Simone Kermes and her ‘Lava’ project. Why the title ‘Lava’? The explanation is obvious: all the music recorded on ‘Lava’ has something to do with the city of Naples in southern Italy. In some cases the composers of the arias were born in Naples or lived, studied or taught there for longer periods of time. In others the operas from which the arias on ‘Lava’ have been taken were premièred in Naples. But most important, all the composers belong to the so-called ‘Neapolitan School’ with its main genre, opera seria. Thus, ‘Lava’ is closely connected to Neapolitan music. And Naples is dominated by its volcano, Mt Vesuvius, which is still active from time to time. And as the lava from Mt Vesuvius can be by turns poetic and picturesque (especially when seen at night from a distance) or dangerous and overwhelming, it is a perfect metaphor for the music recorded by Simone Kermes and Le Musiche Nove.
German soprano Simone Kermes is one of world’s the most sought-after exponents of dramatic coloratura roles. Her remarkable vocal range singles her out in particular for the virtuoso works of baroque masters, such as Handel and Vivaldi, and for opera or concert arias by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.
Simone Kermes was born in Leipzig and studied at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Conservatory in her home town. She won first prize at the Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin and another at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig.
Ms Kermes has made many recordings of music from Vivaldi to Humperdinck as well as many radio and TV broadcasts. She received numerous international awards for her solo albums, such as the Echo Prize, the annual German Record Critics Award, the Midem Award, several Diapason Awards, the ‘BBC Choice’ from the BBC Music Magazine and the Gramophone’s ‘Disc of the Month’.
For further information, visit: www.simone-kermes.de