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Details
Cadogan Hall
5 Sloane Terrace
Sloane Square, Belgravia
London
SW1X 9DQ
England
Tickets
Prices: £14, £18, £22, £27, £32
Booking line: 020 7730 4500
Book Tickets
Programme
Gioachino Rossini – The Barber of Seville
George Frideric Handel – Semele, HWV 58
~ Interval ~
Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Eugene Onegin, Op.24
Ludwig van Beethoven – Fidelio, Op.72
Performers
Alison Langer – soprano
Hannah Pedley – mezzo-soprano
Robin Bailey – tenor
Giles Davies – baritone
Mark Forkgen – Conductor
Counterpoint
London Concert Choir
Programme Note
Join London Concert Choir for an evening of drama and entertainment, with thoughtfully chosen selections from four operas, spanning creative periods from the Baroque to the late Romantic. Here is a chance to enjoy this great storytelling art form in miniature, featuring specially devised suites of orchestral movements, arias and choruses from Handel's Semele, Beethoven's Fidelio, Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.
Multiple layers of disguise and trickery drive the action in The Barber of Seville, in which the titular barber, Figaro, is drawn into a lovelorn hero's quest to win his beloved from her possessive guardian. Rossini's effervescent comedy includes one of the greatest overtures and the renowned
"Largo al factotum", otherwise known as Figaro's Aria.
Mythology. Human ambition and immortal jealousy prove to be a fatal combination. Semele was described by the
composer himself as a "musical drama", but is recognised as an early opera in all but name. It includes the famous aria "Where'er you walk"
Pushkin's verse novel Eugene Onegin is a classic of Russian literature, telling of the jaded young protagonist's foolish personal choices, amid a detailed depiction of early 19t century society. Rather than setting the full narrative to music, Tchaikovsky was inspired to create lyrical scenes, drawing on the inner life of the characters. Choruses, including the "Peasants' Chorus and Dance" and the Maidens' Chorus, provide the pastoral backdrop, in quintessentially Slavonic style.
In Fidelio, Beethoven dramatises a loyal wife's daring attempt to rescue her husband from wrongful imprisonment by a rival nobleman. The classic themes of disguise, misdirection and moral justice are interwoven through the plot. The quartet "Mir ist so wunderbar" and joyous, life-affirming finale bring the concert to a close.
London Concert Choir, one of London's most versatile choirs, is recognised for its fresh and responsive interpretation of a wide choral repertoire, from sacred works to jazz, opera and musical theatre. Under the leadership of conductor Mark Forkgen, the choir regularly performs in venues across London, working with leading orchestras and solo performers, while tours abroad have included visits to
France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.
