Hong Kong Sinfonietta & Opera Hong Kong
Jointly Present
Beethoven Symphony No 9, “Choral”
Beethoven’s Ninth - the most monumental symphony of all time
Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Opera Hong Kong jointly present Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, “Choral” this coming February, after their successful collaboration in Verdi’s Requiem earlier in 2009.
The Ninth Symphony is perhaps the composer’s most moving work. Through the innovative incorporation of four soloists and chorus into the famous last movement Ode to Joy, Beethoven expressed a blazing, exuberant joy, glorifying his fervent ideal of universal brotherhood on earth (“all men will become brothers”).
Four acclaimed singers and the Opera Hong Kong Chorus will join the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, conducted by Yip Wing-sie, to perform this monumental work. This also marks the grand finale of Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s 2009 Beethoven cycle. Definitely not to be missed!
The concert will be held on:
5-6 February 2010 (Fri-Sat) 8:00pm at HK City Hall Concert Hall
Tickets: $380, $280, $180, $100
For more information, please contact:
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Amanda Mok, PR & Communications Manager
Tel: 3607 2328 Email:amanda.mok@hksinfonietta.org
Opera Hong Kong
Min Wong, Acting General Manager
Tel: 2234 0338 Email: minwong@operahongkong.org
For photos, please download from http://www.hksl.org/eng/media/imageLibrary.aspx or contact Ms Amanda Mok.
Hong Kong Sinfonietta & Opera Hong Kong
Ode to Beethoven
Music Director/ Conductor: Yip Wing-sie
Soprano: Erika Wueschner
Mezzosoprano: Ning Liang
Tenor: Richard Crawley
Bass-Baritone: Matthew Burns
Opera Hong Kong Chorus (Chorus Director: Jimmy Chan)
5-6 February 2010 (Fri-Sat) 8:00pm
HK City Hall Concert Hall.
Tickets: $380, $280, $180, $100
Programme
Beethoven Symphony No 1 in C, Op 21
Beethoven Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125, “Choral”
Erika Wueschner Soprano
A graduate of Juilliard and recently engaged by Los Angeles Opera in their Young Artists program, Erika Wueschner enjoys a successful career appearing in roles such as Mimì (La Bohème), the title role in Norma and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). In concerts, she has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and has conducted masterclasses throughout the USA.
Ning Liang Mezzosoprano
Ning Liang is one of the pre-eminent mezzosopranos on the international opera scene. She has performed in the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls such as the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter der Linden, Semperoper Dresden, Hamburg and Vienna State Operas, Covent Garden, Royal Albert Hall and Concertgebouw, and has collaborated with such luminaries as Sinopoli, Muti and Sir Colin Davis. She has appeared at many esteemed European music festivals including Wiener Festwochen, Bregenz, Schleswig-Holstein and Dresden.
Richard Crawley Tenor
Acclaimed tenor Richard Crawley has collaborated with such eminent artists as Gergiev and Denyce Graves and has appeared with the San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera and at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Stars of the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg and Carnegie Hall. The New York Times praised him for his “power and urgency” and the Opera News hailed his “dramatic thrust and declarative edge”.
Matthew Burns Bass-Baritone
Praised by The New York Times for his “beautiful bass-baritone voice”, and equally acclaimed in operas and in concerts, bass-baritone Matthew Burns has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Cleveland, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony and at the Carnegie Hall, and in the 2008/2009 season, he joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera. Burns graduated from the Juilliard.
Hong Kong Sinfonietta Music Director: Yip Wing-sie
One of Hong Kong’s flagship orchestras, Hong Kong Sinfonietta was founded in 1990 with a mission to bring music closer to the community. In April 2002, eminent conductor Yip Wing-sie joined as the new Music Director, adding to the orchestra’s vision – “investing in a cultural tomorrow”. Today, Hong Kong Sinfonietta performs over 80 times a year and has collaborated with an illustrious array of international musicians and groups including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Plácido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Fou Ts’ong, Christopher Hogwood, Luciano Pavarotti, Pinchas Zukerman, The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet.
Hailed as “one of the world’s great small orchestras”, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has been a regular guest at festivals at home and abroad. On tour, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta has performed at the Saint-Riquier Festival and Les Flâneries Musicales d’Été de Reims in France, festivals in Lithuania, Shanghai Spring International Music Festival and at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw. Since 2006, the orchestra has become a regular guest at La Folle Journée in Tokyo with returned visits in 2007 and 2009. In 2009, it was invited to give concerts in Macao and also in Italy - at the Festival Pianistico Internazionale Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in Bergamo and Brescia and Settimane Musicali al Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.
Apart from standard orchestral repertoire, the orchestra ventures in crossover productions, new commissions and innovative audience development concerts for different age groups. The orchestra’s discography includes the “Master Chinese Composition Series” CDs on HUGO and This is Classical Music on DECCA.
Opera Hong Kong Artistic Director: Warren Mok
Opera Hong Kong is the first opera company to have been established in Hong Kong. The company was formed in July 2003 as a non-profit-making charitable organization which is committed to the mission of enhancing the appreciation of the art of opera in Hong Kong and promoting local musical talents. Under the artistic direction of Warren Mok, the internationally acclaimed Hong Kong tenor who was recently awarded Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) from the French Government and Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella della Solidarita’ Italiana (Knight of the Star of Solidarity of Italy) from the Government of Italy, Opera Hong Kong has gone from strength to strength having performed 9 full-scale productions: La Traviata, Turandot, Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, Roméo et Juliette, Aïda, Werther, Don Carlo and The Magic Flute. Opera Hong Kong Chorus and Opera Hong Kong Children Chorus were established in 2004 and 2008 respectively and are becoming recognised forces in the local choral scene.
Tickets NOW available at all URBTIX outlets
Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group booking of 10 or more adult tickets
Ticketing Enquiries & Reservations：2734 9009
Credit Card Telephone Booking：2111 5999
URBTIX Internet Ticketing Service：www.URBTIX.hk
Programme Enquiries：2836 3336 / info@hksinfonietta.org
Website：www.HKSL.org/ www.operahongkong.org
Hong Kong Sinfonietta is the Venue Partner of the Hong Kong City Hall
Hong Kong Sinfonietta is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region
Hong Kong Sinfonietta reserves the right to change the programme and artists
---End---