Charlotte Margiono
Biographie Charlotte Margiono
Charlotte Margiono - Soprano
The soprano Charlotte Margiono was born in Amsterdam. She began her studies at the Arnhem Conservatoire, where she at first studied the recorder. In 1977, her voice was ‘discovered’, and from then onwards, she received coaching from the legendary Aafje Heynis. Her international breakthrough came about in 1988, when she sang the role of Vitellia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Aix-en-Provence music festival. In the Netherlands, her breakthrough was to come two years later as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. This breakthrough also confirmed her permanent position among the top international Mozart sopranos. She has sung roles in Mozart operas at all the major opera-houses in Europe and Japan. In the meantime, she has greatly expanded her repertoire. This now includes not only Mozart roles, but also roles in Die verkaufte Braut, La bohème, Der Freischütz, Otello, Rusalka, La damnation de Faust, Fidelio, Die Meistersinger and Lohengrin. She first sang Chrystothemis (in Elektra) in La Monnaie in Brussels, and Sieglinde in Die Walküre with De Nederlandse Opera. She has worked with most major conductors: these include Claudio Abbado, Frans Brüggen, Sir Colin Davis, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Carlo Maria Giulini, Hartmut Haenchen, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Antonio Pappano, Ed Spanjaard and Jaap van Zweden. The major orchestras frequently invite her to perform with them. Charlotte Margiono’s repertoire includes a number of highly varied Lieder programmes. In 1998, she founded her own Margiono Quintet, all members of which are musicians in the Royal Concertgebouworkest, Amsterdam. During an interview with the Eindhovens Dagblad at the end of the 1990s, she described her voice as follows: ‘I think I am a regular soprano. The critics in France have a knack of describing a voice in such flattering terms – and with such superlatives – that one believes they are talking about a painting. In German repertoire, I am jugendlich¬-dramatisch, and in Italian perhaps more like a lyrico spinto. Perhaps you should just call my voice fully lyrical…’. And further on in the interview, she adds: ‘Sometimes enormous powers are unleashed. Then I virtually blow the roof off the studio, Wim says.’ (She is referring to the sound-proof rehearsal area that her husband has constructed for her.)
Limburg Symphony Orchestra
The Limburg Symphony Orchestra (= orig. Limburgs Symphonie Orkest) was originally called the Maastrichts Stedelijk Orkest, which was founded in 1883, making it one of the oldest professional symphony orchestras in the Netherlands. As of 1955, it has been called the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. Since August 2001, Ed Spanjaard has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the LSO. He conducts the orchestra in a highly diversified repertoire, ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. Theodora Geraets and Gil Sharon are the leaders of the LSO. With over 100 concerts per year, the orchestra has carved out its own niche in the rich cultural life of Limburg: it supplies a complete symphonic repertoire, and an important part of its work includes providing the accompaniment to music-dramatic productions (Opera Zuid) and choirs, as well as offering a highly varied educational programme. Outside the Netherlands, the LSO performs regularly in Belgium and Germany. In July 1998, the orchestra completed a successful tour of Japan. In association with various other organizations, the LSO has begun to organize an increasing amount of special productions and cross-over projects. These include, for instance, projects in collaboration with Belgian Limburg; the Brand - Carnival concerts; special concerts for schools, families and young people; the “wensconcerten” (= concerts where programmes are compiled at request); the “componistendagen” (= composers’ days) in association with the Theater aan het Vrijthof in Maastricht; participation in the Musica Sacra festival; the Nederlandse Dansdagen (= Dutch Dancing Days); and tours with well-known singers, such as the Dutch singer Boudewijn de Groot. The LSO is strongly supported by the association “Vrienden van het LSO” (= Friends of the LSO). This association consists of over 4,000 members and aims to stimulate contact between the LSO and its audiences. The Limburg Symphony Orchestra is subsidized by the Dutch ministry of education, cultural affairs and science, the province of Limburg and the city of Maastricht. The LSO also maintains a good relationship with a large number of sponsors, making it possible to develop special projects.
Ed Spanjaard - Conductor
The conductor Ed Spanjaard, born in Haarlem, Holland, is a versatile conductor, at home in broad concert repertoire as well as opera. He conducts all major orchestras of the Netherlands, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra and the Dutch Radio Orchestras. Among the foreign orchestras and ensembles are: Münchener Philharmoniker, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Opera National de Lyon, Ensemble Modern and Klangforum Wien. The Limburg Symphony Orchestra thrives since 2001 under Ed Spanjaard’s inspiration chief-conductorship. Since 1982 he is chief-conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble and has performed countless world premières. With the esteemed Netherlands Chamber Choir, Ed Spanjaard made two Edison-prize winning CD-recordings with music of Rudolf Escher and Ton de Leeuw. Ed Spanjaard conducted numerous staged operas with several opera companies. Recently he conducted new productions of: “Pelleas et Mélisande”, “Turandot” and “Der fliegende Holländer”.
