The acclaimed German soprano Diana Damrau met her future husband, French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé, in a Munich church 13 years ago while performing Jean Francaix’s oratorio, “L’Apocalypse Selon.”
“It was a heaven-and-hell orchestra, a heaven-and-hell chorus, and Nicolas sang Christ,” Damrau said, adding “my redeemer” with a laugh.
On Saturday, the couple begin a six-performance run of Los Angeles Opera’s production of Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann,” conducted by Placido Domingo.
Both Damrau and Testé have been fighting bronchitis the last few months, so Damrau has chosen not to portray all four of the opera’s heroines, as originally planned. She will play two: Antonia, the frail young woman who loves to sing, and Stella, the diva loved by the opera’s titular protagonist, sung by star tenor Vittorio Grigolo. Testé will be portraying the opera’s four villains, who frustrate Hoffman’s love affairs …
Rick Schultz – LA Times