Wigmore Hall – A magical evening with Daniel Behle, Armonia Atenea and Markellos Chryssicos

A wonderful musical evening discovering the musical genius of Christoph Willibald Gluck was spent in Wigmore Hall last Sunday. Wigmore Hall which is renounced for its accoustic, was filled with arias performed by Daniel Behle, one of the most versatile German tenors whose repertoire ranges from Baroque all the way to the 21st century.  Dr. Evelyn Stefanaki writes:

Accompanying him, was the thrilling period-instrument ensemble Armonia Atenea, founded in 1991 by Friends of Music Society of Athens.  Armonia Atenea is today the only Greek ensemble that performs regularly at European concert halls, theatres and festivals, including the Vienna Musikverein, Theater an der Wien, Salle Pleyel, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Opera Royal de Versailles, Bozar, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and at the BBC Proms. The orchestra has collaborated with conductors sucj as Fabio Biondi, Thomas Hengelbrock, Phillipe Entremont, Christopher Hogwood, Helmut Rilling, Heinrich Schiff, Stephen Kovacevich and Yehudi Menuhin and with soloists including Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell, Max Emanuel Cencic, Karina Gauvin, Vivica Genaux. Armonia Atenea is supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The ensemble included the organ of theorbo for this concert.

The album of Gluck arias of Daniel Behle with Armonia Atenea received great critical acclaim.

Markellos Chryssicos, was the gifted Greek conductor of the concert. He has studied the harpsichord and as a musical assistant and vocal coach he has been involved in various award-winning recordings and productions including Handel operas. As a conductor he often collaborates with Armonia Atenea, the State Symphony Orchestra of Athens and the State Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki.

The program of the concert included arias from Gluck’s revolutionary work of the early 1760s , opera Orfeo ed Euridice but also from lesser known operas such as La contesa de’ numi, Le cinesi, Ipermestra, Antigono and Iphigenie en Aulide.