Greek National Opera
Olympia Theatre
Evenings at the Foyer

"One charming night"
Purcell – Songs and Sacred Arias

Nikos Spanatis, countertenor
Ronan Khalil, charpsichord

Sunday 7 May 2017

Program

Music for a while (Oedipus)
Crown the altar (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1693)
If music be the food of love
Sweeter than roses (Pausanias)
Thrice happy lovers (The Fairy Queen)
Since from my dear (The Prophetess, or The history of Dioclesian)
Strike the viol (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1694)
O solitude my sweetest choice (Z. 406)
There is not a swain (Rule a Wife and have a wife)
Flow my tears (John Dowland)
One charming night (The Fairy Queen)
What power art thou (King Arthur)
When I am laid in earth (Dido and Aeneas)
Now that the sun (An Evening Hymn on a Ground)

We would like to thank the Kodaly Conservatory
for having kindly offered the harpsichord for this concert.

Ronan Khalil is a multi-faceted talent. Born in France in 1986 of Lebanese parents, his musical career began as a boy soprano in the Maitrise de Bretagne in Rennes, alongside harpsichord studies at that city’s renowned conservatoire. Much sought after as a soloist and continuo player, he has worked with such major conductors as William Christie, Christophe Rousset, Alessandro de Marchi, Raphael Pichon, Laurence Cummings, Sigiswald Kuijken and performed in venues throughout Europe, Middle East, Asia and South America. As conductor of Ensemble Desmarest, further projects include a recording of La Descente d'Orphee aux Enfers by Marc-Antoine Charpentier for label Glossa in June 2017 as well as performances in Cracovia, Vienna, Zagreb, tours in New-Zealand and Australia and recitals with countertenor star Max-Emanuel Cencic.