Vladimir Jurowski conducts Haydn & Brahms

Vladimir Jurowski has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin since 2017. He has meanwhile extended his contract until 2027. In parallel, he has been General Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich since 2021.

After receiving training at the Moscow Conservatory The conductor, pianist and musicologist Vladimir Jurowski emigrated to Germany in 1990. Here he continued his studies at the music conservatories in Dresden and Berlin.  In 1995 he made his international debut at the British Wexford Festival with Rimski-Korsakov’s Mainacht and in the same year at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with Nabucco. Subsequently he was, among other things, First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin (1997- 2001) and Music Director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2001-2013). In 2003 Vladimir Jurowski was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and has been its Principal Conductor since 2007 until 2021. He was also Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra Yevgeny Svetlanov of the Russian Federation until 2021, Artistic Director of the International George Enescu Festival in Bucharest and Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Great Britain. He works regularly with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the ensemble unitedberlin.

Vladimir Jurowski has conducted the major orchestras of Europe and North America, including the Berlin, Vienna and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

He is a recurring guest conductor in in London, Berlin, Dresden, Luzern, Schleswig-Holstein und Grafenegg as well as at the Rostopowitsch-Festival. Although Vladimir Jurowski is invited as a guest conductor by top orchestras from all over the world, in future he would like to concentrate his activities on that geographical area which is acceptable to him from an ecological point of view.

Elsa Benoit is a French singer whose versatile repertoire, ranging from baroque to modern, is in demand and acclaimed worldwide. She graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music and perfected her training from 2011 to 2013 at the Dutch National Opera Academy, where she obtained her Master’s degree in Opera with distinction. In November 2012, she was honored with three prizes at the international singing competition “Symphonies d’Automne” and in March 2013 she won the Brane-Cantenac Prize at the international singing competition MACM.

From 2015 to 2016, Benoit was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater in Klagenfurt, where she enjoyed great success in roles such as Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Micaëla in Carmen (for which she received the Austrian Music Theater Prize) and Despina in Così fan tutte. She then joined the permanent ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera, where she performed a variety of roles, including the Shepherd in Tannhäuser, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Frasquita in Carmen, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Musetta in La Bohème, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Emilie in Rameau’s Les Indes galantes and Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina. She recorded the latter role for Warner Classics in 2019 and the recording was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Opera Recording”.

Benoit has been freelancing since 2021. Her recent performances include roles in Philippe Hersant’s Les Eclairs at the Ópera Comique in Paris, Handel’s Alcina (Morgana) at the Palais Garnier in Paris, Carmen (Micaela) in Toulouse, The Rake’s Progress (Anne Trulove) in Rennes and Nantes, Handel’s Agrippina (Poppea) in Munich, Handel’s Semele (Semele) in Lille and Berlin (Komische Oper) and Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Thérèse) at the Glyndebourne Festival. Last season, she appeared on stage in Massenet’s Werther (Sophie) in a new production by Robert Carsen under Thomas Hengelbrock and in the title role of Poppea in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in a new production by American director Ted Huffman under the direction of George Petrou at the Cologne Opera.

In the 2024/25 season, the soprano will appear in three important roles for the first time: as Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at the Semperoper Dresden, as Sophie in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier in Tokyo under Jonathan Nott and as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the opera houses in Rennes, Nantes and Angers.

Elsa Benoit is also in great demand as a concert singer. Highlights of recent seasons have included performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Mahler’s 4th Symphony under Robin Ticciati and in Honegger’s dramatic oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher under Alan Gilbert in Berlin, as well as Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Bellezza) under Emmanuelle Haïm. She also appeared in Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang Symphony under Andris Nelsons with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and at the Salzburg Festival under Herbert Blomstedt with the Vienna Philharmonic. Further appearances included Fauré’s Requiem under Andrew Manze with the Munich Philharmonic, Haydn’s Seasons under Hans-Christoph Rademann in Stuttgart and Brahms’ Requiem under Manfred Honeck.

Major concerts are scheduled for the 2024/25 season, including Bruckner’s Mass in F minor with the Orchestra La Scintilla in Zurich, Brahms’ Requiem with the RSB Berlin under Vladimir Jurowski, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä and Handel’s Il Trionfo with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Emmanuelle Haïm.

Canadian-born bass-baritone and Grammy Award winner Gerald Finley is one of the leading singers and dramatic performers of his generation. He can be heard at the world’s most important opera and concert venues and is represented by award-winning CDs and DVDs in a wide-ranging repertoire on major labels. Gerald Finley dedicates himself to a broad spectrum of vocal artistry in opera, concert and lieder, working regularly with the great orchestras and conductors of our time.

He began his career with Mozart roles; his Don Giovanni and his Count in Le nozze di Figaro can be heard on the opera stage and on DVD worldwide. Key roles in the recent past include Guillaume Tell, J. Robert Oppenheimer in John Adam’s Dr. Atomic and Jaufré Rudel in Saariaho’s L’amour de loin. He sang the role of Harry Heegan in the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s The Silver Tassie.

Highlights of the 2024/2025 season include Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth at the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera, and the role of Helge in Marc-Anthony Turnage’s new opera Festen, Wagner’s Flying Dutchman at the Bavarian State Opera, John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the role of Don Alfonso in a new production of Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte at La Scala in Milan. Recitals have taken him to the Liceu in Barcelona and the Bavarian State Opera.

Most recently, Finley appeared as Hans Sachs in Laurent Pelly’s new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Madrid, as Antonius in the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at the San Francisco Opera, as Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca and Count in Netia Jones’ new production of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Opéra national de Paris. He made his debut in the title role of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at the Staatsoper Berlin, and was critically acclaimed as Wolfram in Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Royal Opera House. He also sang Iago in a new production of Otello at the Bavarian State Opera and the Canadian Opera Company, the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle and Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Metropolitan Opera, as Count Almaviva at the Bavarian State Opera, in the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff.

Recent years have brought important successes in the Wagner repertoire: as Hans Sachs at the Glyndebourne Festival and at the Opéra de Paris, as Amfortas in Parsifal at the Royal Opera Covent Garden and as Wolfram at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. His extended repertoire includes Verdi’s Falstaff at the Canadian Opera (for which he won a DORA Award), an “incomparable” Iago in Otello with Sir Colin Davis and the LSO (LSO Live) in Japan, the Bavarian State Opera and the Canadian Opera, as well as the title role in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and Sir Antonio Pappano (EMI), including at the Royal Opera Covent Garden. His other important roles include Golaud, Eugene Onegin and Nick Shadow.

In contemporary opera, Gerald Finley has distinguished himself by premiering numerous leading roles, notably J. Robert Oppenheimer in John Adams’ Doctor Atomic (New York Met, ENO London, San Francisco, Chicago and Amsterdam), as Harry Heegan in Turnage’s The Silver Tassie at ENO, Howard K. Stern in Turnage’s Anna Nicole at London’s Covent Garden and Jaufré Rudel in Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin for the highly acclaimed premieres in Santa Fe, Paris and Helsinki. He sang the role of Mr. Fox in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr Fox at L.A. Opera. Concert appearances include the title role in Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero (New York Phil with Alan Gilbert and the BRSO) and Chou en Lai in Adams’ Nixon in China with the BBC Symphony at the Proms under the composer’s baton.

An acclaimed lieder singer, Gerald Finley works regularly with pianist Julius Drake; recent appearances include concerts at the Schubertiade, recitals throughout Europe, a residency at Wigmore Hall and Carnegie-Zankel Hall and acclaimed performances at the Salzburg Festival, Edinburgh and Tanglewood. He has appeared on stage with Sir Antonio Pappano, Malcolm Matineau, Simon Lepper and Michael McMahon, among others. Gerald Finley also regularly gives masterclasses, including at the Juillard School of Music, with the Jette Parker Program for Young Artists at the Royal Opera Covent Garden and with the Lindemann Program at the Met.

His numerous CD releases are dedicated to songs by Barber, Britten, Ives, Ravel and Schumann’s song cycles Dichterliebe and Liederkreis Op. 24 and 39, all together with Julius Drake for Hyperion, and have been widely praised, including three Gramophone Awards in the solo vocal category. The release of Schubert’s Winterreise won a Canadian Juno Award in 2015 and last season’s release of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin completed their Hyperion Schubert trilogy. His CD Great Operatic Arias in English, released by Chandos, won the Canadian Juno Award for Best Album in the Vocal Performance category. In 2012, the DVD release of Doctor Atomic, with Gerald Finley as J. Robert Oppenheimer, was awarded the Grammy for Best Opera Recording.

Gerald Finley was born in Montreal and began his musical training as a boy singer in Ottawa before completing his studies at the Royal College of Music, King’s College, Cambridge and the National Opera Studio. He is a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music. In 2014, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the charity Help Musicians UK. In 2017 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, having previously been appointed Officer of the Order of Canada. There is also a Canadian stamp dedicated to Gerald Finley, honoring Canadians in the opera world.