TSO taps beauty of the Bard
THE Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra will mark its “threescore and ten’’ years of existence in 2018 — the final year of chief conductor Marko Letonja’s contract with the orchestra — with an emphasis on music relating to the works of Shakespeare.
Artistic planning director Simon Rogers said the Shakespeare theme developed from the scheduling of Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette opera in concert in October.
“We’ve been working on it for a few years and based the timing on the availability of soloists Pavol Breslik and Adriana Kucerova,” he said.
“We will also repeat the Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, which Marko Letonja conducted in his first concert with the TSO in 2012.
“It’s an appropriate way to celebrate his tenure in a 70th anniversary concert in what will be in effect his last orchestral concert as chief conductor.
“In fact we’ve gone the whole hog and the concert will feature two other versions of the Romeo and Juliet tale, with the Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture and Bernstein’s West Side Story, Symphonic Dances.”
Rogers said that when the TSO was invited to perform Bellini’s The Capulets and the Montagues with Victorian Opera in Melbourne in September, the decision was made to incorporate the Shakespeare theme throughout the orchestra’s season.
There will be a total of 20 pieces performed, from classics such as Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Purcell’s The Faerie Queene, to lesser-known works such as Korngold’s Much Ado About Nothing Suite.
The TSO has also commissioned a new Shakespeare-based work by Melody Eotvos, with the text to be performed by actress Pamela Rabe. THE TSO has announced a new corporate partnership with aged-care provider Uniting AgeWell, which will include sponsorship of the TSO Matinee Series concert Clair de Lune in August. “Many of our clients and potential clients have attended TSO performances, and have been in awe of the highly respected and talented musicians for many years,” Uniting AgeWell general manager Tasmania Jane Johnston said.
“As the TSO celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, many of our clients will reflect on their first trip to the orchestra decades ago. This partnership will ensure that beautiful music continues to be a part of their lives.”