Tafelmusik’s next concert, Higher Love: Virtuoso Aria, offers Toronto audience the chance to see male soprano Samuel Mariño in his Canadian debut. The concert takes place on April 28 and 29. Audiences are invited to participate in an online Tafel Talk on the topic of male sopranos on April 12, with an open rehearsal on April 27.
The male soprano is generally considered to be the rarest voice type. Mariño’s voice has been described as both powerful and agile. The 29-year-old Venezuelan-born soprano has been lighting up stages across the world.
He’ll be performing virtuoso baroque opera arias from Handel’s Arminio and Atalanta, Vivaldi’s Il Giustino, Scarlatti’s Il Sedecia Re di Gerusalemme, and Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra. Also on the program are orchestral selections by Handel, Pisendel, and Vivaldi, including the composer’s Concerto in E Minor featuring Tafelmusik’s own Keiran Campbell as cello soloist.
Samuel Mariño and La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Andrea Marcon conductor, performing Gluck: Le feste d’Apollo / Orfeo – Che farò senza Euridice?
Samuel Mariño
“My goal is to open up classical music and really bring it to everyone,” says Samuel Mariño in a statement. “Regardless of whether someone feels like a man, a woman, or non-binary, I want people to make music. When I wear a dress and make-up on stage, I do it because I love fashion, and it’s ‘a statement.’ I am not against tradition, I really like some traditions, but let’s make traditions accessible to everyone.”
- He studied piano and voice at the National Conservatory in Caracas;
- Studied ballet at the National School of Dance in Venezuela;
- He made his operatic debut with the Camerata Barroca in Caracas, working with conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Helmuth Rilling, and Theodore Kuchar;
- He went on to the Conservatoire de Paris;
- He currently studies with soprano Barbara Bonney;
- He received a scholarship from the Rotary Club of Salzburg;
- Won the interpretation award in the International Singing Competition with Opéra de Marseille as well as the audience prize in the Neue Stimmen Competition (2017/18)
- He made his stage debut in 2018 at the Handel Festival in Halle.
It was during his early studies in Caracas that his passion for the baroque was first tapped. On stage, he’s performed in some of the key roles of both classical and baroque repertoire, including works by Monteverdi, Handel, Porpora, Vivaldi, Hasse, Mozart, and Salieri. His 2022 release on the Decca Classics label, Sopranista, features works by Gluck, Joseph Bologne, and Domenico Cimarosa.
Along with opera, he’s explored Bel Canto repertoire, such as Oscar (Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera), Romeo (Bellini’s I Capuleti ed I Montecchi), and Arsace (Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira). He founded Ensemble Teseo in 2019 to research and bring neglected works and techniques from the baroque period to modern audiences.
There are limited tickets available for both concerts [HERE]. Tickets to the April 27 open rehearsal are only $5 and are available [HERE].
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