BBC Radio 3: Louis Andriessen's "La Commedia" performed by BBC Symphony Orchestra "with Claron McFadden’s celestially pure soprano" 20 Feb. 2016, 10 PM

Claron McFadden
www.claronmcfadden.com

BBC Radio 3 Hear and Now

Louis Andriessen's La Commedia

The UK premiere of Louis Andriessen's most recent music theatre work La Commedia, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. Presented by Tom Service in conversation with the composer.
Louis Andriessen: La Commedia
Claron McFadden (soprano),
Cristina Zavalloni (voice),
Andrew Sauvageau (voice),
BBC Symphony Orchestra,
Conductor Martyn Brabbins.

Divine Comedy...

                 Described as 'a beacon in a contemporary music world that grows ever more polite and lacking in ambition', Louis Andriessen's music was celebrated at London's Barbican Centre last weekend; Hear and Now presents Andriessen's most recent music theatre work, La Commedia, which was given its UK premiere. 

Reviewing the performance in the Daily Telegraph, critic and Radio 3 presenter Ivan Hewett awarded five stars and commented: 'Andriessen constantly burst his own boundaries, as in the beautiful neo-medieval delicacies and Broadway sassiness of his Dante-based "opera" La Commedia. It was wonderfully performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins, with Claron McFadden’s celestially pure soprano beautifully offset by the disillusioned, wounded tone of mezzo-soprano Cristina Zavalloni.' 

You can hear La Commedia on Saturday 20 February at 10pm.