It was a lovely Spring Concert in Bellapais on 11 April 2023 with Laden Ince, Soprano and Manolis Neophytou, Piano
By Heidi Trautmann….
How better can one start the musical spring season than with these two artists and a beautiful programme that they have put together, a programme which brings out the best in them. I had asked Laden Ince how she had met the Greek Cypriot Manolis Neophytou, a fantastic pianist with an interesting biography, and she said that she had wanted to make a statement to show her love for the island by doing this first concert after the death of her beloved mother with an artist from the south part of the island, “I wanted to show that we can work together with equality and respect for each other. Through a friend from the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, I met Manolis and we understood each other right from the beginning of our rehearsals”. The successful result we were able to hear and enjoy on 11 April 2023.
I have known Laden Ince from the first years of her career, have followed her, and have seen her grow into many new roles, but have also seen her desperate in times of disappointment and times of loss. We humans grow constantly through our hard times and especially artists will reach the top through the sensitivity caused by pain and hunger, I once heard an artist say, it just makes you stronger. And this new concert of hers proves it, her voice has reached a great fineness, reaching high and most sensitively holding back when demanded. And for this concert, she has chosen, she said: “I have chosen some of the most demanding ever composed for the coloratura soprano voice. I wanted to sing to its fullest! I did it with all my heart knowing that my mother was surely there with us in the concert. I’m extremely grateful to my vocal coach Ayse Sezerman from İstanbul State Opera and Ballet. She is working there as an extremely experienced soloist and a vocal operatic pedagogue”.
The programme was well chosen, every second piece was a recital by the pianist with very strong compositions for piano as you can see from the attached programme. A passionate but also most sensitive pianist. The audience loved him. We hope to hear more from him in our beloved Bellapais.
I have attached both their biographies below for you to see the great experience they have behind them. Here is also my review of a concert with Laden Ince back from 2013
http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx…
Unfortunately, we had to experience a power cut again, but a generator was available, so we at least had some dim light in the concert hall which only came back the very moment when the artists left the stage with their flowers accompanied by the applause of the grateful audience. So, my photos are not to my satisfaction.
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