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Launch of the Les Violons du Roy 25th anniversary celebrations with leading countertenor Andreas Scholl

Montréal, September 8, 2009 – On Friday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Pollack Hall at McGill University, Les Violons du Roy will perform the first concert in the orchestra’s Montreal season, which marks its 25th anniversary. The concert is already promising to be a memorable event, since Bernard Labadie and his musicians will appear for the first time alongside German countertenor Andreas Scholl and young Québec soprano Hélène Guilmette in a program of opera arias, cantata movements and orchestral works by Handel and Popora that will provide a rare opportunity to hear one of the world’s leading countertenors.

Since 1997, Andreas Scholl has entranced audiences around the world with his outstanding voice and remarkable performances of works from the Baroque era. He sings frequently in European festivals and operas, and has also appeared with leading ensembles and renowned conductors including René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie and John Eliot Gardiner. He has a large number of recordings to his credit, several of which have won prestigious awards. In recordings, recitals, concert and operas, every opportunity to experience the mastery of Andreas Scholl constitutes a musical event, a magical moment of emotion and beauty.

Andreas Scholl will perform Handel arias from the operas Rodelinda and Rinaldo, and will also present an aria from the opera Il Trionfo di Camilla by Nicola Porpora, a composer and famous singing-master who was one of Handel’s rivals in London. Soprano Hélène Guilmette, one of the rising stars of the vocal world, will join Andreas Scholl on stage to perform the cantata Amarilli vezzosa (Il duello amoroso) by Handel, and will also sing other Handel arias. Bernard Labadie will conduct the orchestra in Handel’s Concerto grosso in D major, op. 6 no. 5 and an orchestral suite from the opera Rodrigo.

This concert is a presentation of Lavery.

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