Wednesday 10 March 2010, Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Lefkosia, 20:30
Friday 12 March 2010, Rialto Theatre, Lemesos, 20:30
Saturday 13 March 2010, Markideion Theatre, Pafos, 20:30
Soloist: Vivian Cooksley (mezzo soprano)
Conductor: Ayis Ioannides
Programme:
An imaginative programme, with works inspired by European myths and legends, which appeals both to teenage students and public alike.
A. Ioannides: Ultionis Regnum (The realm of revenge) – first performance
Α. Schoenberg: Lied der Waldtaube (Song of the wood dove) for mezzo soprano and chamber orchestra (arr. by the composer from the ‘Gurrelieder’)
Ν. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op.35
€12 and pensioners €7
Free entrance for students, soldiers and EURO<26 card holders
Tickets available at the Theatres’ box office
Born in Lemesos – Cyprus, Vivien Cooksley began her musical studies with piano lessons at the age of 6 and singing lessons at the age of 14 with Ioli Mousteri at the Greek Odeion. An exceptionally fast developing voice led to her joining the “Lemesos Operatic Company” as a soloist at the young age of 16. Thereafter, she entered the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna, and studied singing in the class of the famous Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Margarita Lilova. While at the university she worked very extensively with assistant to Herbert von Karajan, Prof. Frank Fanning, as well as with the renowned Austrian baritone Prof. Walter Berry, under whose guidance she specialised in the music of Mozart, in Lied and Oratorio singing. She graduated with a Masters degree (mag. Art.) in operatic singing. Further specialisation followed with Hans Fuchsberger, on the music staff of the Vienna State Opera, as well as with the distinguished vocal coach, mezzo-soprano Carol Blaickner- Mayo. Participation in opera productions include roles such as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Romeo in I Capuleti ed i Montecchi, Nancy in Albert Herring, Diana in La Calisto, Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos. She has participated in Puccini’s Madamme Butterfly at the “Teatro Verdi” of Trieste and has taken part in the International Festival of St. Margarethen to sing seventeen performances as Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco, with great critical acclaim. She has appeared in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and others. Vivien Cooksley has also been very active on the concert stage with performances at the Austria National TV Centre ORF Studios in Burgenland where she sang a Gala next to famous singers such as Eliane Coelho and Bernarda Fink. For many years, she has also been a constant guest at the “Musica Sacra” in Salzburg. In Cyprus she appeared with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem within the International Kypria Festival 2006.
Through his thirty year long international experience Ayis Ioannides, Artistic Director of the Cyprus State Youth Orchestra, has conducted a wide spectrum of musical genres and has universally received high critical acclaim both as conductor and composer. As Artistic Director and Conductor he distinguished himself at the International Kypria Festival 2004 with the acclaimed opera production Caterina Cornaro and at the International Kypria Festival 2006 with the concerts Mozart and Shostakovich – a birthday dedication. As Artistic Director of the Cyprus Youth Symphony orchestra, he conducted the Orchestra at the Kypria International Festivals 2007, 2008 and 2009, with the programmes Giants of the North, Mature Youngsters and Shakespear Inspires, respectively. For ten years he was conductor at German opera houses. He has been Chief Conductor of the Vaasa City Orchestra in Finland and the first Artistic Director of the Cyprus State Chamber and Youth Orchestras. After obtaining a doctorate degree with specialization in neurophysiology, he studied in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio, and he participated in master classes in Austria, the Netherlands and Germany. Especially important was the experience he gained under the maestros George Hurst, Vilem Tausky, Helmut Rilling and Sergiu Celibidache, a leading musical personality of the second half of the 20th century. His compositions have been performed in Egypt, Austria, France (International Pablo Casals Festival), Germany, Finland and the U.S.A. Especially successful was the world premiere in January 2006 of his Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano, commissioned by the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Musikverein).
