What better way is there to end a subscription series full of symphonies and concertos? Giovanni Antonini has put together a stylistically pure programme resembling an opera gala with numbers by Mozart and Rossini, and has invited British soprano Louise Alder, who performs in the most prestigious opera houses.
Gioacchino Rossini
The Barber of Seville, overture to the opera (8')
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Voi avete un cor fedele”, concert aria for soprano and orchestra, K 217 (7')
Joseph Haydn
L'isola disabitata, overture to the opera, Hob. XXVIII/9 (7')
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ei parte” and “Per pietà”, recitative and rondo from the opera Così fan tutte, K 588 (9')
— Intermission —
Franz Schubert
Symphony in B minor, D 759 “Unfinished”, Allegro moderato (12')
Gioacchino Rossini
“Assisa ai piè di un salice”, aria from the opera Otello (9')
Franz Schubert
Symphony in B minor, D 759 “Unfinished”, Andante con moto (8')
Gioacchino Rossini
“Tanti affetti in tal momento”, aria from the opera La donna del lago (8')
Louise Alder soprano
Giovanni Antonini conductor
Czech Philharmonic
Over 400 years ago, opera was born in the Italian city Florence. The breathtakingly complex genre embodies elements of perhaps all artforms, from music to literature and the visual arts. Over the centuries, opera moved from the salons of intellectuals and scholars to the palaces of wealthy nobles, and finally to public theatres, festival houses, and huge amphitheatres. Operatic form has undergone a fascinating development. It has taken inspiration from the stories of the gods of antiquity and of ordinary villagers, bringing its listeners to tears with tragic tales of heroes beset by tragic fates, or to tears of laughter over grotesque scenes and amusing dialogues. Opera became a showcase for the perfect vocal artistry of castrati and prima donnas while also serving as a medium for ideas with philosophical depth. Opera history has had no lack of disputes and revolutions. The genre found its way to every corner of Europe, sooner or later transforming itself into a unique form, absorbing all the specific characteristics of various local cultures and societies. Nonetheless, Italian opera has maintained its predominance for 300 years, and the conductor Giovanni Antonini has prepared this evening’s programme as a tribute to that legacy.
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