Maayan Licht
Biography
As of February 2023, male soprano Maayan Licht sings the title role in Handel’s Xerxes and is thrilling audiences at the Landestheater Detmold. Here is an excerpt from the current Xerxes reviews:
The ultimate star of this production is undoubtedly Maayan Licht in the title role. (...) – Opera! The Magazine
Maayan Licht not only has an enormous acrobatic stage presence visually but is also optimally convincing vocally. (...) – The Opera Glass
Not only the star guest of the evening Maayan Licht shone as Xerxes, the whole ensemble with its excellent orchestra under the direction of Per-Otto Johansson convinced in multifaceted nuances. – Lippische Landes-Zeitung
He fulfills the high expectations placed on Maayan Licht (Xerxes) with brilliance and ease. (...) – Cultural Guide OWL
Maayan Licht, who is also tremendously agile scenically, performs the title role absolutely splendidly with a luminous soprano voice that is captivatingly clear and virtuosic in the coloratura and gives a ruthlessly aggressive, but at the same time also vulnerable ruler. (...) – Online Music Magazine
The center of interest is of course the Israeli singer Maayan Licht as Xerxes (...) And Licht inspires not only with his voice, but also as an actor! With his acrobatics. With his facial expressions. (...) – Cultural Info Lippe
Maayan Licht enchants with her expressive soprano. (...) The duets sparkle with esprit and joy of playing. The extraordinary mastery of the baroque singing culture contributes to this. Instead of formulaic clichés, endearing naturalness dominates. – Lyrikjoint
Maayan Licht completed his Early Music vocal studies as a sopranist at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with the teacher Xenia Meijer. He graduated his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with a distinction cum laude in 2021. Since then, he has interpreted virtuoso operatic roles as well as the Italian and French Baroque repertoire, which he shapes with a rich palette of expressive nuances. He turned to early music after his Israeli singing teacher Vita Gurevich discovered his talent in this field.
He won several prizes: the jury and the audience prize of the 2020 Grachtenfestival competition with his duo, "Duo Zeffiretti", in Amsterdam, is the scholarship holder of the Dino Arici Foundation in the 2019/20 season, the AICF Scholarship Competition (2014-2020) as well as the Audience Prize in the Aviv Competition (2015). Maayan performs frequently in the Netherlands and abroad.
In 2015/2016 sang the soprano solo in Handel’s Messiah and in Bach’s Mass in B minor in Amsterdam. In 2019 he sang the role of Amore in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in Haarlem with the opera company "The Fat Lady" and the role of Danceny in Dangerous Liaisons across the Netherlands with the Bach society and Opera2Day, which he performed again in 2022 with the TBOS orchestra Switzerland. He was also a finalist at the Cesti Competition in Innsbruck in 2019. In 2020 he covered the title role in Rossini's Sigismondo at the Opera Rara Festival in Krakow. Following his win at the Grachtenfestival competition, he was invited to perform at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, live streamed on Radio4, on TV show Podium Witteman and on NTR broadcast at ZomerFestival.
In February 2022, he performed the role of Libanio in Siface by Porpora with Capella Cracoviensis in Cracow. Later this year, performed with his group, "Technopera", which combines opera and techno music at the prestigious music festival "Down The Rabbit Hole" in The Netherlands and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In September 2022 he made his debut at the Margravial opera house, performing the title role of Alessandro in Vinci's Alessandro nell'Indie at the Bayreuth Baroque festival, directed my Max Emanuel Cencic, conducted by Martyna Pastuszka and produced by Parnassus ARTS Productions. He also performed the main role of Erodiade La Figlia in the oratorio San Giovanni Battista by Stradella, as a part of the same festival. In December 2022, he made his debut in Theater an der Wien, performing the role of Amore in L'arbore di Diana by Martin y Soler Under the conducting of Rbén Dubrowsky.
In February 2023, Maayan made his debut in the title role of Xerxes at the Landestheater Detmold to much acclaim from audiences and the press. Maayan will sing the title role in Handel's opera Xerxes in Detmold until the end of June 2023. In the summer of 2023, he will sing the role of Iris in Handel's opera Semele at Glyndebourne and will appear again at the Bayreuth Baroque Festival with his "Duo Zeffiretti" for a solo concert.
(2022_23. Please use only this biography.)
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