Robert Holl - Rudolf Jansen

'Poetry & Music', are the first words you see when you open Robert Holl's website. For this major bass-baritone, words are of the utmost importance. To transmit the poet's message to the audience as sensitively as possible, he focuses on delivering the text as clearly as possible. In his inimitable fashion, he colours every word with the richness of his timbre and with a hyper-subtle treatment of the vowels and consonants. No emotion or register changes in the text escape him, irrespective of whether it is an extended Wagnerian aria - Holl is a regular guest at the Bayreuther Festspiele - or a 'small but delicate' song recital. Together with the phenomenal pianist Rudolf Jansen, Holl turns every song recital into an unforgettable, moving experience. At deSingel, the duo, full of fantasy and empathy, carry you through Schubert's 'Schwanengesang'. Schubert wrote this collection of songs only a few months before his death. They include his most spell-binding songs. In 'Der Doppelgänger', for example, he stages a nightmare where illusion and reality intertwine. The music literally edges towards an abyss and reaches a dramatic climax that is guaranteed to raise your feelings to a peak.