KARINA GAUVIN, SOPRANO and MICHAEL MCMAHON, PIANO

Karina Gauvin, star of the opera world, is regularly featured on major international stages from Paris to Milan to Tokyo. In this program, Karina presents an intimate selection of art songs for soprano and piano, in which poetry is set to music in the most profound and intricate way. Unlike operatic arias, these songs are meant for smaller, more personal settings, with an intense focus on the poetry's meaning and its musical expression. A close partnership between the voice and the piano is essential, and pianist Michael McMahon fills this role as Karina’s ideal duo partner. The songs of this program span from the early Baroque period through to Mozart, continuing with the tragic undertones of Gustav Mahler and a selection of masterfully crafted French “mélodies” by Bizet, Ravel, and Massenet. Themes of love, loss, passion, life’s struggles, and the quiet joys of nature are heard throughout.