How terrible must life be if you can’t laugh? Sergei Prokofiev’s opera The Love for Three Oranges is about a king who wishes to help his sick son. But only one thing can cure the malady of the heir to the throne: laughter. While the doctors are trying their luck, Truffaldino and Fata Morgana get into a fight, during which the latter is knocked over.

The Love for Three Oranges

Semperoper Dresden

Freedom, courage and human rights are the fundamental motifs that form the foundation of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera “Fidelio”. In the spirit of the French Revolution, the composer created a profoundly humanistic work that questions humanity when faced with tyrannical oppression and has lost none of its impact today.

Fidelio

CityPalais

Freedom, courage, and human rights are the existential themes that form the foundation of Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera, "Fidelio." It is the story of the arbitrarily imprisoned Florestan, whose loving wife, Leonore, disguises herself as a man against all danger to free him from prison in the role of "Fidelio." On the journey from imprisonment to a seemingly utopian freedom, the driving force of music transcends formal boundaries.

This program comprises choral and orchestral music by Martinů and perhaps his finest student, Moravia’s Jan Novák. Set to his own Latin text, Novák’s moving cantata Ignis pro Ioanne Palach commemorates a desperate young activist who immolated himself to protest the end of the Prague Spring. As a former professional violinist, Martinů wrote for the instrument with intimate understanding, and his Second Violin Concerto stands among his mature masterpieces. It was commissioned by the great Mischa Elman, who premiered the work with Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony, before performing it for many years, as did Isaac Stern and Josef Suk. Completing the program are an aria from Martinů’s one-act opera Ariane, a surrealist take on the Theseus myth that was inspired by Maria Callas, and The Epic of Gilgamesh, the composer’s only large-scale oratorio. Scored for narrator, soloists, choir, and orchestra, this takes its text from an English translation of the Mesopotamian saga, and is notable for some of Martinů’s most inspired choral writing.

EPSG:4326

Bard Music Festival — Program 9

Sosnoff Theater

Handel’s Messiah draws us in time and time again. The storytelling and uplifting messages are captivating, and the intimate arias juxtaposed with exuberant choruses are irresistible. But maybe it is the grandeur of the oratorio that impresses most. Discover which of these strikes a chord as Nicholas McGegan, one of the world’s foremost experts on Handel’s music, conducts the SLSO and St. Louis Symphony Chorus in this beloved holiday tradition.

John Matthew Myers

Events

Upcoming events

12 - 14 Dec, 2025

Handel’s Messiah · St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Past events

9 - 19 Oct, 2025

The Love for Three Oranges · Semperoper Dresden

Sep 10 - Oct 24, 2025

Fidelio · Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Future and recently performed repertoire

Prince in The Love for Three Oranges by Prokofiev

Semperoper Dresden

Singer in Messiah by Handel

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Florestan in Fidelio by Beethoven

Deutsche Oper am Rhein

About

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