Villazón is renowned for his energetic and exceptionally passionate performances and, as a tenor star primarily in romantic opera, he brings a refreshing and dramatic intensity to these arias. He says:

"I am thrilled to work again with the energetic Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Players in our upcoming concerts of Handel arias. The opportunity to be performing this repertoire in many venues around Europe is wonderful! Working on the recording of ‘Handel Arias’ with Gabrieli was inspirational and allowed me to discover new and interesting ways of using my voice to serve the music. I loved recording every part of this album and it makes me very happy to be performing it on the concert platform for you this season.”

Paul McCreesh is equally as delighted:

“It is great to be reviving our Handel project with Rolando Villazón. I have no doubt that many of you know Rolando was in bad health last year due to a cyst on his vocal cords causing him to pull out of our tour in 2009. I am delighted that Rolando is back to full health. It is great for the Gabrielis to be involved with one of the hottest properties in the singing world. Rolando comes to the music of Handel with great passion and a real sense of discovery; in fact he is almost like a new child who has discovered a new toy! If the tour is as much fun as our recording and television sessions, I am sure that audiences and performers alike will have a great time.”

Debut at the Royal Festival Hall

This tour is doubly exciting as Paul McCreesh will be conducting the Gabrieli Players in their debut performance at the celebrated Royal Festival Hall, in the only UK concert scheduled with Villazón. The brilliant Gabrieli Players will be the perfect equal, in musical ability and expressiveness, to Villazón’s impressive stage presence.

"The tenor is undoubtedly lucky to have collaborated with such outstanding musicians as the Gabrieli Players and Paul McCreesh, who know just how to strike the right balance between observing period performance practice and expressing the music as vividly as possible." Musical Criticism

European Tour Dates

26 April 2010 | Laeiszhalle
Hamburg, Germany More information
 

29 April 2010 | Festspielhaus
Baden Baden, Germany More information
 

3 May 2010 | Royal Festival Hall
London, UK More information
 

6 May 2010 | Salle Pleyel
Paris, France More information
 

10 May 2010 | Philharmonie Gasteig
Munich, Germany More information

For information on all our forthcoming concerts, visit www.gabrieli.com/concerts

You can hear selected tracks from the outstanding album, Handel Arias,with Rolando Villazón and Gabrieli Consort & Players at our new multimedia page at http://www.gabrieli.com/multimedia/audio-clips.html