19 Apr 2018
Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras announced today that Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, will be joined by Joyce DiDonato and Antoine Tamestit for an evening of Berlioz at the BBC Proms on Wednesday 5 September at 7.30pm.
Programme
Overture ‘Le corsaire’
La mort de Cléopâtre (Joyce DiDonato)
Highlights from Les Troyens: ‘Chasse Royale et Orage’ | Monologue et Air de Didon: ‘Ah! Ah! je vais mourir… Adieu, fière cité’ (Joyce DiDonato)
Harold en Italie (Antoine Tamestit)
This year will mark the 50th Anniversary of John Eliot Gardiner’s first appearance at the BBC Proms. Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras will honour this momentous achievement by performing a programme dedicated to Hector Berlioz, in which the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique will be joined by star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and celebrated violist Antoine Tamestit.
‘John Eliot Gardiner’s instinct for Berlioz has been honed over many years, and the result here was a performance brimming with detail and colour.’
The Independent on La Damnation de Faust, BBC Proms 2017 ★★★★★
The Berlioz Prom concert will open with the overture from Le corsaire before internationally-renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato joins the Orchestra for La mort de Cléopâtre and highlights from Les Troyens. The programme concludes with a performance of the Byron-inspired symphony Harold en Italie, featuring celebrated violist Antoine Tamestit who returns to play with MCO after a memorable concert with the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir at the Salzburg Mozartwoche in January.
This concert will continue the ORR’s and John Eliot Gardiner’s 5-year commitment to Berlioz, which began with performances of Symphonie Fantastique at the BBC Proms and Lélio and Symphonie Fantastique at the Edinburgh International Festival and Festival Berlioz in 2015. In 2016, the Orchestra returned to the BBC Proms with Roméo et Juliette as part of Shakespeare 400 before last year’s ‘thrilling performance’ (The Times ★★★★★) of La Damnation de Faust. This long-term project will conclude next year with a spectacular operatic finale that will include performances at prestigious music festivals across Europe in recognition of Berlioz’s150th anniversary.
Click here for more info and to book from 12 May
BERLIOZ SERIES 2018
Following the BBC Proms performance this exciting mix of essential Berlioz masterpieces will also be showcased in a variety of different programmes at prestigious venues in both Europe and the US, including concert halls in New York, Amsterdam, Paris and Versailles. French mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot will join the ORR for La mort de Cléopâtre and excerpts from Les Troyens, with Berlioz specialist Michael Spyres and the National Youth Choir of Scotland also adding their talents to a programme that will include Lélio and Symphonie Fantastique.
