15.11.2023

PATRICIA NOLZ | Great Talent at Vienna's Konzerthaus

The young Austrian mezzo-soprano Patricia Nolz has long since ceased to be a hidden talent. With her brilliant debut as Annio in Mozart's Clemenza di Tito, she was able to show that she is now an important and much-loved ensemble member of the Vienna State Opera.

In the current season, the Wiener Konzerthaus is offering her a very special podium with several concerts as one of their "Great Talent" artists. The first concert in this series is a recital matinée, where she will perform alongside Malcolm Martineau selected songs by Johannes Brahms and Alexander von Zemlinsky, as well as the famous song cycle "Frauenliebe- und Leben" by Robert Schumann.

Frauenliebe- und Leben occupies a special position among the song cycles: Here, for once, a love story is told from a female perspective. In eight poems, the poet Adalbert Chamisso traces a great arc of life: a young woman initially surrenders to oblivious infatuation. When her feelings are reciprocated, she revels in the happiness of engagement, marriage, motherhood, which is only abruptly ended by the early death of the beloved husband. From today's perspective of women's emancipation, the role model that can be gleaned from the texts may seem outdated. But aren't the emotions of a young woman in love the same today as they were 180 years ago?

Patricia Nolz impresses with the truthfulness with which she interprets these lieder. Without being sentimental, she uses her expressive voice to share the feelings of the young woman portrayed in the text, while skilfully exploiting the emotional depth of the work. Her performance is touching and as a listener you believe her every word.

15 November 2023 | 12.30
Wiener Konzerthaus, Schubert-Saal

Patricia Nolz, Mezzo-soprano
Malcolm Martineau, Piano