After an auspicious Canadian debut with Tafelmusik back in 2023, male soprano Samuel Mariño returns to Toronto to end the Baroque orchestra’s season on May 23 to 25. Julia Wedman directs Tafelmusik in a program titled Opera: Bologne & Mozart.
“We can’t think of a better way to close the 24/25 season than with classical rockstar Samuel Marino,” says Cristina Zacharias, Tafelmusik’s Artistic Co-Director in a statement. “This program highlights his sensational artistry and shines a light on unfairly neglected composers with important stories to tell.”
Samuel Mariño, male soprano
Bullied as a school boy for his high speaking voice, Samuel Mariño has been having the last laugh these last few years.
The Venezuelan-born vocalist has one of the rarest voices in all of opera: that of a male soprano.
Concerned about the bullying, when Samuel was in his teens, his mother took him to a medical specialist, who offered surgery that would deepen his voice. However, the physician also mentioned that men with high voices could also find a home in the world of Western classical music as countertenors. Mariño decided to take his advice.
He began studying piano and voice at the National Conservatory in Caracas, and studied ballet at the National School of Dance. His interest in the Baroque era in particular developed early, after his first operatic performances with Camerata Barroca de Caracas. He went on to pursue his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris.
Alongside a busy performing career that has taken him across Europe, North and South America, Japan, and South Korea, Samuel has made a point of revealing lesser known and neglected works of the Baroque and Classical eras. He often performs and records music that was written for the male castrato singers popular in previous centuries, many of which have never been recorded with a male voice.
On his album Sopranista, Samuel gives works written in the 1780s by Joseph Bologne and Domenico Cimarosa their world recording premieres, as well as including the work of women composers Marianne Martines and Maria Antonia Walpurgis.
The Program
The program is drawn from his 2022 album Sopranista. It includes:
Act 1
- Bologne: Overture from L’amant anonyme: Allegro presto
- Bologne: Concerto for violin, op. 3, no. 1: Adagio
- Bologne: Accomp & Aria “Enfin un foule importune” from L’amant anonyme, Act 2, sc 1
Act 2
- Mozart: Overture & Aria “Intendo amico rio” from Il re pastore
- Marianne Martines: Overture in C Major: Andante ma non troppo
- Mozart: Symphony 10 in G Major KV 74: Allegro
- Mozart: Accompagnato & Aria “Dove sono” from Le Nozze di Figaro
- Salieri: Aria “Sento l’amico speme” from Semiramide
Act 3
- Salieri: Sinfonia from Armida
- Gluck: Accompagnato “Berenice che fai” and Aria “Perché se tanti” from Antigono
Act 4
- Maria Antonia Walpurgis: Overture to Talestri
- Gluck: “Che farè senza Euridice” from Orfeo ed Euridice
- Walpurgis: Aria “Da me ti dividi” from Talestri, arranged for cello & orchestra
- Haydn: Accompagnato “Barbaro! E ardisci ancor” & Aria “Odio, furor” from Armida, Act 2
Find more concert details and tickets [HERE].
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