SUCCESS IN FRENCH
BAROQUE OPERA
“Stunning”, “Gorgeously sounding” and “very skilful” were just some of the superlatives Valdemar received from the critics after his leading role as the sea god Glaucus in Jean-Marie Leclair’s opera from 1746 “Scylla et Glaucus” at the Kiel Opera House (co-production with Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles). The leading opera magazine Opernwelt wrote:
“Valdemar Villadsen, a young tenor from Denmark, already has quite some experience in the haute-contre repertoire. You can certainly hear this in his performance of Glaucus. His voice never shows the slightest sign of fatigue and reaches the high notes with exquisite effortlessness.”
The production itself, which is directed by the world famous choreographer Lucinda Childs and conducted by the acclaimed Václav Luks, was also very well recieved.
It is the first time that a German operahouse takes on this beautiful, yet relatively unknown French baroque opera. The leading part of Glaucus was originally written for the legendary French tenor/haute-contre Pierre de Jélyotte, but since “Scylla et Glaucus” is rarely performed, Valdemar is now one out of a handful of tenors ever to have sung this exiting and demanding part.
Calendar 2017
January 7
Monteverdi:
L’Orfeo
l’Arpeggiata
Conductor: Christina Pluhar
Nicolaisaal, Potsdam (Musikfestspiele Sanssouci)
Germany
January 10
Monteverdi:
L’Orfeo
l’Arpeggiata
Conductor: Christina Pluhar
De Bijloke, Gent
Belgium
May 6, 9, 17, 19, 27
Kiel Opera House
Leclair:
Scylla et Glaucus
Conductor: Václav Luks
Director: Lucinda Childs
Germany
June 1, 10, 15, 18
Kiel Opera House
Leclair:
Scylla et Glaucus
Conductor: Václav Luks
Director: Lucinda Childs
Germany
June 26
Arctic Arts Festival
Carmina Burana
Arctic Philharmonic
Conductor: Ingar Bergby
Harstad
Norway
October 15
Kreuzeskirche, Essen
Bach:
Mass in B Minor
Essener Barockorchester
Conductor: Andy von Oppenkowski
Germany
October 22
Grieg Hall, Bergen
Orff:
Carmina Burana
Bergen Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Conductor: Kjell Seim
Norway
October 27
Concerto Copenhagen in Rome
Music by Giuseppe Sarti
Concerto Copenhagen
Conductor: Lars Ulrik Mortensen
Accademia di Danimarca, Rome
Italy
December 7
Brøndby Strand Kirke
Bach:
Christmas Oratorio (Evangelist)
Camerata Øresund
Conductor: Peter Spissky
Denmark
December 8
Viborg Cathedral
Bach:
Christmas Oratorio (Evangelist)
Camerata Øresund
Conductor: Peter Spissky
Denmark
December 9
The Queens Hall, Copenhagen (Diamanten)
Bach:
Christmas Oratorio (Evangelist)
Camerata Øresund
Conductor: Peter Spissky
Denmark
December 10
Hans Tausens Kirke
Bach:
Christmas Oratorio (Evangelist)
Camerata Øresund
Conductor: Peter Spissky
Denmark
For more information, see Performances
Valdemar's blog
Stage presence - As a kid I wanted to be an actor. I was a nerdy kid – a Shakespeare fan. When I was twelve I performed Hamlet on my paper theatre in its original length: five hours (shortening would have been, of course, cheating!). Without my mom’s homemade cookies and several litres of tea, it would have been a traumatising experience for the incarcerated and extremely patient audience. Later, when I graduated from high school I took up a career as an actor, playing leading roles at a children’s theatre. Everything went well, but somehow I felt something was missing. The music. … Continued