Press
Press
TIM ASHLEY
Les Arts Florissants/Christie review – austere and exquisitely beautiful Charpentier for Holy Week
“The singers were tenor Ilja Aksionov and bass-baritone Padraic Rowan, both immaculate. Aksionov with his slightly reedy tone, admirable liquidity and subtle dynamic control, sounded quietly intense in the Seconde Leçon de Ténèbres du Mercredi Saint, while Rowan proved vividly dramatic in the Troisième Leçon de Ténèbres du Mercredi Saint and attained remarkable depths of fervour in the Responsory Tenebrae Factae Sunt. Their voices blended wonderfully, meanwhile, in the Troisième Leçon de Ténèbres du Vendredi Saint and in the closing Responsorium Tristis Est Anima Mea, among the most beautiful things Charpentier ever wrote, with its chromatic harmonies and exquisitely entwining vocal lines. Breathtaking stuff, every single second of it.”
FRÉDÉRIQUE EPIN 🇫🇷
PRODUCTION “Let us sing, let us dance” Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Cité de la Musique
“Tenor Ilja Aksionov has more than one string to his bow, moving from the voluptuous vocalisations of the secrets of a “night of charms” to the cross-dressing role of Mopsa. In his head register, he plays the “shy virgins” but summons beautiful low notes to counter Coridon’s insistent advances, making the audience laugh.”
IVAR KJELLBERG 🇫🇷
Les Arts Florissants at the Royal Opera of Versailles: a twirling, magical Fairy Queen.
“Ilja Aksionov, meanwhile, has a youthful but bigger voice, with excellent technique and diction. His fluid voice evokes both a lost prince, reminiscent of Mozart’s Tamino, and Pamina herself when he takes on the role of the young maiden Mopsa! The Corydon/Mopsa duet is particularly colourful, and Ilja Aksionov and Hugo Herman-Wilson humorously embody the amorous banter between the two characters.”
JACOBO RÍOS-CAPAPÉ CARPI 🇪🇸
William Christie carries Purcell along with his ‘hip hop’ version of ‘The Fairy Queen’
“Vocally speaking, suffice it to say that the eight soloists are young developing voices, with the common denominator of possessing brilliant timbres and remarkable musicality, and vocal elegance. Particular mention should be made of the technique and breath control of tenor Ilja Aksionov, which allows him to develop a sweet, sensitive, precise, and careful singing style, especially in the high register.”
