Artist of the Week: Maite Beaumont
Spanish Mezzo Leads World Premiere of ‘La Celestina’
By Francisco SalazarThe 2022-23 season has kicked off and that means that many companies are presenting exciting new productions, new works, and reviving classics. Among them is the Teatro de la Zarzuela, which is opening with an exciting world premiere, “La Celestina.” The work by Felipe Pedrell will world premiere 120 years after it was originally intended to be shown back in 1902 and will be performed in concert with a superb cast.
Leading the production is Maite Beaumont, a Spanish mezzo who has been garnering acclaim in Spain throughout the years. And with this title role, it will mark her return to the Teatro de la Zarzuela where she performed “Farinelli” as well as a recital and other performances.
This will certainly be an unexpected turn for Beaumont, who has become a specialist in the Baroque repertoire and the Viennese Classical period. She has also taken roles from the French repertoire and the operas of Richard Strauss. Some of her most acclaimed roles include Ruggiero in “Alcina,” Sesto in “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” and “La Clemenza di Tito” and Cherubino “Le Nozze di Figaro.” She is also a well known interpreter of such operas as “Don Giovanni,” “I Capuleti e I Montecchi,” “Iphigénie en Tauride,” and “Ariadne auf Naxos.”
For those not in Madrid for the world premiere, Beaumont is set to perform “Alcina” in Angers Nantes Opera.
Recordings
For those not familiar with Beaumont’s voice, the mezzo has recordings of “Giulio Cesare” from the Liceu, “Alcina” on Archiv Produktion, “Il Mondo della Luna” from the Theater an der Wien, and “Radamisto” on Virgin Classics, among others.
Here she is singing from “Alcina” and “Don Giovanni.”