Francis Poulenc: The Human Voice (La Voix Humaine)
Georges Bizet: Carmen Suite 1 and 2
Andris Poga, conductor
Karen Vourc'h, soprano
Emma Sventelius, mezzo
Joel Prieto, tenor
Andris Poga is the Chief Conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. He was the Music Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra from 2013 till 2021 and continues to collaborate with the LNSO as its Artistic Advisor.
Highlights of recent years have included concerts with the leading orchestras of Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Scandinavia. After the first successful collaborations he has become a regular guest at the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester Hamburg, WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and many others. He has also conducted the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Gewandhausorchester, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Dallas Symphony.
The season of 2024/25 includes the subscription concert series with both the SSO and LNSO, returns to the Orchestre National de France, WDR Sinfonieorchester, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Hamburg Symphoniker among others. Andris will make his debuts with the Iceland Symphony, Turku Philharmonic, Düsseldorf Symphony and other orchestras in Europe and Japan. The notable soloists will include instrumentalists Frank Peter Zimmermann, David Fray, Jan Lisiecki, Jean-Guihen Queyras and singers Julia Bullock, Miina-Liisa Värelä, Alfred Walker.
In 2010, Andris Poga was the First Prize winner of the Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition, which thrust him into the international scene. He became an assistant to Paavo Järvi at the Orchestre de Paris and he also served as the assistant conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Andris has graduated the conducting department of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. He studied philosophy at the University of Latvia and conducting at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts.
Karen Vourc’h holds a master’s degree in quantum physics from McGill University and ENS Paris before dedicating herself fully to singing. Winner of the Victoire de la Musique “Révélation Lyrique” award in 2009, she has appeared on major stages such as the Royal Albert Hall, NHK Tokyo, and the Paris Opera, working with conductors including Kent Nagano and Alain Altinoglu. She began her career in leading Mozart roles such as Pamina, Fiordiligi, and the Countess, later performing Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen and moving toward 20th-century repertoire, notably Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites. She is also a sought-after interpreter of contemporary music, collaborating closely with composers like Kaija Saariaho and Pascal Dusapin.
Emma Sventelius, born in Lund, Sweden, studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the University College of Opera in Stockholm. She made her international debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 2017 and soon after sang the title role in Bizet’s Carmen on tour with Malmö Opera. A former ensemble member at Theater Bonn and Gärtnerplatztheater Munich, she has portrayed roles such as Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Hänsel, Nicklausse, and Olga. Equally passionate about contemporary opera, she has premiered several works, including Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater. Recent engagements include Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette and Adriana in the Swedish premiere of Adriana Mater.
Joel Prieto, winner of the prestigious Operalia Competition in 2008, has become one of the most sought-after tenors of his generation. Born in Madrid and raised in Puerto Rico, he has appeared at leading opera houses worldwide, including Covent Garden, Teatro Real, Staatsoper Berlin, and Opéra National de Paris, collaborating with conductors such as Zubin Mehta and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Initially acclaimed for Mozart and bel canto roles, he now shines in the lyric repertoire, performing characters like Romeo, Nemorino, Alfredo, and Don José. His recent highlights include a celebrated debut as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen at ADDA Alicante and appearances at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
