Name: Petite Messe Solennelle
Start: 2026-05-01T19:00:00
Location: Queensland Performing Arts Centre

Anna Grinberg

The University of Queensland School of Music

The Petite Messe solennelle stands as one of Gioachino Rossini’s most captivating late works. The title translates to a “little” solemn mass though this does not capture the monumental spirit of this work. Written in 1863, decades after his operatic triumphs had finished, the piece fuses Rossini’s unmistakable theatrical flair with profound sacred expression. Radiant choruses, meltingly lyrical solos and moments of intimate devotion unfold alongside flashes of wit and rhythmic brilliance, revealing a composer at once playful and deeply sincere. This performance features Rossini’s original 1863 scoring for two pianos and harmonium giving us a strikingly transparent and intimate sound world that places rhythmic vitality and vocal colour front and centre. The keyboard writing sparkles and surges with operatic energy, from the buoyant Gloria to the exhilarating double fugue of the Cum Sancto Spiritu, while the harmonium lends warmth and a devotional glow to contemplative movements such as the luminous O salutaris hostia and the transcendent Agnus Dei. UQ School of Music pianists Liam Viney and Anna Grinberg join harmonium player Graeme Morton AM to realise this vibrant chamber score alongside the voices of the UQ Singers and UQ Chorale. Conducted by Richard Mills AO, and presented in collaboration with Opera Queensland in the QPAC Concert Hall, this performance brings together some of Queensland’s finest artists for an evening of choral splendour that is intimate, exuberant and profoundly moving.