Rising Stars | Álf­heiður Erla and Kunal Lahiry - Lady Lazarus

This recital centers on Sylvia Plath's ‘Lady Lazarus’, set dramatically for solo soprano by Aribert Reimann. The program pairs Lady Lazarus with other classical and folk songs that echo its themes, addressing the struggle against oppression and the quest for freedom. The recital ultimately presents a powerful narrative of survival and self-assertion. The program includes a new piece by María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir to three poems by different voices from across the world: Icelandic writer Fríða Ísberg, Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, and Polish poet Halina Poswiatowska.

This pogram is part of the ECHO Rising Stars in Harpa in May, 2026.

PROGRAM

Henry Purcell (1559 - 1695) / John Dryden
Music for a while

Aribert Reimann (1936 - 2024) / Sylvia Plath
I Have done it again (from Lady Lazarus, 1999)

Franz Schubert (1727 - 1810) / Josephine von Munk-Holzmeister
Blondel zu Marien, D 626

Carol Anne McGowan (1983) / Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do not stand by my grave and weep

Aribert Reimann / Sylvia Plath
The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth? (from Lady Lazarus)

Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) / Arthur Rimbaud
Les illuminations: VI. Interlude
Les illuminations: VII. Being beauteous

María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (1980)
Náðarstef (Songs of Mercy) (2025)
I. Nóttin er mér náðardjúp (Fríða Ísberg)
II. Síðasta ljóðið (Halina Poswiatowska)
III. Fljúgandi ljóð (Mosab Abu Toha)
Commissioned by Harpa, Philharmonie Luxemburg, ECHO

Aribert Reimann (1936 - 2024)
The first time it happened I was ten (from Lady Lazarus)

Christian Jost (1963) / Franz Kafka
Der explodierende Kopf

Luciano Berio (1925 - 2003)
Wasserklavier (from 6 Encores)

Shawn E. Okpebholo (1981)
Oh, Freedom (from Songs in Flight)

Aribert Reimann (1936 - 2024)
There Is a charge (from Lady Lazarus)

Henry Purcell (1559 - 1695) / Anon.
By beauteous softness

Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, soprano
Kunal Lahiry, piano