Mozart’s last opera can be seen as a marvellous tale for children or as an ardent meditation on human existence. A prince from a far-off land on a quest to find a slightly suicidal princess encounters a giant snake and a swaggering bird catcher, the Queen of the Night and a mysterious High Priest imposing strange rites of passage…
Drawing inspiration from the words of the composer in a letter to his father, the director Robert Carsen provides an elegant and sober Magic Flute, a dark jewel that conquers Death and makes it “our best friend”, – a source of reassurance and consolation.
Under the musical direction of Henrik Nánási, Florian Sempey returns to the role of Papageno with whom he made his debut at the age of 21 on the stage of the Opéra de Bordeaux and in a production he knows well, since he was already Papageno during the season 16-17 of the Opéra de Paris.
After a season that included no fewer than five productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, the season 2018/2019 has reserved the only appearance of Florian Sempey in this role at the Opéra national de Bordeuax.
The Opéra national de Paris, very loyal to the most prominent young French baritone, offers him two beautiful roles in addition to Papageno: The Count of Nevers (Les Huguenots), Dandini (La Cenerentola). This month, while in rehearsals for The Magic Flute, he also had the opportunity to find the role of Malatesta (which he played last season) for a replacement at short notice in the last two representations.
Moreover, this season is marked by two important roles: the title role of Hamlet (Ambroise Thomas) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the role of Escamillo (Carmen) with the Orchester National de Lille, led by its conductor Alexandre Bloch.
Finally, we can hear him in Lelio ou le retour à la Vie (Berlioz) at the Vienna Musikverein, in the company of the Wiener Symphoniker under the direction of Philippe Jordan, then in this same work at the Philharmonie de Paris, accompanied by the orchestra Les Siècles, directed by François-Xavier Roth.
Among his news, we also note 2 recordings:
- Beethoven, Choral Fantasy with Insula Orchestra - dir. Laurence Equilbey - Released April 12, 2019
- H. Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique and Lélio with the Wiener Symphoniker - dir. Ph. Jordan - Expected release in May 2019
