Michael Spyres baritenor &
Mathieu Pordoy piano

Programme:
Monsieur Crescendo, Selected songs by Gioachino Rossini

L'âme délaissée
Adieux à la vie, an elegy from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. II., No. 9
Roméo, from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. II., No. 2
Rien No.11, for piano, from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. XII. 

Au chevet d'un Mourant, elegy from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. III., No. 8
L'ultimo ricordo, elegy from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. I., No. 4
L'esule, arietta from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. III., No. 2
*
Rien No. 21, for piano, from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. XII.
Chansonette de cabaret (‘Le lazzarone’), from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. II., No. 8
L'invito, from the Les soirées musicales collection
Nizza 
Barcarole, for piano, from the Péchés de vieillesse collection: Vol. VI., No. 8
L'orgia, from the Les soirées musicales collection
Addio ai Viennesi
 

Operatic star Michael Spyres – arguably the only active baritenor today – moves with astonishing ease between tenor and baritone roles across an extraordinary three-octave range, from warm low registers to rich high notes. Artistic director of the Ozarks Lyric Opera and recipient of the 2024 Oper!, 2024 Opus Klassik, and 2022 Gramophone Awards, Spyres also shines on the concert stage – in recent years in musical partnership with the sensitive accompanist and virtuoso pianist Mathieu Pordoy, an indispensable artist in both concert and operatic settings, onstage and behind the scenes alike.

An engaging and varied programme showcases the full timbral range of this remarkable singer’s artistry, unveiling the lesser-known yet abundant chamber oeuvre of the operatic giant Gioachino Rossini – “Monsieur Crescendo” – while exploring the myriad nuances of his intimate musical world, suffused with subtle humour, tenderness, and profound humanity.