Singer

Two heavy models hang like the swords of Damocles over the material, a warning to all who would attempt it: Shakespeare and Verdi. Yet Salvatore Sciarrino avoids the trap of classicism and retells the story in a fresh and utterly captivating way. In developing the libretto, Sciarrino adhered closely to Shakespeare's original, but condensed it to a minimum. The portrait of the murderous upstart and his wife, Lady Macbeth, in Verdi's four-act opera Macbeth , premiered in Florence in 1847 and one of his darkest musical dramas, illuminates the depths of the soul with a poignancy that seems to render any further interpretation superfluous.

Macbeth

Kollegienkirche

In his libretto based on Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Salvatore Sciarrino offers a fresh perspective on monstrous events. Vimbayi Kaziboni, Conductor in Residence, leads Klangforum Wien and Cantando Admont at this concert performance at the Kollegienkirche, Salzburg.

Salzburger Festspiele – Ouverture Spirituelle · Fatum – Macbeth

The orchestra's harsh and relentless beats call for judgment, the flames of purgatory blaze in the chorus: Verdi, a born dramatist, knew how to   spectacularly stage the thunder and howls of anguish on the Day of Judgement  in the Dies irae . But no less impressive are the quiet moments of the Messa da Requiem , in which Verdi musically explores the pangs of conscience and the hope for the mercy of the Judge of the World.

Requiem Message

Stadttheater Klagenfurt

### Event Description: Secret Kiss Birmingham

**Event Title:** Secret Kiss Birmingham

**Date and Time:** Wednesday, 27 November 2024, 7:30 PM (Pre-concert talk at 6:30 PM)

**Venue:** CBSO Centre, Berkley Street, Birmingham, B1 2LF

**Ticket Prices:**
- General: £15.00
- Student: £7.50
- Under 12s: FREE with a paying adult

**Event Overview:**
Join the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) for an ethereal performance at the CBSO Centre. The concert, titled "Secret Kiss," explores the theme of intimate communication through music, featuring sensitive stories of connection and self-awareness.

**Program Highlights:**
- **Rebecca Saunders:** *Stirrings* (2001, 16')
- **Julian Anderson:** *Mitternachtslied* (2020, 2023, 6')
- **Peter Eötvös:** *Secret Kiss* (2018/9, 15') - BCMG SI Commission (World première of the English language version)
- **Lisa Illean:** *Cantor* (2017, 9')
- **Harrison Birtwistle:** *The Woman and the Hare* (1999, 15')
- **Harrison Birtwistle:** *.when falling asleep* (2022, 7')

**Featured Artists:**
- **Alice Rossi:** Soprano
- **Meg Kubota:** Reciter
- **Geoffrey Paterson:** Conductor

**About the Main Piece:**
"Secret Kiss" is one of Peter Eötvös' final ensemble works, inspired by Alessandro Baricco's novel *Silk*. The piece transports the audience back to the 19th century, where a young Frenchman travels to Japan to learn about silk production. During his visit, he encounters a young girl, and a tender yet binding connection emerges from a single glance.

**Additional Information:**
- **Co-Commissioners:** Gageego Ensemble Gothenburg, Casa da Música Porto, Plural Ensemble Madrid, Okamura & Company, Inc., Musikfabrik Cologne, MÜPA Budapest, Wigmore Hall, and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group as part of BCMG’s Sound Investment Scheme.
- **Composer Background:** Peter Eötvös (1944 - 2024) was a highly influential figure in the contemporary music scene, known for his operas, instrumental solo concertos, and chamber music pieces.

**Booking Information:**
Tickets are available for purchase online. For more details and to book your place, visit the BCMG website.

**Contact:**
For further inquiries, contact BCMG at 0121 616 2616.

**Add to Calendar:**
Ensure you don't miss this captivating performance by adding the event to your calendar.

Join us for an evening of intimate and evocative music that promises to be a memorable experience.

EPSG:4326

Secret Kiss

Wigmore Hall

One of the UK’s leading contemporary ensembles offers a new Wigmore Hall co-commission; the piece by Hungarian composer/conductor Peter Eötvös is a melodrama for narrator and five instruments setting a text adapted by Mari Mezei from Alessandro Baricco’s novel Silk. There’s also the first London performance of a short work by Birtwistle.

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group; Geoffrey Paterson conductor; Alice Rossi soprano; Meg Kubota reciter

A rich man has commissioned a young composer to write an opera for a celebration: Ariadne auf Naxos. But because this tragic opera about Ariadne, abandoned by her lover Theseus, isn't entertaining enough for him, he invites a troupe of comedians to perform their farces concurrently with the tragedy. This is an imposition for the composer, but also an opportunity: the grief of the abandoned Ariadne clashes with the joie de vivre of the comedienne Zerbinetta. In his production of the work, which premiered in 1916, David Hermann brings the world of Greek tragedy into contact with the lightness of French Rococo. "Ariadne auf Naxos" is an opera about opera, about fidelity and change, and about the transformative power of love.

Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos)

Semperoper Dresden

Jean-Philippe Rameau's ballet opera »Platée« is one of the most unusual music theater works of the 18th century. The comedy, which premiered in 1745, tells the story of the nymph Platée, who believes that every man must fall in love with her immediately. The supreme god Jupiter takes advantage of Platée's need for love: in order to convince his own wife Juno of his loyalty, he stages his absurd marriage to the nymph from the swamp. In »Platée«, Rameau parodies the great French opera and at the same time presents the court society of his time as a collection of unscrupulous opportunists. His music with its onomatopoeic effects, rousing dances and unusual sounds is among the best that this composer has written. In Dresden, where »Platée« can be experienced for the first time, star tenor Rolando Villazón has re-staged the work. The conductor Paul Agnew of the French baroque ensemble "Les Arts Florissants" has appeared on stage as a singer countless times as a platée.

Platée (Platea)

»The Nose« is the stroke of genius of the just 22-year-old Dmitri Shostakovich based on the novel of the same name by Nikolai Gogol. While Gogol's novella is a satire on tsarist officials, the opera, which premiered in 1930, brings to the stage an entire society in which an opportunistic official falls into the clutches of bureaucracy, a nose becomes a media sensation, and the police closely monitor its citizens. With dance music, balaleika sounds, Russian church music and the first pure percussion piece in music history, »The Nose« is no less grotesque than the strange occurrences it tells: the nose of college assessor Kovalev suddenly disappeared for no reason.

The Nose

Semper Zwei

Sparkling irony combined with sparkling champagne mood to the sounds of waltzes.

Die Fledermaus

Celebrate Mozart's 270th birthday with us with the world's most performed opera: Mozart's The Magic Flute , in a production by Rolando Villazón, with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg under the direction of its celebrated chief conductor Roberto González-Monjas and with a top-class ensemble of soloists.

Mozart: The Magic Flute K. 620

House for Mozart

The young farmer Nemorino is head over heels in love with the beautiful and rich Adina, but he doesn't dare woo her. In the story of Tristan and Isolde, he sees the solution to his problem: a love potion is needed! When a company of soldiers, led by the macho Belcore, arrives in the village, time is of the essence, as Adina seems to take a liking to the self-confident sergeant. Just at that moment, the traveling physician Dulcamara arrives in the village, praising his medicine, which is supposed to cure all ailments. From him, Nemorino buys a bottle of Isolde's legendary love potion. Admittedly, Dulcamara has sold him nothing but a bottle of red wine, but to the quack's surprise, after a few complications, the drink achieves its desired result and unites the young lovers.

Soprano

Alice Rossi

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 23 - Feb 1, 2026

Mozart: The Magic Flute K. 620 · Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Mar 8 - May 2, 2026

The love potion – L'elisir d'amore · Stadttheater Klagenfurt

Past events

Jul 25, 2025

Macbeth · Salzburger Festspiele

Jul 25, 2025

Salzburger Festspiele – Ouverture Spirituelle · Fatum – Macbeth · Klangforum Wien

Future and recently performed repertoire

ADINA in L'elisir d'amore by Donizetti

Stadttheater Klagenfurt

Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss

Semperoper Dresden

Mrs Podtochina's Daughter in The Nose by Shostakovich

Semperoper Dresden

First Lady in The Magic Flute by Mozart

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Singer in Requiem by Verdi

Stadttheater Klagenfurt

Adele in Die Fledermaus by Strauss

Semperoper Dresden

Thalie in Platée by Rameau

Semperoper Dresden

Lady Macbeth in Macbeth by Sciarrino

Salzburger Festspiele

About

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