Back to Carnegie Hall (June 18, 2025)

From left to right: Elza van den Heever taking bows with Yannick Nézet-Séguin following their performance at Carnegie Hall with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Maestro Nézet-Séguin rehearsing Ein Heldenleben; van den  Heever in a scene from Salome. 

Last week I went to Carnegie Hall again, this time to hear the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra with  conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and South African soprano Elza van den Heever. They performed  and all Richard Strauss program which included the Der Rosenkavalier Suite, a selection of Strauss’s orchestral songs, and Ein Heldenleben. 

Elza van den Heever is well known for her portrayal of Strauss’s Salome, a role which she has sung  at the Metropolitan Opera as well. 

I like the music of Strauss, because he has such rich and wonderful orchestrations. It was also helpful  for me to hear them performed with a soprano and full orchestra, as it made me think about how to  make the sound of the piano richer and fuller as well, particularly after having accompanied two  singers just this past week. 

The evening was extremely satisfying on many fronts, and I learned a great deal just by sitting a  listening to what was really great music.