and Kirsten Flagstad.” – Peter Gelb, Metropolitan Opera

Lise Davidsen, soprano
James Baillieu, piano

Lise Davidsen
Rarely has a young singer made such an enormous impact on the classical music industry as Lise Davidsen. A superb talent, the Norwegian soprano shot to prominence in summer 2015 when she was crowned winner of both the Operalia and the Queen Sonja competitions. Soon after she made triumphant debuts with Glyndebourne Festival, Opernhaus Zürich, Wiener Staatsoper, Aix-en-Provence Festival, BBC Proms and Wigmore Hall. In May 2018 Lise Davidsen signed an exclusive recording contract with Decca Classics, becoming the first Scandinavian dramatic soprano to sign to the label since Birgit Nilsson and the first Norwegian singer to join Decca since Kirsten Flagstad. Her self titled debut album was released on 31 May 2019. The 18/19 season sees Lise Davidsen making her hugely anticipated Bayreuth debut as Elisabeth in a new production of “Tannhäuser” conducted by Valery Gergiev. The role is also a vehicle for her returns to Opernhaus Zürich and Bavarian State Opera Munich. Other highlights include her debut as Liza in Tchaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades” at Stuttgart State Opera and a company debut with Royal Opera House Covent Garden London in their “Ring” cycle. On the concert platform she makes a highly anticipated return to the BBC Proms with Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem” together with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrés Orozco-Estrada as well appearing at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko and a programme of Strauss songs. Further performances throughout the season include “Vier letzte Lieder” with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Stavanger Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; an open air concert with Oslo Philharmonic; her debut as Sieglinde in “Die Walküre” with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis and with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Edo de Waart; Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder” and Mahler’s “Rückert-Lieder” with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra; and solo recitals with James Baillieuat Opernhaus Zürich and Schubertiada Vilabertran. Recent operatic successes include the title role of “Ariadne auf Naxos” at Aix-en-Provence Festival, Wiener Staatsoper and Glyndebourne Festival; Agathe in a new production of “Der Freischütz” at Opernhaus Zürich; Cherubini’s Medea at Wexford Festival; Santuzza in “Cavalleria rusticana” and Sancta Susanna in Oslo; and Isabella in “Das Liebesverbot” at Teatro Colon. Other engagements include her house debuts with Bavarian State Opera as Ortlinde “Die Walküre” and at Frankfurt Opera for its “Ring” cycle both in 2016. On the concert platform she was an Artist in Residence with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in 17/18 season where her appearances included an open-air concert, Verdi’s Requiem and “Wesendonck Lieder” as well as recital performances. Other recent concert engagements include her BBC Proms debut with John Storgards and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Strauss Songs op. 27 songs with the Oslo Philharmonic; Verdi’s Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra London; Danish National Symphony Orchestra; and Deutsch-Skandinavisches Jugendorchester; Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder” with the Randers Chamber Orchestra; Strauss’s “Vier letzte Lieder” with Oslo Philharmonic; George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucharest; and Copenhagen Philharmonic; and Freia in “Das Rheingold” with Odense Symphony Orchestra. A dedicated recitalist she made a hugely acclaimed London recital debut with James Baillieu in the Rosenblatt Recital Series at the Wigmore Hall London and with Helmut Deutsch at Bergen International Festival. Lise Davidsen’s talent has attracted serious attention since the outset of her musical training. A 2014 graduate of the Opera Academy in Copenhagen, she has studied under Susanna Eken, previously gaining a degree from Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen. In 2015 she was crowned winner of both the Operalia and the Queen Sonja competitions. Her breakthrough performances won her the First Prize, the Birgit Nilsson Award and the Audience Prize at the Operalia competition in London as well as the prize for the best performance of Norwegian music and the Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship at the Queen Sonia International Music Competition. In 2018 she was the recipient of the Queen Ingrid Honory Grant. In 2018, Lise Davidsen was presented with the prestigious Young Artist of the Year Award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards.

James Baillieu
Described by The Daily Telegraph as ‘in a class of his own’ James Baillieu is one of the leading song and chamber music pianists of his generation. He has given solo and chamber recitals throughout the world and collaborates with a wide range of singers and instrumentalists including Benjamin Appl, Jamie Barton, Ian Bostridge, Allan Clayton, Annette Dasch, Lise Davidsen, the Elias and Heath Quartets, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Timothy Ridout, Adam Walker, and Pretty Yende. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Ulster Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, and the Wiener Kammersymphonie.

Highlights of his 23/24 season include a recital tour with Lise Davidsen at venues including the Metropolitan Opera House, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, the Wigmore Hall, and the Wiener Staatsoper. He performs at Fundación Juan March and in venues across Japan with Benjamin Appl, at the Festival du Périgord Pourpre and Festival van Vlaanderen with Véronique Gens, at the Concertgebouw with Jess Gillam, and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Salzburg Easter Festival with Lise Davidsen and Freddie de Tommaso. James returns to the Wigmore Hall for recitals with Louise Alder, Tara Erraught and Tim Mead.

James is a frequent guest at many of the world’s most distinguished music centres including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Vancouver Playhouse, Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna Musikverein, the Barbican Centre, Wiener Konzerthaus, Bozar Brussels, Pierre Boulez Saal, Cologne Philharmonie, and the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Festivals include Aix-en-Provence, Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Festpillene i Bergen, Edinburgh, Spitalfields, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Bath, City of London and Brighton Festivals.

An innovative programmer, he has curated many song and chamber music festivals including series for the Brighton Festival, Wigmore Hall, BBC Radio 3, Verbier Festival, Bath International Festival, and Perth Concert Hall.

At the invitation of John Gilhooly, James Baillieu has presented his own series at the Wigmore Hall with Adam Walker, Jonathan McGovern, Ailish Tynan, Tara Erraught, Henk Neven, Iestyn Davies, Allan Clayton, and Mark Padmore amongst others. This series was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Chamber Music and Song Award for an outstanding contribution to the performance of chamber music and song in the UK.

James was prize winner of the Wigmore Hall Song Competition, Das Lied International Song Competition, the Kathleen Ferrier and Richard Tauber Competitions, and was selected for representation by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2010 and in 2012 received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and a Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trust Award. In 2016 he was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society Outstanding Young Artist Award.

Recording projects include ‘Forbidden Fruit’ (Alpha Classics), ‘Winterreise’ (Alpha Classics) and ‘Heimat’ (Sony Classical) with Benjamin Appl, the complete works of CPE Bach for violin and piano with Tamsin Waley-Cohen (Signum Records), and albums on the Chandos, Opus Arte, Champs Hill, Rubicon, and Delphian Record labels as part his critically acclaimed discography.

James Baillieu is Senior Professor of Ensemble Piano at the Royal Academy of Music, a coach for the Jette Parker Young Artist Program at the Royal Opera House, a course leader for the Samling Foundation, and is head of the Song Program at the Atelier Lyrique of the Verbier Festival Academy. He is International Tutor in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal Northern College of Music and a trustee of the Countess of Munster Musical Trust. Highly sought after for masterclasses worldwide, recent sessions of learning have brought him to the Aldeburgh Festival, Cleveland Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Friends of Chamber Music, Portland, Oregon, Vancouver Academy of Music, Canada, and to the University of Waikato, New Zealand.

James appears in an exciting new realisation of Schubert’s great song cycle Winterreise filmed in the Swiss Alps. Commissioned by the BBC and SRF (directed by John Bridcut): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012twd (For viewers in the UK)

This album contains no booklet.