United States Aspen Music Festival 2026 [6]: Harris Concert Hall, Klein Music Tent, Aspen. (HS)
6.8.2026, Recital: Erin Morley (soprano), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Myra Huang (piano). Harris Concert Hall
Rossini – ‘Ce téméraire qui croit nous plaire’ from Le Comte Ory
Verdi – ‘Caro nome’, ‘Possente amor’ from Rigoletto
Bizet – ‘Je crois entendre encore’ from Les pêcheurs de perles; ‘Ils verront si je mens!’ from La jolie fille de Perth; ‘Chanson Bohème’ from Carmen
Delibes – ‘C’est le dieu de la jeunesse’, ‘Où va la jeune Indoue’ from Lakmé
Donizetti – ‘De cet aveu si tendre’ from La fille du régiment
Encore: Donizetti – ‘Tornami a dir’ from Don Pasquale
Tuesday’s extraordinary vocal recital focused on bel canto repertoire. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee, a renowned Rossini specialist, demonstrated the high notes and breath control (even at this elevation) to make duets from Rossini and Donizetti spring to life. Coloratura soprano Erin Morley, famous for such Romantic Era roles such as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, proved she could hold her own with Brownlee in duets but soared highest in Bizet, Delibes and Verdi.
The incomparable Myra Huang, whose piano can emulate an opera orchestra, created the foundation for the singing and did a cheeky four-hands duet with Morley on ‘Chanson Bohème’, the ever-faster dance from Act II of Bizet’s Carmen.
Morley’s arias – ‘Caro nome’ from Rigoletto and the ‘Bell Song’ from Lakme – were gold-standard. Brownlee ventured into Verdi for the Duke’s Rigoletto Act II scene culminating with ‘Possente amor’, and into Bizet for ‘Je crois entendre encore’ from Les pêcheurs de perles. He has clearly matured into a full-on lyric tenor.
The cozy dimensions of Harris Hall brought the music close in duets from Lakme, Jolie fille, Rossini’s Le Comte Ory and Donizetti’s La fille de régiment. The encore, the charming ‘Tornami a dir’ from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, was the cherry on top.
9.8, Various: Steven Banks (alto saxophone), Aspen Chamber Orchestra / Leonard Slatkin (conductor). Klein Music Tent
Leonard Slatkin– Schubertiade: An Orchestral Fantasy
Joan Tower – Love Returns
Dvořák – Symphony No.9 in E minor, ‘From the New World’
On Friday Leonard Slatkin’s cheeky mashup of familiar Schubert tunes and strains kicked off one of the most satisfying concerts of the summer. In the party atmosphere of his Schubertiade Slatkin referred fleetingly to portions of the ‘Unfinished’ Symphony and combined other Schubert snippets as fodder for instruments Schubert didn’t intend. It was a delight.
Joan Tower’s Love Returns followed, a warm hug of a tribute to her late husband of more than 50 years. Soloist Steven Banks fashioned the alto saxophone lines brilliantly as the orchestra offered smoothly polished, jazz-influenced harmonies.
Slatkin’s interpretation of Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 ‘From the New World’ achieved a rare feat: bringing out fine details without losing any of the music’s flow. With focused attention to rhythms (and not overdoing the soaring melodies) it carried the second half to impressively complete musicality.
10.8, Chamber Music: Stephen Wyrczynski (viola), Aram Arakelyan (piano), Adele Anthony (violin), Brinton Averil Smith (cello). Harris Concert Hall
Stravinsky/Arakelyan, Wyrczynski – The Rite of Spring
Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Sonata for Violin and Cello
Condensing Stravinsky’s expansive Rite of Spring to piano and solo viola may seem like a fool’s errand, but in the spirit of the composer’s chamber music versions of other ballet scores the version by pianist Aram Arakelyan and violist Stephen Wyrczynski looked at the music through a different lens. It was odd but rewarding.
Violinist Adele Anthony and cellist Brinton Averil Smith, who gave the world premiere of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Sonata for Violin and Cello here in 2017, completed the afternoon with an appropriately polished version of this lyrical study in what two string instruments can create on their own.
11.8, Various: Abel Selaocoe (cello), Aspen Festival Orchestra / Stéphane Denève (conductor). Klein Music Tent
Carlos Simon – Fate Now Conquers
Jessie Montgomery – These Righteous Paths
Mahler – Symphony No.1 in D major
Encore: Selaocoe – Improvisation
In a season marked by inventive encores, Abel Selaocoe upped the ante at Sunday’s Aspen Festival Orchestra concert and basically stole the show. The South African cellist and vocalist had just introduced Jessie Montgomery’s new heartfelt piece These Righteous Paths to an Aspen audience. They warmed to his unique combination of cello and singing in a distinctive South African style, along with the piece’s message of looking squarely at our American racial history yet allowing for hope.
The three-movement piece benefited most from the moments in which Selaocoe sang in unison with his cello. The finale, titled ‘A New Song’, made its point most strongly. His encore, he said, was inspired by a music staffer sharing his lunch. Selaocoe harnessed the cello section to copy his bass line and then got the audience singing his hymn-like tune in three-part harmonies. In five minutes he had created a whole musical community.
Stéphane Denève conducted the piece with enthusiasm. In the second half his Mahler Symphony No.1 emerged long on energy and broad strokes but short on details of execution and balance.
Harvey Steiman
Featured Image: Cellist/singer Abel Selaocoe and conductor Stéphane Denève in Jessie Montgomery’s concerto © Diego Redel