
Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837), scholar, philosopher and philologist, is also best known as the foremost Italian poet of the 19th century, and without question one of the most beloved poetic voices of all time.
My new song cycle, Cinque Canti di Leopardi, uses five of Leopardi's poems—Alla Luna, Imitazione, Scherzo, Allo Stesso, and L’infinito, from I Canti, the collection of poems which Leopardi composed between 1818-1836. These poems open for us a window into the vast landscape of Leopardi’s inner world—despair and frustrated hopes; discontent with what he felt was the lax standard of the literary practice of his time; futility and surrender; and finally, the immeasurable sweetness which overwhelms, as he contemplates the eternal, infinite silence.
I have the great pleasure to work with two of Malaysia's leading musicians: Cecilia Yap, soprano, and Loo Bang Hean, piano. The virtual premiere will be streamed later in the fall.