The Latvian National Opera (Latvia)
5/10 (Saturday);8pm
St. Dominic's Church
Admission with free ticket
Conductor: Andriy Yurkevych
Choirmaster: Aigars Meri
Liene Kinča, Soprano
Kristīne Zadovska, Mezzo-soprano
George Oniani, Tenor
Rihards Mačanovskis, Bass
The Latvian National Opera Orchestra
The Latvian National Opera Choir
Programme:
G. Verdi: Messa da Requiem
Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by the composer. The Requiem was first performed in May 1874 in the church of San Marco in Milan, on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. Verdi himself conducted, and the four soloists were the same singers that had sung in the European premiere of Aida in 1872, among them soprano Teresa Stolz, a close friend of Verdi's. The piece won immediate contemporary success in the Catholic lands. It received seven performances at the Opéra Comique in Paris, and, in Venice, an impressive Byzantine ecclesiastical decor was designed for the occasion. It later disappeared from the standard choral repertoire but made a reappearance in the 1930s and is now regularly performed with success.
Established in Russia by Professor Jāzeps Vītols, who then returned to Riga, the Latvian National Opera was founded in 1918, the same year as the Choir. The first choir master was Pauls Jozuus. Since that time, any opera performance in Riga would have been unimaginable without the remarkable work of the choir, which was always highly regarded and remains so to this day.
Duration: approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, no interval
Macao International Music Festival Outreach Programme
TALKS: Enter the world of German and Italian opera*
PRE-SHOW TALKS: Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi*
