Echoed Voices Concert
Siobhan Stagg and Nico de Villiers in recital
7pm 19 July 2024
Albert Hall, Yarramlumla
With her “angelic” voice (Kölner Stadt Anzeiger, 2023) and “ethereal stage prescence” (Sydney Morning Herald), Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg has become one of the most sought-after lyric artists of her generation.
A formal evening featuring international superstar Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg, in recital with Nico de Villiers at Canberra’s historic Albert Hall. Featuring works from Richard Hageman, Richard Strauss and Henri Duparc.
A rare opportunity to see a world class Australian soprano right here in Canberra.
LOCATION
Albert Hall
100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla ACT 2601
TICKETING
Tickets are offered as allocated seating (A Reserve on ground floor) or unallocated seating (B Reserve in upstairs balcony, where there may be restricted view of the artists during the performance).
Tickets: $30-$70
Tickets can be purchased online here or by telephoning 02 6162 8961
Siobhan Stagg
A member of Deutsche Oper Berlin’s ensemble from 2013-19, Siobhan’s roles included Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Sophie Der Rosenkavalier, Tytania A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, Gilda Rigoletto, Micaëla Carmen, Adele Die Fledermaus, Musetta La bohème, Contessa di Folleville Il viaggio a Reims and Waldvogel and Woglinde in The Ring Cycle conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
Appearing on some of the most prestigious stages worldwide, Siobhan has enjoyed success as the title role in Cendrillon for the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Pamina and Susanna Le nozze di Figaro for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden; Sophie Der Rosenkavalier and Eritea Eliogabalo for the Opernhaus Zurich, Sophie Der Rosenkavalier in two successive seasons at Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin; Mélisande for Opera de Dijon and Australia’s Victorian Opera (for which she received the Green Room Award for Best Female Lead in an Opera); Gilda, Blonde and Cordelia in Aribert Reimann’s Lear for the Hamburgische Staatsoper; Najade Ariadne auf Naxos for the Bayerische Staatsoper; Blonde for the Dutch National Opera; staged performances of Mozart’s Requiem at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Morgana Alcina and Marzelline Fidelio for the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
A prized concerts performer, Siobhan’s highlights of recent seasons include Shéhérazade with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Tugan Sokhiev; Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle; Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln with Wiener Symphoniker / Ingo Metzmacher; Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Vasily Petrenko; Das Paradies und die Peri with both Gürzenich Orchester Köln / François-Xavier Roth and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst; Brett Dean’s In This Brief Moment with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester / Alan Gilbert as well as a celebrated return to her native Australia for concerts with Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Simone Young and as soloist in residence with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
The 2023/24 season sees Siobhan make her role debut at Opéra national de Lorraine as Ilia Idomeneo before making her return to Deutsche Oper Berlin for Pamina, Hamburgische Staatsoper for Gilda and to the Opéra Comique and Opéra de Dijon for L’Autre Voyage – a new opera showcasing the forgotten vocal scores of Franz Schubert.
In concert, Siobhan revisits her relationship with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks for Schubert’s G major mass, conducted by Riccardo Muti; opens the season with Gürzenich Orchester Köln / François-Xavier Roth in Mahler’s Symphony No.4; embarks on a multi-concert tour with Pygmalion Ensemble in Mendelssohn’s Elijah; makes her debut with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in Fauré’s Requiem and returns to Australia for multiple solo recitals across the country and solo collaborations with Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras.
In recognition of her international achievements in the arts, the Mayor of Mildura awarded Siobhan the Key to the City in 2023; the third recipient of this honour in the city’s history. Siobhan is passionate about education and talent development and recently created a series of scholarships for young singers called the Siobhan Stagg Encouragement Awards. She sits on the Board of the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust.
Nico de Villiers
Nico de Villiers is a South African pianist, coach and author. He holds degrees from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the University of Michigan, as well as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Nico was the recipient of the ABRSM International Undergraduate Scholarship, a University of Michigan Teaching Assistant Scholarship, and scholarships from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama scholarship fund.
He performed as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician in prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre, the Barbican and St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London; Birmingham Symphony Hall; the Kammermusiksaal in Bonn, Germany; the Mozarteum Grosser Saal in Salzburg, Austria; the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Netherlands, and the Terrace Theatre at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He performed with singers including Barbara Bonney, Chen Reiss, Siobhan Stagg, William Berger, and Matthew Rose. Festival performances include the Salzburg Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival, Chopin Birthday Festival in Warsaw, Poland, and the International Johannesburg Mozart Festival in South Africa.
Nico took up the role of Deputy Head of Vocal Studies in the School of Vocal Studies and Opera at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England in September 2022. He previously served as a vocal coach on the vocal faculties of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal College of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatory in London, and the University of Michigan School of Music. Additionally, he has been a vocal coach at various institutions including the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, the Royal College of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatory in London, UK. Masterclasses and workshops include institutions such as Florida Atlantic University, Boca Reton, Florida; Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; University of Portland, Portland, Oregon (USA); the Birmingham Conservatory and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (UK); Kungliga Musikhögskolan in Stockholm (Sweden) and various universities across his native South Africa. He has been on the faculty of various summer programmes including the Oxenfoord Summer Programme in Scotland, the Abingdon Summer School of Solo Singers and the Aderley International Music School in England, the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, the International Music Academy in Pilsen, Czech Republic and the Peter Jablonski Piano Academy in Karlskrona, Sweden.
As researcher Nico has a particular interest in unearthing and performing neglected and undiscovered composers. In 2008, Nico performed a complete series of the piano chamber music of Hungarian pianist-conductor-composer Ernst von Dohnányi at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He subsequently made the world premiere recording of Polish pianist-composer André Tchaikowsky’s Piano Sonata, and features in the documentary Rebel of the Keys which focuses on Tchaikowsky’s life and the revival of Tchaikowsky’s opera The Merchant of Venice at the Bregenz Festival. Nico performed some of Tchaikowsky’s piano works and songs in the UK, Poland and South Africa. In 2011, Nico founded the Richard Hageman Society (RHS) to focus scholarship and research into the work and life of the Dutch-born American Oscar-winning composer and conductor Richard Hageman. As director of the RHS Nico opened the Richard Hageman Aqueduct, unveiled a memorial plaque at Hageman’s birthplace in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, curated exhibitions of the RHS archives, and organised premieres of Hageman’s works. Nico presented various lecture recitals and presentations at conferences and symposiums in the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, Georgia and South Africa. In 2018, Nico was awarded a PhD from the GSMD for his practice-based research entitled “The Becoming of a Song Composer: A critical re-evaluation of Richard Hageman and his songs” which discusses the cosmopolitanism present in and development of Hageman’s artistic identity through his songs. He co-authored Richard Hageman: From Holland to Hollywood (Peter Lang, 2020), the first critical biography on Richard Hageman, with co-authors Kathryn Kalinak and Asing Walthaus. In 2022, Nico collaborated with Siobhan Stagg in recording Voices: Songs by Richard Hageman, the first album solely dedicated to Hageman’s songs. Nico is completing a forthcoming monograph which is a companion to Hageman’s songs aimed at performers, music lovers, and historians alike. Nico published articles in Classical Singer Magazine, Pianist Magazine, and Opera Magazine, and is Editor in Chief of On Collaborating, the peer-reviewed journal of the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society and Associate Editor of VOICEPrints, the peer-reviewed journal of the New York Singing Teachers’ Association’s.
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