A unique concert of piano solo works, opera and art songs

22 March 2018

Odeion

19:30

Lyrical soprano, Clara Hugo, was born in 1993 and started her musical education at the age of seven. She sang in the Maitrise de Paris choir under the direction of Patrick Marco and participated in numerous concerts with the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Lamoureux in prestigious halls in Paris, such as Salle Pleyel, Chatelet Theatre and Salle Gaveau. She has worked with John Axelrod, Christoph Eschenbach and sang Fauré's Requiem with Mathieu Romano. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Operatic singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Mendelssohn-Bartholdy” (Leipzig), where she studied with Regina Werner-Dietrich, Carola Guber and received further guidance from Philipp Moll, Jeanette Favaro Reuter and Alexander Schmalz. She specialized in 19th century singing technique and aesthetic under the guidance of Peter Berne. She received masterclasses from Donna Brown, Malcolm Walker and Valérie Guillorit. She took part in productions of Die Zauberflöte by Mozart and Das Wildschutz by Lortzing with the conductor Matthias Foremny and stage director Matthias Oldag. She sang the solo soprano part of La Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini and received a prize for her execution for Bach Cantatas in Leipzig. She performed at the Gewandhaus with the Cappuccino Orchestra and debuted in 2016 at the Leipzig Opera House in the roles of Barbarina and the first maid (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart). She gives regular recitals together with the pianist Jan Hugo.

Pianist Jan Hugo, born in 1991 in South Africa, studied at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale in Imola (Italy) and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Mendelssohn-Bartholdy” (Leipzig). He has received guidance from Boris Petrushansky, Leslie Howard, Michel Dalberto, Cyprien Katsaris, Vovka Ashkenazy, Joaquin Soriano, Robert Levin, Graham Scott, Adam Wodnicki, Jin Ju, Piero Rattalino, Riccardo Risaliti, Hortense Cartier-Bresson, Alan Fraser, Joseph Stanford, Gerald Fauth, Christian Pohl, Piotr Palezcny, Christopher Elton and Ronan O'Hora. He is a prizewinner of many competitions, such as the Alkan-Zimmerman International Competition, Royal Overseas League International Competition, SAMRO and UNISA national competitions. He has played at the MITO and Edinburgh festivals, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), in the Sala Mozart (Bologna) and at the TivoliVredenburg (Utrecht). He has performed with the Cape Town Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic, Leipzig Philharmonic under the baton of Arjan Tien, Alexander Rahbari, Leslie Dunner, Bernhard Gueller, Giedre Slekyte, Daniel Boico, Sebastian Lang-Lessing and German Guttierez. He performed on the straight-strung concert grand made by Chris Maene and is passionate about historical instruments. His first CD was released in November 2017. Upcoming performances include recitals for the Wagner Society (Cape Town) and the Verbania Festival.

PROGRAMME

ADMISSION

• R140 (adults)
• *R100 (pensioners)
• *R80 (UFS staff)
• *R60 (students, learners and block bookings of 10+)

Tickets available at Computicket or online at http://online.computicket.com/web/

*Please note that tickets for pensioners, students, learners and UFS staff can only be purchased at a Computicket outlet (Shoprite Checkers) or at the doors since a valid card or ID has to be presented to qualify for the above mentioned discount.

ENQUIRIES

Ninete Pretorius (tel. 051 401 2504 / pretoriusn@ufs.ac.za)