Seattle Symphony Digital Release of "La mort d’Orphée" Features Tenor Kenneth Tarver

Kenneth Tarver

KENNETH TARVER, TENOR

Kenneth Tarver is considered one of the outstanding Bel Canto tenors of his generation, acknowledged for his beauty of tone, virtuosic technique, extensive and even vocal range, coupled with an attractive and elegant stage presence. A specialist in Mozart and demanding virtuosic operatic repertoire, he has appeared at the most prestigious opera houses and concert halls around the world, performing both well-known and seldom-performed works with conductors such as René Jacobs, Riccardo Chailly, Pierre Boulez and Claudio Abbado.

He has appeared at leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera House-Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Dresden Semperoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Opéra Comique in Paris, Theatre de La Monnaie in Brussels, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Festival in Aix-en-Provence, cultivating a wide repertoire from Baroque through Classical (Handel, Mozart, Haydn), Bel Canto (Rossini, Donizetti, Berlioz) and contemporary repertoire (Shchedrin, Stravinsky). As a recording artist, Tarver has an extensive catalogue and has been awarded two Grammys.

Berlioz 

Requiem 

La Mort d'Orphée (Digital edition only)

Kenneth Tarver, Tenor

Seattle Symphony Chorale

Seattle Symphony

Ludovic Morlot

SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA RELEASES
LIVE RECORDING OF BERLIOZ’S
MONUMENTAL REQUIEM ON SEPTEMBER 14  

DIGITAL ALBUM INCLUDES STUDIO SESSION OF
LA MORT D’ORPHÉE FEATURING TENOR KENNETH TARVER

SEATTLE, WA – On September 14 Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony release the live recording of Berlioz’s colossal Requiem featuring an expanded orchestra of 109 players and over 190 choristers from the Seattle Symphony Chorale, Seattle Pro Musica and Vocalpoint! Seattle. Exclusive to the digital release, the Requiem is coupled with the rarely recorded La mort d’Orphée, featuring acclaimed tenor Kenneth Tarver, a “voice of considerable beauty and freedom” (Washington Post).

The live performance of the Berlioz Requiem in Benaroya Hall in November 2017 included brass choirs positioned aloft at each corner of the hall to generate the directional, “surround-sound” effect that Berlioz intended during the second movement, Dies irae: Prose—Tuba mirum, in addition to an entire row of 18 timpani on stage. Berlioz’s inventive orchestration for the Requiem was specific to the space where the work was premiered; one of the largest cathedrals in Paris, the Church of the Invalides. Morlot stated in the Seattle Times regarding Berlioz’s Requiem, “He had this drive to make his ideas larger than life. It’s not just the size of the forces, but the way the instruments are placed around the space to intensify the drama, the bold harmonies and orchestral colors. That’s why I call Berlioz the ultimate embodiment of Romanticism.” Renowned for his interpretation of the French repertoire, Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot grew up near Berlioz’s childhood home in La Côte-Saint-André in southeastern France.

Digital downloads and CDs are available through all major online music retailers and streaming services and will be available for pre-sale on August 31, 2018. This recording is also available at Acoustic Sounds in an immaculate 5.1 digital surround version engineered by 2017 Grammy Award winner for Best Surround Sound, Dmitriy Lipay.