Grandi Voci: Luthando Qave

Luthando Qave & Michael Sikich

Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe and arias by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi and Gershwin.

“Luthando Qave is one of the most exciting opera voices on Swedish stages right now” Svenska Dagbladet

South African baritone Luthando Qave grew up in poor conditions at the end of the apartheid regime. Today he enjoys success wherever he performs – at the Göteborg Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, all over Europe and, of course, in South Africa. With his velvety, colourful and graceful sound, he thrills audiences in roles such as Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marcello in Puccini's La bohème (a role he has performed almost 100 times throughout the world) and the Count in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. He has performed at the Metropolitan in roles including Yamadori in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Sveriges Radio has broadcast a number of reports on Qave and his journey from shanty town to major opera stages. Sweden occupies a special place in Qave’s heart, and the 2024/2025 season will see him employed at the Göteborg Opera. During the season, he will delight Gothenburg audiences as the toreador Escamillo in Carmen, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Robert in Iolanta.

Dichterliebe is Robert Schumann’s interpretation of 16 poems from Heinrich Heine’s Lyrisches Intermezzo. This song cycle, which Schumann wrote in a mere six days, is considered a masterpiece on a par with Schubert’s Winterreise. In Dichterliebe, a devastated, melancholic poet tells of his abandonment by his beloved and the feelings this evokes. An age-old theme is imbued with life through exquisite music and expression.

After the intermission, we will enjoy arias by popular and beloved composers: Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi and Gershwin.

American concert pianist Michael Sikich has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Barbican Hall, St. Martin in the Fields and Covent Garden, and in the BBC Proms.