I have been featured in an article written by Clare Colvin for Express in which we discuss the role of Boy / Young King which George Benjamin created for me in his latest opera Lessons in Love and Violence. The piece will premier at the Royal Opera House on 10th May 2018.
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Monteverdi: The Return of Ulysses – Royal Opera House / Roundhouse
“there are some unforgettable moments from a very strong cast…Samuel Boden’s sweet-toned Telemachus careering round the stage on a tandem while singing divinely.”
Independent, 11th January 2018
“Samuel Boden turns in a great performance as Ulysses’s nimble son Telemachus, disaffected under headphones, obsessed with Helen of Troy.”
Culture Whisper, 11th January 2018
“The headphone-toting Telemachus, Samuel Boden, was striking both visually and vocally.”
Seen and Heard International, 12th January 2018
“The Telemachus here, Samuel Boden, was touching, vulnerable”
What’s On Stage, 11th January 2018
“The production is well cast…Samuel Boden’s youthful Telemachus is the most skilled at the decorative Baroque style.”
The Financial Times, 11th January 2018
“What luxury, though, to have five superb tenors of various ilks, [with the] young Samuel Boden as Telemachus”
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TheArtsDesk.com, 11th January 2018
“Samuel Boden showing huge controlled energy and anger as his son Telemachus, the finest specimen of youthful masculinity to be seen on any stage.”
Mark Ronan, 11th January 2018
“It’s exciting to see the Royal Opera…casting charismatic young singers such as Boden.”
The Times, 12th January 2018
“Samuel Boden was lovely as the petulant and passionate Telemachus.”
Schmopera, 14th January 2018
“As Telemachus, Samuel Boden both looked and sounded good, his flexibly tenor voice exactly suiting the role, and his well-put-together torso (bare) clearly hinting at the character’s military training. Boden’s Telemachus was also clearly damaged, and never seemed to quite recover.”
Planet Hugill, 14th January 2018
“Samuel Boden’s Telemachus provided much fine singing and committed characterization.”
MusicOMH, 14th January 2018
“…throughout the show, in Samuel Boden’s brightly sung performance, he’s been the embodiment of sunny assurance, striding about bare-chested in a blond wig as he gives his mother far too much information about Helen of Troy.”
The Spectator, 20th January 2018
‘An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell’ on BBC R3
Following the release of Arcangelo’s latest CD ‘John Blow (1649-1708) – An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell & other works‘ it has been featured as Disc of the Week on Andrew McGregor’s Record Review programme on BBC Radio 3.
The original broadcast took place on 21st October 2017 but is available on iPlayer until 30th December 2017.
London Performances – Tickets on Sale
Following a busy year of touring I am looking forward to working on a few projects in London:
Early Opera Company | Wigmore Hall | 8th December 2017
- A festive concert featuring three of Charpentier’s most popular works.
- Tickets on sale via the Wigmore Hall website.
Arcangelo | Wigmore Hall | 31st December 2017
- Marking the countdown to the New Year with celebratory odes for St Cecilia’s Day – Henry Purcell’s Welcome to all the Pleasures of 1683 and John Blow’s Begin the Song of 1684 – and two rousing Gloria settings.
- Tickets on sale via the Wigmore Hall website.
The Royal Opera | Roundhouse | January 2018
- The Royal Opera returns to the Roundhouse with Monteverdi’s great late work The Return of Ulysses, in a new production directed by John Fulljames starring Christine Rice and Roderick Williams, sung in English.
- The first performance is on Wednesday 10th January 2018 and tickets are now on sale and available via the ROH website.
Tickets have not yet gone on sale for Lessons in Love and Violence (ROH), general booking for which opens on 31st January 2018.
John Blow – An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell & other works
I am pleased to share the release date of a new Arcangelo CD recording to which I contributed: John Blow (1649-1708) – An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell & other works. It is one of the few occasions when the Ode has been recorded with two high tenors, as Purcell had originally intended, rather than with countertenors, as is more common today. We performed this wonderful and unique piece as part of the Les Arts Florissants’ “Dans Les Jardins de William Christie” festival in Thiré, France in 2014.
Directed by Jonathan Cohen, with Thomas Walker and myself as the tenor soloists, it is “an album of music for the connoisseur – of extraordinary singing as much as of the English Baroque repertoire. This wonderful recital ranges widely across Blow’s vocal and instrumental music, Arcangelo again demonstrating their versatility in repertoire which will be a real discovery for many.”
The CD will be released by Hyperion Records on 29 September and is available now for pre-order on iTunes.
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Live Broadcast of Monteverdi’s ‘Vespers’
Following ten days in Italy with Collegium Vocale Gent to give two performances and make a recording of Monteverdi’s ‘Vespers’ we have today travelled to Poland and will give another performance of the piece this evening at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall.
There will be a live broadcast of this concert which starts at 20:30 BST for those who would like to listen online.