Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch by soprani Ileana Cotrubas and baritone Thomas Allen
On 23 June 1984, a unique recital took place on the stage of the Covent Garden opera house in London. Two vocalists who were popular around that time performed there. Spanish soprano Ileana Cotrubas and English baritone Thomas Allen performed Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch. It is a beautiful tradition to perform a selection from this extensive songbook alternately with a female and a male voice. In this way, the multifaceted love poetry is shown to its best advantage. It is a German translation of Italian folk poetry, collected and translated by Paul Heyse in the 19th century. In each song, composer Hugo Wolf captures the essence of a small drama, and the piano subtly colours and illuminates the expressiveness of the vocal line. The grand piano is played here by the famous Australian accompanist Geoffrey Parsons.
Hugo Wolf – Italienisches Liederbuch (selection of 33 songs)
Ileana Cotrubas, soprani / Thomas Allen, baritone / Geoffrey Parsons, piano
