RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer 2014 Brochure

Fridays 6 June – 25 July National Concert Hall

RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

2014

STAR PERFORMERS, RISING STARS Symphonic and operatic favourites, Hollywood blockbusters, music inspired by the Irish tradition

FRIDAY EVENINGS with the RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

2014

Friday 6 June 2014, 8pm

THE

CLAUDIA BOYLE SUMMER OPERA GALA

TICKETS FROM €15

John Finucane conductor Friday 20 June 2014, 8pm

BILL WHELAN GALA

with

SIR JAMES GALWAY flute

TICKETS FROM €20

& guests Zoë Conway fiddle / Catherine Leonard violin Colin Dunne dancer / Gavin Maloney conductor Friday 27 June 2014, 8pm TICKETS FROM €12 John O’Conor piano / Gerhard Markson conductor

BEETHOVEN

Friday 4 July 2014, 8pm

THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA

TICKETS FROM €12

Andrew Litton soloist/director & conductor Friday 11 July 2014, 8pm Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm, presents

SONIC SPECTACULAR

TICKETS FROM €12

AN ORCHESTRAL JOURNEY THROUGH TIME AND SPACE Andrew Mogrelia conductor Friday 18 July 2014, 8pm Aedín Gormley, RTÉ lyric fm, presents

HOLLYWOOD GREATS

TICKETS FROM €15

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MOVIES Carl Davis conductor Friday 25 July 2014, 8pm TICKETS FROM €12 Hugh Tinney piano / David Brophy conductor

VIENNESE DELIGHTS

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BOOKING (no fees) via National Concert Hall 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso

TUESDAY LUNCHTIMES with the RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm

2014

Tuesday 10 June 2014, 1.05pm

THE ENCHANTED VIOLIN TICKETS €10 Helena Wood violin / Gavin Maloney conductor Tuesday 17 June 2014, 1.05pm TICKETS €10 Gyula Nagy baritone / Colman Pearce conductor

BARITONE BRILLIANCE Tuesday 24 June 2014, 1.05pm

TICKETS €10 Dermot Dunne accordion / John Finucane conductor

ACCORDION FANTASIES Tuesday 1 July 2014, 1.05pm

CIAO ITALIA!

TICKETS €10 Kelley Lonergan soprano / David Brophy conductor

Tuesday 8 July 2014, 1.05pm TICKETS €10 Graham Hastings trumpet / Killyan Bannister trumpet Colm Byrne trumpet / Andrew Mogrelia conductor

SOUND THE TRUMPETS!

Tuesday 15 July 2014, 1.05pm

ON THE BLUE DANUBE TICKETS €10 Nadene Fiorentini piano / Colman Pearce conductor Tuesday 22 July 2014, 1.05pm

LOVE, ACTUALLY TICKETS €10 Rachel Kelly mezzo-soprano / Robert Houlihan conductor

BOOKING (no fees) via National Concert Hall 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

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SinÊad Farrell, RTÉNSO piccolo with Marie Cullen, Moore Street stall holder

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 6 JUNE 8pm

The

CLAUDIA BOYLE

Summer Opera Gala Claudia Boyle soprano John Finucane conductor

Claudia Boyle

Rossini William Tell Overture (12’) Donizetti ‘Ah! tardai troppo… O luce’ (Linda di Chamounix) (4’) Donizetti ‘Il dolce suono... Ardon gl’incensi’ (Lucia di Lammermoor) (7’) Verdi I vespri siciliani Overture (9’) Verdi ‘Caro nome’ (Rigoletto) (5’) Verdi ‘È strano! è strano!… Sempre libera’ (La traviata) (8’) Verdi Nabucco Overture (8’) Thomas Mignon Overture (8’) Thomas ‘Je suis Titania’ (Mignon) (7’) Charpentier ‘Depuis le jour’ (Louise) (6’) Massenet ‘Méditation’ (Thaïs) (5’) Bernstein Candide Overture (5’) Bernstein ‘Glitter and be gay’ (Candide) (8’) Fresh from her success at Danish National Opera, Claudia Boyle, one of Ireland’s brightest soprano stars, takes a break from her busy international schedule working with luminaries such as Joseph Calleja, Kent Nagano, James Conlon and Ricardo Muti, to return for a solo evening of heavenly opera and dazzling singing with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. The evening presents some of the very best of Italian, French and American opera, including rousing overtures, Massenet’s hypnotically lyrical ‘Méditation’ (Thaïs), the dramatic ‘Mad Scene’ from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi’s spirited ‘Sempre libera’ (La traviata) and bewitching ‘Caro nome’ (Rigoletto), the sublime ‘Depuis le jour’ (Charpentier’s Louise) and Bernstein’s delightfully carefree ‘Glitter and be gay’ (Candide).

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €15, €25, €32, €40 (conc. €13.50, €22.50, €28.80, €36) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 5

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 10 JUNE 1.05pm

The

ENCHANTED

Violin Helena Wood violin Gavin Maloney conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm

Helena Wood

Weber Oberon Overture (9’) Mozart Adagio for Violin and Orchestra in E, K261 (5’) Mozart Rondo (Allegretto grazioso) in C, K373 (4’) Liadov The Enchanted Lake (6’) Tchaikovsky Souvenir d’un lieu cher: Mélodie & Scherzo (9’) Khachaturian Masquerade Suite: Waltz, Mazurka, Romance & Galop (13’) RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Leader Helena Wood steps into the soloist’s spotlight to launch the orchestra’s lunchtime concert series in style with four fabulous works showcasing the many virtues of the violin. There’s poetry and power aplenty in Mozart’s yearning Adagio and sprightly Allegretto grazioso, and in the sweetly nostalgic Mélodie and vivacious Scherzo from Tchaikovsky’s Memory of a Dear Place. No less evocative are the colourful Overture to Weber’s Oberon, Anatoli Liadov’s magical and mysterious The Enchanted Lake and the scintillating Masquerade Suite by Khachaturian.

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 6

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 17 JUNE 1.05pm

BARITONE

Brilliance Gyula Nagy baritone Colman Pearce conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm

Gyula Nagy

Suppé Poet and Peasant Overture (10’) Mozart ‘Hai già vinta la causa... Vedrò mentre io sospiro’ (The Marriage of Figaro) (5’) Verdi ‘Per me giunto’ (Don Carlos) (5’) Puccini Intermezzo (Manon Lescaut) (5') Borodin ‘Ni sna ni otdycha’ (Prince Igor) (8’) Shostakovich Romance (The Gadfly) (4’) Tchaikovsky Waltz of the Flowers (The Nutcracker) (7’) The young Hungarian baritone Gyula Nagy has been making a name for himself as an Opera Theatre Company ‘Young Artist’. For his concert debut with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, he tackles three formidable and varied characters: Mozart’s fickle and scheming Count Almaviva, Verdi’s loyal but doomed Marquis de Posa and Borodin’s heroic Prince Igor. Adding lustre to baritonal burnish are orchestral favourites by Suppé (the robustly romantic Poet and Peasant Overture), Puccini (Manon Lescaut’s luscious Intermezzo), Shostakovich (The Gadfly’s swooning Romance) and Tchaikovsky (the ever-delightful Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker).

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 7

Bill Whelan on

Linen and Lace

“

When Sir James Galway and I first spoke of working together towards the birth of a new flute concerto, we wanted to link our two native cities.

Bill Whelan

Belfast and Limerick are renowned respectively for their linen and lace and it was a beautiful image in “An Unborn Child” by the Belfast poet Derek Mahon which lubricated my imagination. The child, awaiting its birth, muses on the mysteries relayed “through the dark network” of its mother’s body as she sews in expectation of the infant arrival.

I pictured her fingering the filigree of Limerick Lace and grasping the supple strength of Belfast Linen.

Somehow this image, and the anticipatory life of the womb, became the affirmative force which inspired this piece.

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”

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 20 JUNE 8pm

RTÉ lyric fm and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra present

BILL WHELAN

GALA with

Sir James Galway

flute

Sir James Galway

Zoë Conway fiddle Catherine Leonard violin Colin Dunne dancer Gavin Maloney conductor Star performers from the worlds of classical and traditional music join the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Gavin Maloney to celebrate the music of Grammy-winning Riverdance composer Bill Whelan.

Featuring the world premiere performances of Linen and Lace, Whelan’s new flute concerto for the internationally renowned flautist, Sir James Galway and symphony orchestra, commissioned by RTÉ lyric fm to mark Limerick City of Culture, together with some of Whelan’s most popular music: the colourful and dynamic Riverdance Symphonic Suite, the evocative Inishlacken and the exhilarating An Chistín from the Connemara Suite, Whelan’s playful interaction between fiddle, feet and orchestra.

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €20, €28, €38, €45 (concessions €18, €25.20, €34.20, €40.50) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso

Also in Limerick Saturday 21 June 2014, 8pm: Limerick University Concert Hall With the support of Limerick City of Culture 2014. This performance will be broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm and webcast on www.rte.ie/lyricfm as part of the Limerick’s City of Culture 2014 celebrations.

Tickets: €20, €30, €35 (concession €32.50) Booking: University Concert Hall / www.uch.ie / 061 331549 9

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 24 JUNE 1.05pm

ACCORDION

Fantasies Dermot Dunne accordion John Finucane conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm

Dermot Dunne

Glinka Jota Aragonesa (9’) Bacalov (arr. Stewart) Il Postino Medley (5’) Monti Czardas (5’) Abreu Tico-Tico no Fubá (4’) Piazzolla (arr. Dunne) Oblivion (5’) Piazzolla (arr. Dunne) Libertango (4’) Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio espagnol (15’) Hailed by The Irish Times as ‘Ireland’s leading accordion virtuoso’, Dermot Dunne showcases the vibrant attractions of an instrument currently enjoying renewed popularity. In a colourful recital of heated passions and virtuosic flair, Luis Bacalov’s enchanting theme to the hit romantic comedy film Il Postino gives hope to all wouldbe lovers, while Monti’s re-working of Hungarian folk themes and the haunting Oblivion and opulent Libertango of Astor Piazzolla reveal the accordion’s surprising gift for emotion. Abreu’s irresistibly happy Tico-Tico no Fubá and Spanish fantasies from Glinka and Rimsky-Korsakov add irresistible Iberian sunlight and warmth.

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 10

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 27 JUNE 8pm

John O’Conor

BEETHOVEN John O’Conor piano Gerhard Markson conductor Beethoven Egmont Overture (9’) Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, ‘Emperor’ (40’) Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 in C minor (30’) The wide-ranging The Beethoven Project, presented by the Royal Irish Academy of Music, reaches a magnificently imposing finale with three epic, revelatory works stamped through with all the brilliance and boldness associated with one of the truly great composers. Local keyboard legend John O’Conor joins the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra’s former Principal Conductor Gerhard Markson for the game-changing ‘Emperor’ Concerto – a heroic battle of wills between piano and orchestra – while the dramatic Egmont Overture and thunderous Fifth Symphony move rousingly from darkness to light with monumental force.

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €12, €20, €26, €32, €35 (conc. €10, €18, €23.40, €28.80, €31.50) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 11

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 1 JULY 1.05pm

CIAO

ITALIA! Kelley Lonergan soprano David Brophy conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm

Kelley Lonergan

Rossini The Barber of Seville Overture (8’) Puccini Chrysanthemums (6’) Cilea ‘Io son l’umile ancella’ (Adriana Lecouvrer) (4’) Puccini ‘Si, mi chiamano Mimì’ (La bohème) (4’) Mascagni L’amico Fritz Intermezzo (4’) Puccini ‘Donde lieta usci’ (La bohème) (4’) Leoncavallo ‘Stridono lassù’ (Pagliacci) (5’) Respighi The Magic Toy Shop (after Rossini): Overture, Tarantella, Danse, Can-Can, Galop (10’) Clonmel-born soprano Kelley Lonergan, winner of the 2013 RDS Music Bursary and an Opera Theatre Company Young Artist, places emotion to the fore in her concert debut with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Be entranced by the beautiful, bewitching delicacies of Puccini’s ‘Si, mi chiamano Mimì’ and ‘Donde lieta usci’ (La bohème), the exalted turmoil of Leoncavallo’s ‘Stridono lassù’ (Pagliacci) and the sweetly fervent ‘Lo son l’umile ancella’ from Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvrer. Swoon to Puccini’s aromatic Chrysanthemums and become a child again in the wonders of Respighi’s richly coloured and event-filled Magic Toy Shop.

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 12

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 4 JULY 8pm

The Spirit of

AMERICA

Andrew Litton

Andrew Litton soloist/director & conductor Copland An Outdoor Overture (10’) Barber Adagio for Strings (8’) Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue (full orchestra version) (16’) Dvorák Symphony No. 9, Op. 95, From the New World (40’) v

Acclaimed American conductor Andrew Litton makes a welcome return on Independence Day with a quartet of works celebrating America the bold and the brave. Copland’s An Outdoor Overture is a gently heroic tribute to the frontier spirit, Gershwin’s jazz-infused Rhapsody in Blue a euphoric celebration of city life, Barber’s heart-stopping Adagio for Strings, popularised in the films The Elephant Man and Platoon, a deeply felt expression of grief. Dvorák’s From the New World (taken by Neil Armstrong to the Moon on board Apollo 11) proves a glorious hymnal to America’s spirit and soul. v

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €12, €20, €26, €32, €35 (conc. €10, €18, €23.40, €28.80, €31.50) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 13

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 8 JULY 1.05pm

Soundthe

TRUMPETS

Colm Byrne, Graham Hastings & Killyan Bannister

Graham Hastings trumpet / Killyan Bannister trumpet Colm Byrne trumpet / Andrew Mogrelia conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm Cimarosa The Secret Marriage Overture (8’) Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets in C, RV537 (7’) Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream Intermezzo (4’) Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo (5’) Adams Tromba Lontana (4’) Anderson Bugler’s Holiday (3’) Shostakovich Ballet Suite No. 1 (14’) The Trumpet Section of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra takes centre stage for a tribute to the prince of brass instruments, with Vivaldi’s bright, resounding Concerto for Two Trumpets, John Adams’ haunting Tromba Lontana and Leroy Anderson’s joyfully effervescent Bugler’s Holiday. The Overture to Cimarosa’s The Secret Marriage and Intermezzo and Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream add stately wit and dreamy fantasy, with Shostakovich’s First Ballet Suite a brilliantly orchestrated display of dancing delicacy and slap-stick charm.

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 14

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 11 JULY 8pm

SONIC

Spectacular Andrew Mogrelia conductor Presented by Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm

Liz Nolan

Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture (10’) Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919) Introduction, Dance of the Firebird, Variation of the Firebird (5’) Larchet By the Waters of Moyle (9’) Delius On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring (4’) Barry Dances With Wolves, Main Theme (3’) Williams The Empire Strikes Back, Main Theme (5’) Brahms Hungarian Dances, No. 1 in G minor, No. 3 in F (5’) v Dvorák Slavonic Dance, Op. 46 No. 8 in G minor (3’) Gluck ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’ (Orfeo ed Euridice) (6’) Khachaturian Spartacus Suite No. 2, Adagio (9’) Tchaikovsky Festival Coronation March (5’) Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel) ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ (Pictures at an Exhibition) (5’) RTÉ lyric fm presenter Liz Nolan takes us on an orchestral journey through time and space with some of the most colourful and brilliant music ever composed.

Join in the celebrations of Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and Tchaikovsky’s v Festival Coronation March, thrill to exhilarating dances by Brahms and Dvorák, admire the imperial grandeur of John Williams’ The Empire Strikes Back and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, revel in Stravinsky’s exotic The Firebird and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. And to relax: the lilting beauties of Dances With Wolves, Delius’ spring cuckoo, Khachaturian’s Adagio and John Larchet’s poem for his children, By the Waters of Moyle.

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €12, €20, €26, €32, €35 (conc. €10, €18, €23.40, €28.80, €31.50) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 15

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 15 JULY 1.05pm

On the

BLUE DANUBE Nadine Fiorentini

Nadene Fiorentini piano Colman Pearce conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm Mozart The Abduction from the Seraglio Overture (6’) Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor (21’) Brahms (arr. Schmeling) Hungarian Dances, Nos. 5 in G minor; 6 in D; 7 in F (9’) J Strauss II By the Beautiful Blue Danube (9’) Dublin International Piano Competition prize winner and NCH ‘Rising Star’ Nadene Fiorentini makes her much-anticipated debut with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s youthful, free-flowing, vibrantly virtuosic First Piano Concerto. The Overture to Mozart’s opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, set in a harem, bristles with a delightful invention that puts the Emperor Joseph II’s famous complaint – ‘Too many notes!’ – to shame; three of Brahms’ vivacious Hungarian Dances rhapsodise the virtues of traditional folk music; and the everexquisite Blue Danube Waltz takes us from Hungary liltingly back to Mozart’s Vienna.

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 16

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 18 JULY 8pm

Carl Davis

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

HOLLYWOOD GREATS with CARL DAVIS

A Journey through the Movies Carl Davis conductor Presented by Aedín Gormley, RTÉ lyric fm Take your seats for a night at the movies with RTÉ lyric fm’s Aedín Gormley and acclaimed composer-conductor Carl Davis for outstanding music from film and television masterpieces. Bask in the warmth of South Pacific, the heat of Casablanca, The Pirates of the Caribbean and Out of Africa. Thrill to epic stories of heroes real (El Cid, Napoleon, Chariots of Fire) and imagined (Gladiator) and experience the heroism and heartache of war (Bridge on the River Kwai, The World at War). Escape into the exoticism of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the romance of West Side Story, Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet, the adventure of Around the World in 80 Days before returning home for the delights of The Quiet Man.

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €15, €25, €32, €40 (conc. €13.50, €22.50, €28.80, €36) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 17

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Lunchtime Series TUESDAY 22 JULY 1.05pm

LOVE , Actually Rachel Kelly mezzo-soprano Robert Houlihan conductor Presented by Niall Carroll, RTÉ lyric fm Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Overture (4’) Mozart ‘Voi che sapete’ (The Marriage of Figaro) (3’) Rossini ‘Naqui all’affanno… Non più mesta’ (La Cenerentola) (7’) Offenbach The Tales of Hoffmann: Intermezzo and Barcarolle (6’) Bizet Seguidilla (Carmen) (3’) Gounod ‘Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle’ (Roméo et Juliette) (5’) Fauré Pavane (7’) Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld Overture (10’) A Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Young Artist with performances in Carnegie Hall and St Petersburg to her credit, the young Irish mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly makes a welcome return to perform ravishing operatic favourites including Mozart’s ardent ‘Voi che sapete’ (Marriage of Figaro), Carmen’s coquettish Seguidilla, the coloratura splendour of Rossini’s ‘Naqui all’affanno’ (La Cenerentola) and Gounod’s passionate ‘Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle’ (Roméo et Juliette).

And orchestral thrills aplenty, too, in overtures by Mozart and Offenbach and Fauré’s limpid, ever-gorgeous Pavane.

Broadcast live on RTÉ lyric fm, 96–99fm within Niall Carroll's Classical Daytime (10am–2pm)

LUNCH AND ALL...

Tickets: €10 concert / €10 Grab&go lunch (sandwich or wrap with tea or coffee) Lunch voucher must be pre-purchased at box-office with concert ticket.

Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 18

Rachel Kelly

RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Summer Evening Series FRIDAY 25 JULY 8pm

VIENNESE

Delights Hugh Tinney piano David Brophy conductor

Hugh Tinney

Schubert Symphony No. 8 in B minor, ‘Unfinished’ (23’) Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, ‘Elvira Madigan’ (29’) J Strauss II Die Fledermaus Overture (9’) J Strauss II Pizzicato Polka (3’) J Strauss II Perpetuum Mobile (3’) J Strauss II Thunder and Lightning Polka (3’) J Strauss II Emperor Waltz (11’) J Strauss I Radetzky March (3’) Schubert’s mighty ‘Unfinished’ Symphony ushered in the Romantic era with music that is by turns, bittersweet, brooding and bold – qualities the Viennese audience at its premiere relished and that sublimely echo Mozart’s ‘Elvira Madigan’ (popularised by the 1967 Swedish film of the same name), a serenely beautiful concerto brimming with exquisite melodies. And although the sumptuous Emperor Waltz underlines why the younger Johann Strauss will forever be known as ‘The Waltz King’, his sparkling polkas and rapturous overture to Die Fledermaus are Viennese music-making at its most ornate and delectable. To conclude, clap the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra to a well-earned summer break with Johann Strauss Senior’s thrilling Radetzky March.

TICKETS & BOOKING Tickets: €12, €20, €26, €32, €35 (Concessions €10, €18, €23.40, €28.80, €31.50) Booking (no fees) via National Concert Hall: 01 417 0000 / www.nch.ie / www.rte.ie/nso 19

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