Rolando Villazón
Liederabend: An Italian Evening
Rolando Villazón presents an Italian evening
Piano: Sarah Tysman
Through his captivating performances on the world's most prestigious stages, Rolando Villazón has established himself as one of the leading artists of our time. Celebrated and loved by critics and audiences alike, Villazón's versatility is unmatched: in addition to his stage career, he is also a director, author, artistic director of the Mozarteum Foundation, and successful as a radio and television personality. Together with pianist Sarah Tysman, he presents an Italian song evening of the highest class!
Born in Mexico City, Rolando Villazón began his musical studies at the national conservatory in his home country, before becoming a member of the young artist programs at the Pittsburgh Opera and San Francisco Opera. He quickly made a name for himself in the international music scene after winning several prizes at Plácido Domingo's "Operalia" competition in 1999 (including the zarzuela prize and the audience prize). In the same year, he made his European debut as Des Grieux in Massenet's Manon in Genoa, as well as debuts as Alfredo in La Traviata at the Opéra de Paris and as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at the State Opera Berlin. Since then, Rolando Villazón has regularly appeared at the state operas in Berlin, Munich, and Vienna, at La Scala in Milan, at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and at the Salzburg Festival, working with leading orchestras and renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He has performed in venues such as London’s Barbican Hall, the Philharmonies in Paris, Berlin, and Cologne, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and Carnegie Hall in New York. In 2011, Rolando Villazón made his directorial debut at the Lyon Opera and has since directed at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, the Vienna Volksoper, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Théatre des Champs-Elysées, and most recently at the Salzburg Festival 2022, where his production of Il barbiere di Siviglia with a star cast under the direction of Cecilia Bartoli was celebrated by critics and audiences alike.
Since 2007, Rolando Villazón has been an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. He has sold over 2 million albums worldwide and released over 20 CDs and DVDs, which have won numerous awards. In addition, he has been awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of the highest accolades in the field of arts and literature in France, his permanent residence. Rolando Villazón is an ambassador for RED NOSES Clowndoctors International and a member of the Collège de Pataphysique de Paris. In 2013, his first novel "Malabares" was published, followed by "Lebenskünstler" in 2017 and "Amadeus auf dem Fahrrad" in 2020, which remained on the bestseller list of the magazine Der Spiegel for several weeks. In 2017, he was appointed ambassador of the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg. He currently serves as the artistic director of the foundation.
The French pianist Sarah Tysman has held a professorship in vocal repertoire at the University of the Arts Berlin since 2016. In addition, she is in demand as a soloist, song accompanist, chamber music partner, and as a musical assistant and advisor for various orchestras and cultural institutions. Her passion for working with singers brought her to the Komische Oper Berlin and subsequently to the Zurich Opera House. Sarah Tysman regularly collaborates as a song accompanist with Angelika Kirchschlager, Anna Prohaska, Maria Bengtsson, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Benjamin Bernheim, and Michael Volle, alongside Rolando Villazón. As a soloist, Sarah Tysman has won awards at the Newport International Competition for Young Pianists, the Elise Meyer Competition in Hamburg, the International Maj-Lind Piano Competition, and the International Piano Competition in San Sebastian. Additionally, she was a scholarship holder of the DAAD and the Fondation Natexis/Groupement des banques populaires. With soprano Maria Bengtsson, she released a CD featuring songs by Richard Strauss (Dabringhaus and Grimm).
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
