|
The Australian counter-tenor, David Hansen, attended St Andrew's Cathedral School and Newington College in Sydney. He studied violin, piano, always singing and was a boy treble in school choirs. He studied in the class of Andrew Dalton at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He continued his musical education with James Bowman, David Harper and Graham Pushee.
David Hansen made his first European appearances in 2004 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, performing in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. His first performances in the UK was in concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. He also performed with Il Complesso Barocco in Fernando by George Frideric Handel, conducted by Alan Curtis during the Spoleto Festival in Italy.
David Hansen sang roles in various operas, including Bertarido in G.F. Handel's Rodelinda, conducted by Alan Curtis; Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at Teatro Calderón conducted by Antonio Florio and at Victorian Opera; Ottone in Antonio Vivaldi's Griselda at Pinchgut Opera and Cherubino in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Comunale di Sassari (November 2012). He also performed in the USA premiere of Thomas Adès' The Tempest at the Santa Fe Opera, conducted by Alan Gilbert; G.F. Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Theater an der Wien, conducted by René Jacobs, at Den Norske Opera conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini, and at Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla conducted by Andreas Spering; Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at the Deutsche Staatsoper-Berlin, conducted by René Jacobs; G.F. Handel's Semele at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, conducted by Christophe Rousset; Paride in Andrea Bontempi's Il Paride at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, conducted by Christina Pluhar (August 2012); Prince Go Go in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre for Den Norske Opera (September-October 2013); Jüri Reinvere’s Peer Gynt for Den Norske Opera cionducted by Fiore (November 2014-January 2015); the title-role in Johann Adolf Hasse's Piramo e Tisbe at Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci). He has worked with directors including Stefan Herheim, Jonathan Kent, Barrie Kosky and Christof Loy.
David Hansen's non-operatic engagements have included Carmina Burana with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; the title-role in G.F. Handel's Solomon, with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by René Jacobs; J.S. Bach's St John Passion (BWV 245), performed with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble conducted by Marc Minkowski; G.F. Handel's Parnasso in Festa, Messiah and Giulio Cesare conducted by Andrea Marcon, Fabio Biondi and Emmanuelle Haïm, respectively, and Benjamin Britten's Canticles, at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
Recent highlights include the role of David in G.F. Handel's Saul under Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Wiener Musikverein, Nerone in G.F. Handel's Agrippina with Boston Baroque, Nerone in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of L’incoronazione di Poppea, conducted by conducted by Paul O'Dette/Stephen Stubbs (June 2015); Nicola Porpora’s Il Germanico under Alessandro de Marchi at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music (August 2015); Telemaco in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria under Alessandro de Marchi for Den Norske Opera (January-February 2016); the title-role in G.F. Handel's Giulio Cesare under Alessandro de Marchi for Semperoper Dresden (March 2016); Farnace in W.A. Mozart's Mitridate, Re di Ponto under Christophe Rousset for Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (May 2016); the title-role in G.F. Handel's Serse under Jean-Christophe Spinosi; the title-role in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice under Rinaldo Alessandrini for Den Norske Opera (August-October 2016) and G.F. Handel's Parnasso in Festa at the Royal Concertgebouw under Andrea Marcon.
Forthcoming engagements include G.F. Handel's Theodora for the Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe (February 2017); Brett Dean’s Hamlet under Vladimir Jurowski for Glyndebourne Festival, Telemaco in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria under Alessandro de Marchi for the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music (August 2017); Ruggiero in G.F. Handel's Alcina under Andrea Marcon for the Bolshoi Theatre; concerts with Brodsky Quartet and his Wigmore Hall debut.
David Hansden's debut solo recording for Sony/DHM, "Rivals – Arias for Farinelli & Co.", with Academia Montis Regalis and Alessandro de Marchi was released in August 2013 to critical acclaim. His other recordings include Purcell: Music For Queen Mary, with the Academy of Ancient Music and the King's College Choir Cambridge, available on EMI Classics, Cavalli’s Giasone and A. Vivaldi's Griselda, both recorded for Pinchgut Opera Live. Future recordings include J.S. Bach's St John Passion (BWV 245) with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble under Marc Minkowski for Naïve and G.F. Handel's Parnasso in Festa under Andrea Marcon. |
