UPPER AUSTRIA. Stiftskonzerte: Ensemble Castor | Alois Mühlbacher, countertenor

Alois Mühlbacher, Countertenor 

It is not often that a musical ‘child prodigy’ is able to carry great artistic success into adulthood. Alois Mühlbacher is an example of how it does happen: first a choir member and soloist figurehead with the St. Florian Boys' Choir, he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera at the age of 15. As an adult singer, he finally established himself as a successful countertenor, whose flexible and nuanced voice earned him a steadily growing following.

At the OÖ. Stiftskonzerte, together with the Ensemble Castor, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary on stage this year and has become an Austrian institution in the field of historically-informed performance practice, he dedicates himself to the festival theme of ‘Alpha and Omega’. With arias and instrumental pieces from the early and late works of important composers such as Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel and Antonio Caldara, he embarks on a journey through the rich history of baroque music.

Alois Mühlbacher Countertenor

Petra Samhaber-Eckhardt violin & conductor

Ensemble Castor

Giovanni Bononcini
Sinfonia undecima in C major from Sinfonie da chiesa a quattro, op.5

Giovanni Bononcini
Aria ‘Fondi tenere ... Ombra mai fu’ from ‘Xerse’

Giovanni Bononcini
‘A girar’ from ’San Nicola di Bari’

Antonio Caldara
Ciaconna for two violins & basso cont. op.2/12

Antonio Caldara
Aria ‘Da quel strale che stilla veleno’ from ‘Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo’

Antonio Vivaldi
La Follia for two violins & basso cont. op.1/12

 - Intermission -

George Frideric Handel
Overture from ‘Deidema’, HWV 42

George Frideric Handel
Aria ‘Grecia tu offendi’ from ‘Deidema’, HWV 42

Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for violoncello, strings & basso cont. G major, RV 414

Antonio Vivaldi
Aria ‘Armatae face’ from ‘Juditha triumphans’, RV 644