(Above: Tenor John Mark Ainsley as The Demon in Henze's L'Upupa. Photo via Askonas Holt.)
Fostering our great admiration (bordering on festish) for the greatest living composer Hans Werner Henze, OC holds dear a worn copy of his L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, from 2003 Salzburger Festspiele commission -- a Magic Flute-inspired fable of longing, staged in deep blues and rich golds of an imagined Arabian desert. 45-year-old English tenor John Mark Ainsley makes a lasting impression as Demon, so we were only too psyched to read about him in The Telegraph, where he talks about his career and his personal life.
Moving away from traditional signature roles such as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Ainsley is gravitating towards more modern works such as Janácek (where he appeared last year in the Vienna From The House Of The Dead), Britten (he'll be @ Glyndebourne in 2010 singing in Britten's Billy Budd), and of course, Henze (January 2009 in Phaedra @ Berlin).
Those in London can keep their eyes out for Ainsley singing Emilio in Haendel's Partenope, opening October 9th at the English National Opera.