Hrvatski

Špicer, Krešimir - tenor

Date created: 23.04.2018.
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Krešimir Špicer (Slavonski Brod, 1976) graduated in singing from the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam under Cora Canne Meijer. In 1997, he won the Vriendenkrans International Competition organised by Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, while his performance at the Aix-en-Provence Festival (2000) – where he interpreted the title role in Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses, alongside the  Les Arts Florissants ensemble conducted by William Christie – earned him international renown. This success was followed by Špicer's international tour (Lausanne, Caen, Bordeaux, Paris, Vienna, London and New York) and his acclaimed DVD release. From then onwards, Špicer has appeared on a regular basis at the most renowned opera houses (Geneva, Frankfurt, Zürich, Amsterdam, Berlin, Toronto, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, Milan...), concert halls and festivals (Beaune, Baden-Baden, Salzburg, Schwetzingen, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, New York, Edinburgh, etc.), and collaborated with such world renowned conductors as Kent Nagano, Jurij Temirkanov, Philippe Herreweghe, Myung-whun Chung, Marc Minkowski, René Jacobs, Fabio Luisi, Herbert Blomstedt, Thomas Henglebrock, Sir Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Diego Fasolis, Franz Welser-Möst, Cornelius Meister... He made his Croatian National Theatre of Zagreb debut in 2008, interpreting the title role in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, which earned him the Vladimir Ruždjak Award.

Špicer's internationally acclaimed interpretations have included those in operas such as Handel's Alcina and Tamerlano, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Mozart's Il re pastore, La clemenza di Tito, Idomeneo and Lucio Silla, Scarlatti's Telemaco, Salieri's La grotta di Trofonio, Strauss' Die ägyptische Helena, Stravinsky's The Nightingale and Oedipus Rex, Cavalli's La Didone and Haydn's Orlando Paladino. Worth mentioning among those released on DVD are Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses (Virgin Classics), Mozart's Il re pastore (Deutsche Grammophon), Charpentier's David et Jonathas (Bel Air Classiques), Cavalli's La Didone (Opus Arte), Handel's Theodora (Erato) and Mozart's Lucio Silla ( C major, RAI Com ) recorded in Milan's La Scala.

Equally dedicated to concert appearances, Špicer has sung at Leipzig's Gewandhaus under the baton of Herbert Blomstedt, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw with Christian Zacharias, in Rome with Yuri Temirkanov, in Paris and Rome with Myung-whun Chung, in Berlin with Kent Nagan, in St Petersburg, Tallinn and Riga with Philippe Herreweghe, and in Strasbourg with Carlo Rizzi.

Špicer's most recent engagements have included the role of Septimius in Handel's opera Theodora in Paris, New York and Amsterdam; Monteverdi's Ulysses in Oslo and Paris' Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Mozart's Lucio Silla in Toronto, the role of Valzacchi in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier , in Strauss' Die Fledermaus, and in Handel's Tamerlano at Milan's La Scala, while his future projects include his return to Milan's La Scala with Mozart's La finta giardiniera, and performances of Handel's Messiah in Versailles.