Karim Sulayman, Tenor and Sean Shibe, Guitar

Karim Sulayman and Sean Shibe, two fascinating artists with wide-ranging performance interests and big ideas, come together for a beautifully eclectic recital that examines the relationship between the East and the West. The program brings together 16th- and 17th-century Italian and English works; traditional Sephardic and Arab-Andalusian songs; Benjamin Britten’s settings of translated poems, Songs from the Chinese; 20th-century and contemporary compositions; and more. Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman, a 2019 Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal, is a sophisticated and versatile artist consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship. In 2022, he debuted the widely acclaimed Unholy Wars, a program that recontextualizes Italian Renaissance music about the Crusades through an Arab-American lens and pairs it with new work by American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian. One of the most versatile guitarists performing today, Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe’s innovative approach to his instrument has enhanced his reputation as a creative force. Alongside his transcriptions of Bach’s lute suites and 17th-century Scottish lute manuscripts, he explores, experiments, and expands the repertoire with recent works and commissions, including a solo work by Thomas Adès and a new collaboration with Cassandra Miller and Dunedin Consort. Single Tickets will go on sale on August 22 at noon.