FULL The Making of Écho and Espoir Documentary 2023 Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Spyres
Popular Singers in this Opera Recording
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: The Making of Écho and Espoir
- Composer: various
- Libretto: various
- Venue & Opera Company: England
- Recorded: 2023
- Type: Other
- Singers: Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Spyres
- Conductor: Carlo Rizzi
- Orchestra: The Hallé
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: OperaRaraOfficial
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs, gensubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The debut solo recital albums from acclaimed American tenor Michael Spyres and the magnificent Lebanese-Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury with Conductor Carlo Rizzi and The Hallé.
Opera Rara released two discs of arias – titled Espoir & Écho – recorded with Michael Spyres and Joyce El-Khoury. The two discs feature a selection of mainly French arias made famous by two leading figures of the 19th century French and Italian operatic scene: Gilbert Duprez and Julie Dorus-Gras.
Marking the company’s return to producing artist collections, the two discs were recorded with the Hallé and Carlo Rizzi and were curated by Opera Rara’s Repertoire Consultant Roger Parker. With the aim of introducing listeners to forgotten music written by well-known composers including Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi and Berlioz, as well as lesser-known names such as Auber, Halévy and Hérold, over half of the arias recorded were given their world premières by Duprez and Dorus-Gras. While released as solo discs, both Michael and Joyce also duet on each other’s recordings.
Hailing from Mansfield, Missouri, Michael Sypres originally set out to pursue a career in musicals before singing opera. He comes from a family of musicians who run an opera company in Springfield MO, and after studying in the US, travelled to Europe to complete his studies in Vienna. He has rapidly established a formidable reputation for his sensitive singing and astonishing vocal range, with leading roles a the Royal Opera House Coven Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opéra de Paris and Aix-en-Provence Festival. In 2017, he appeared as Don José in Carmen in Paris and sang Enée, opposite Joyce DiDonato in Berlioz’s Les Troyens in Strasbourg.
Michael starred on the Opera Rara recording of Donizetti’s Les Martyrs, which received a string of awards including Opera Recording of the Year at the International Opera Awards in 2016. He returned to Opera Rara to record Le Duc d’Albe and now we are thrilled to release his debut solo recital album, featuring 19th century repertoire synonymous with the tenor-of-his-day, Gilbert-Louis Duprez. Espoir includes arias in French and Italian by Donizetti, Berlioz, Verdi and Rossini, as well as duets with Joyce El-Khoury.
Born in the Lebanon and brought up in Canada, Joyce El-Khoury studied in Ottawa and Philadelphia, before graduating from the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development programme. Today she is one of the brightest young stars in the opera world, recently receiving universal acclaim for her landmark performance of Violetta in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. As well as singing extensively in America, she appears widely in opera and concert throughout Europe, including the Bayerishe Staatsoper. She returns to Covent Garden in 2018, but before then will star in Glyndebourne and Madrid, as well as singing extensively in concert.
Joyce has starred in three Opera Rara recordings to date: Donizetti’s Belisario and L’ange de Nisida and the award-winning recording of Les Martyrs. Joyce’s album Écho features music associated with the great 19th century soprano Julie Dorus-Gras, including arias by Berlioz, Donizetti, Meyerbeer and Weber. She also duets with her co-star from Les Martyrs, Michael Spyres.