A special Beethoven weekend (5/6 July) of music and poetry exploring the themes of tyranny, justice and freedom from oppression is planned to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Opening with a conversation, hosted by James Naughtie with Oxford historian Professor Margaret MacMillan, writer Miranda Carter and Jeremy Paxman, it will be followed by a performance of Fidelio.
World famous cellist Steven Isserlis gives a recital of cello sonatas by Beethoven and Frank Bridge (written in 1916) that will be interspersed by readings of war poetry, read by Samuel West, including recently discovered unpublished poems by Siegfried Sassoon ( including one addressed to Beethoven). Renowned singer Ann Murray gives a masterclass with young Garsington Opera singers and the weekend also features tours of the Getty Library and a special cricket match with England Women’s X1 vs an international celebrity team.
The weekend’s highlight is the first ever symphony concert in the Opera Pavilion and will feature Beethoven’s incidental music to Goethe’s tragedy Egmont and Schoenberg’s visceral A Survivor from Warsaw. Both works will be narrated by Samuel West. The evening culminates with Beethoven’s Symphony no 9 in D minor. Douglas Boyd conducts the Garsington Opera Orchestra and Chorus with Natalya Romaniw, Victoria Simmonds, Paul Nilon and Matthew Rose as soloists..
Douglas Boyd, Artistic Director of Garsington Opera said: Beethoven has the power to express every emotion of the human spirit. I feel that as well as the overwhelming emotional appeal of his music, there are underlying messages of freedom, justice and, ultimately, love that permeate his work. The ending of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Its universal message of hope for a better world is very relevant to the centenary of the First World War.
Garsington Opera’s 25th anniversary season opens on 6 June with three productions – the British premiere of Offenbach’s sparkling comedy Vert-Vert, Janá?ek’s 20th century masterpiece The Cunning Little Vixen and Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio.
Tickets from www.garsingtonopera.org telephone 01865 361636