'Orchestra and Choir of Age of Enlightenment', Palace Of Arts, 11 December

The Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment was formed in 1986, and Sir Simon Rattle was nominated one of its chief conductors. This is quite an honour because this British period music ensemble operates without a music director or resident conductor. 

Although as its name implies, it concentrates on later 18th century music, its repertoire extends from Purcell to Verdi and it has revived some delicacies from the musical past, such as Schumann’s little known oratorio, Paradise and the Peri. Based on a German translation of a tale from Thomas Moore’s Lalla Rookh, the oratorio is about the search for happiness in a narrative form akin to the Thousand and One Nights. The chief character is a peri – a fairy in Persian mythology – who standing before the gates of the Garden of Eden, tries to gain entry by giving a gift that is most dear to Heaven.

The two sopranos in this concert have both won the most prestigious English singing competition, the Kathleen Ferrier Award, Sally Matthews in 1999 and Kate Royal in 2004. Mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink is from Argentina and since the mid 1980s, has worked with leading orchestras and conductors. Mark Padmore has worked for many years with Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie and made recordings with John Eliot Gardiner and Philippe Herreweghe. English bass David Wilson-Johnson has worked with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra; he has also performed in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Covent Garden and the Paris Opera.

Tickets: 4000,- 6300,- 8300,- 9900,- HUF

Schumann: Paradise and the Peri – oratorio
Featuring: Sally Matthews, Kate Royal - pictured above,  Bernarda Fink, Mark Padmore, Andrew Staples, David Wilson-Johnson – vocal

You can also purchase your ticket for this concert using Travel Vouchers and Sodexho Culture Vouchers, in the Palace of Arts ticket office."

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