Name: Spectacular Strauss
Start: 2023-10-22T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2023-10-22T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Verizon Hall

Organization

Admin

Curtis Institute of Music

Orchestra

Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Conductor

Micah Gleason

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Singer

Tenor

Hongrui Ren

Brighella

Jackson Allen

Scaramuccio

Baritone

Erik Tofte

Harlequin

Bass

Morgan-Andrew King

Truffaldin

Soprano

Maya Mor Mitrani

Zerbinetta

Nathaniel Schludecker

Lord of Faninal

Kylie Kreucher

Marianne

Juliette Tacchino

Sophie

Mezzo-soprano

Zhihui Zhuo

Octavian

Spectacular Strauss

Philadelphia

United States

Verizon Hall

Public

Salome

Ariadne on Naxos

The Knight of the Rose

An Alpine Symphony, op. 64

Delfina Gago

Approved

Accordionist

Instrumentalist

Archlutenist

Baroque Flutist

Baroque Oboist

Baroque Trumpetist

Bassist

Bassoonist

Cellist

Clarinetist

Contrabassist

Cornettist

Flutist

Guitarist

Harper

Harpsichordist

Hornist

Lutenist

Mandoline Player

Musette de cour Player

Oboist

Organist

Percussionist

Pianist

Recorder Player

Saxophonist

Tenor Violinist

Timpani

Trombonist

Trumpeter

Tuba Player

Vibraphonist

Viola Pomposa Player

Viola da gamba

Viola d’amore Player

Violinist

Violino Piccolo Player

Violist

Actor

Broadcasting

Chefdirigent Musiktheater

Choir

Choreographer

Chorus Director

Chorus master

Composer

Costume designer

Dancer

Dramaturge

Executive producer

Extra

Hairstylist

Illustrator

Librettist

Lighting designer

Makeup artist

Orchestra Operations

Other

Photographer

Poet

Repetiteur

Set designer

Sound designer

Stage Manager

Stage director

Teacher

Translator

Video designer

Vocal coach

Wig & Makeup Designer

Writer

Writing and performance

Countertenor

Contralto

Bass-baritone

Alto

Child vocalist

Continuo

Silent

Spoken

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a symphonic expedition and soaring opera melodies
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and rising stars of the Curtis Opera Theatre kick off the 2023–24 season with a tribute to Richard Strauss. A celebration of the German Romantic composer’s life and legacy, the program features highlights from some of his most popular operas and scales the spectacular heights of his final tone poem, An Alpine Symphony. This breathtaking work depicts a perilous mountain-climbing expedition from the composer’s childhood, capturing the brilliance of a blazing sunrise over the Alps, the wonder of cascading waterfalls, the pastoral sounds of bleating sheep, and the terrifying violence of a raging thunderstorm.

Under the baton of second-year student Micah Gleason, Curtis’s Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow, the evening opens with a dramatic instrumental interpretation of the composer’s “Dance of the Seven Veils” from his harrowing psychodrama Salome. Based on the scandalous play by Oscar Wilde, this one-act masterpiece recounts the Biblical story of a princess who becomes infatuated with the prophet, Jokanaan (John the Baptist). Beneath the iconic scene’s lush chromaticism is a discordant waltz that builds to a feverish frenzy as Salome removes each of her veils in sensuous dance and spirals deeper into madness.

This striking early 20th-century classic is followed by three riveting performances from two of Strauss’s most popular operatic works. His satirical 1912 opera within an opera, Ariadne auf Naxos, is a theatrical battle between lighthearted comedy and dramatic tragedy. In the quintet “Die Dame gibt mit trübem Sinn,” the commedia dell’arte troupe of Brighella, Truffaldino, Scaramuccio, Harlequin, and the saucy comedienne Zerbinetta, attempt to lift the spirits of the inconsolable Ariadne with a charming song and dance number. This moment of comic levity is followed by the Act II opening of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, featuring the ceremonious presentation of a silver rose and a rapturous love duet. The set concludes with the opera’s sublime Act III trio, as the Marschallin blesses the union of young lovers Octavian and Sophie.

Run time: approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes including one intermission.

English

Spectacular Strauss by Strauss, From (2023/2023), Conductor Micah Gleason, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, United States

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Ensemble

Programme, About & Synopsis

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues