WHITE SPARROW (ca/no)

Debi Wong, mezzo-soprano

Solmund Nystabakk, lute

Romeo & Juliet

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,

The more I have, for both are infinite.”

~Juliet, Act 2, Sc.2

Shakespeare’s famous tale of Juliet and her Romeo has enchanted audiences since its first performance in 1597. The themes of impossible love and overwhelming passion are still captivating and poignant today. In this musical telling of Romeo and Juliet you will hear the tale unfold through songs and ballads from the original play and from Shakespeare’s England. The music of Thomas Campion, Robert Jones, John Dowland, Robert Johnson and Philip Rosseter will escort you through the streets of Verona, serenade you at Lord Capulet’s Masquerade, draw you to Juliet’s balcony, accompany you to Friar Lawrence’s wedding chapel, and soothe you at the churchyard as our story concludes…for never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

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White Sparrow is an award winning lute and voice duo formed in 2011 by Canadian mezzo-soprano, Debi Wong and Norwegian lutenist, Solmund Nystabakk. This Helsinki-based duo is dedicated to presenting unique programs that cultivate an interest in lute and vocal music from the Medieval period though the early Baroque.

In their debut season, White Sparrow was selected as the 2012 winner of the NORDEM EAR-ly competition for young early music ensembles in the Nordic countries. They were also selected as one of only five “promising young ensembles” to participate in the International Young Artist Presentation at the 2013 Laus Polyphinae Festival in Antwerp.

Since their debut, the duo has presented a number of recitals in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Canada and the USA. Notable performances include recitals at the BRQ Vantaa Festival in Finland, the Stockholm Early Music Festival Concert Series, the Copenhagen Renaissance Music Festival for the European Day of Early Music, the Midtown Concert series in New York City, the CordeFactum festival in Belgium, as well as a feature on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio show, North by Northwest.

White Sparrow will begin their 2016-17 season on the Fabulous Fringe series at the Utrecht Early Music Festival.

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TICKETS: 100 DKK / stud: 50 dkk

Copenhagen Renaissance Music Festival 2016 støttes af:

Statens Kunstfond, Københavns Kommune, Frederiksberg Kommune, Wilhelm Hansen Fonden, Augustinus Fonden, A.P. Møller Fonden, Oticon Fonden, Knud Højgaards Fond.

Samarbejdspartnere: KoncertKirken, Frederiksberg Kirke,.Nordic Harp Meeting, Early Monday.