2021-22 CALENDAR

History supplied Verdi with the subject matter for this gripping drama. It is based on the true story of King Gustav III of Sweden, who was assassinated during a masked ball in 1792. Combining political intrigue, a love triangle and a fortune teller’s mysterious prophecy, the opera also contains radiant choral writing and richly scored dance music. Riccardo Muti leads a concert performance featuring a spectacular cast of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Derek Matson in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required.

Cast
Francesco Meli tenor (Riccardo)
Joyce El-Khoury soprano (Amelia)
Luca Salsi baritone (Renato)
Yulia Matochkina mezzo-soprano (Ulrica)
Damiana Mizzi soprano (Oscar)
Alfred Walker bass-baritone (Samuel)
Kevin Short bass-baritone (Tom)
Ricardo José Rivera baritone (Silvano)
Lunga Eric Hallam tenor (A Judge)
Martin Luther Clark tenor (A Servant to Amelia)

Conductor: Riccardo Muti

History supplied Verdi with the subject matter for this gripping drama. It is based on the true story of King Gustav III of Sweden, who was assassinated during a masked ball in 1792. Combining political intrigue, a love triangle and a fortune teller’s mysterious prophecy, the opera also contains radiant choral writing and richly scored dance music. Riccardo Muti leads a concert performance featuring a spectacular cast of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Derek Matson in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required.

Cast
Francesco Meli tenor (Riccardo)
Joyce El-Khoury soprano (Amelia)
Luca Salsi baritone (Renato)
Yulia Matochkina mezzo-soprano (Ulrica)
Damiana Mizzi soprano (Oscar)
Alfred Walker bass-baritone (Samuel)
Kevin Short bass-baritone (Tom)
Ricardo José Rivera baritone (Silvano)
Lunga Eric Hallam tenor (A Judge)
Martin Luther Clark tenor (A Servant to Amelia)

Conductor: Riccardo Muti

History supplied Verdi with the subject matter for this gripping drama. It is based on the true story of King Gustav III of Sweden, who was assassinated during a masked ball in 1792. Combining political intrigue, a love triangle and a fortune teller’s mysterious prophecy, the opera also contains radiant choral writing and richly scored dance music. Riccardo Muti leads a concert performance featuring a spectacular cast of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Derek Matson in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required.

Cast
Francesco Meli tenor (Riccardo)
Joyce El-Khoury soprano (Amelia)
Luca Salsi baritone (Renato)
Yulia Matochkina mezzo-soprano (Ulrica)
Damiana Mizzi soprano (Oscar)
Alfred Walker bass-baritone (Samuel)
Kevin Short bass-baritone (Tom)
Ricardo José Rivera baritone (Silvano)
Lunga Eric Hallam tenor (A Judge)
Martin Luther Clark tenor (A Servant to Amelia)

Conductor: Riccardo Muti

Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
D’un matin de printemps

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Vier letzte Lieder

Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky (1840–1893)
Sinfonie Nr. 6 h-Moll op. 74 Pathétique

Artists:
Michael Sanderling – Dirigent
Joyce El-Khoury – Sopran
Luzerner Sinfonieorchester

The prestigious Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and its principal conductor Michal Sanderling relate famous works to each other at the Wolkenturm that stand for the twilight years of their composers’ lives. When Tchaikovsky premiered his «Pathétique», which he himself described as his best work, he had only nine days to live; in Richard Strauss’s «Four Last Songs», the «evening glow of life» shines equally solemnly. Much rarer than these two hits of the Romantic repertoire is heard on concert stages the third piece of the evening: «D’un matin de printemps» is one of the last compositions of the highly talented French composer Lili Boulanger, who died in 1918 at the age of only 24. As soloist of the atmospheric concert, the Lebanese-Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury celebrates her Wolkenturm debut.

Programm
Lili Boulanger (1893–1918)
D’un matin de printemps

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
Vier letzte Lieder

Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowsky (1840–1893)
Sinfonie Nr. 6 h-Moll op. 74 Pathétique

Künstler:
Michael Sanderling – Dirigent
Joyce El-Khoury – Sopran
Luzerner Sinfonieorchester

Programmänderungen vorbehalten

Sie war die erste Frau, die den begehrten «Prix de Rome» gewann: Welche Wunderwerke hätte die Französin Lili Boulanger der Musikwelt noch beschert, wenn sie nicht schon 1918 mit nur 24 Jahren verstorben wäre? Mit dem zarten Tongemälde D’un matin de printemps erinnert Michael Sanderling an diese hochbegabte Komponistin. Und dirigiert anschliessend zwei Abschiedswerke. Richard Strauss ist zu hören mit den Vier letzten Liedern, seinem schönheitstrunkenen Abgesang auf die romantische Musik. Die schwerelosen Melismen und jubilierenden Höhenflüge des Soloparts gestaltet Joyce El-Khoury; im Libanon geboren, engagiert sie sich heute humanitär und pädagogisch für ihr Heimatland. Nach der Pause erklingt Tschaikowskys berühmte Pathétique, die verlöschend endet, wie ein ausmusizierter Tod. Dass der Komponist tatsächlich nur wenige Tage nach der Uraufführung an der Cholera starb, mit der er sich möglicherweise absichtlich infizierte, erscheint makaber. «Tschaikowsky war eine zerrissene Persönlichkeit, er hat seinen Platz in der Gesellschaft nie wirklich gefunden», glaubt Sanderling. Und zelebriert die Sechste als ergreifendes Requiem.