Gioacchinno Rossini
Tuesday, October 8, 2002 20:00
Cathedral
Free Admission
Robin Follman, soprano
Jessie Raven, mezzo–soprano
Raúl Melo, tenor
Brian Jauhiainen, bass
Shanghai Opera House Chorus
Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia
Conductor: Francesc Bonnín
Stabat Mater
The German poet Heinrich Heine wrote after hearing Rossini’s Stabat Mater that the theatre seemed "a vestibule of heaven". The audiences were deeply moved by the sombre beauty of the long opening and taken by the beautiful melodies of the following movements. As evidence of Rossini's serious purpose, the work ends with a great double fugue. A religious harmony of solos, choir vocals and orchestral music, Stabat Mater is a popular theme that has inspired many composers, including Josquin Desprez, Haydn, Schubert, Liszt, Verdi and Szymanowski.
Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia
The orchestra was founded in 1986 and since then it has given more than five hundred concerts and opera performances in Italy and abroad. It is the fruit of artistic co-operation with professional musicians from all around the world, such as famous cellist Mtislav Rostropovitch singers José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, and renowned conductors Salvatore Accardo, Marcello Viotti and Ignacio Yepes. It has recorded 44 CDs and is a recipient of the European Prize for Culture.
The Orchestra toured France with Mtislav Rostropovitch and is now touring China for the 3rd time in the commemoration of the 4th centenary of the arrival in the Forbidden City in Beijing of Jesuit missionary, astronomer, philosopher and musician Father Matteo Ricci. The Orchestra appeared in the XV MIMF in La Traviata.
| 
Francesc Bonnín | 
Jessie Raven |
Running time: approx....inc. two intervals
* Entry using coupon distributed at 6.30 pm on day of concert at concert venue.