Liebe & Meer

Waves of love and of the sea surge through this exquisite programme, in which one of the most sought-after opera conductors of our time collaborates with the Tonkunstler in the concert hall for the first time, bringing with him a celebrated opera star of the younger generation: The Italian maestro Marco Armiliato takes to the podium, the Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina sings, and together they explore the oceans, whether glassy-smooth or more troubled, and the wind-blown spray of the passionate human soul. The fantastic Dark Romanticism of Richard Wagner’s «Flying Dutchman» overture is followed by two great vocal works: Edward Elgar follows the lyrically atmospheric work of various poets, while Ernest Chausson tells a single love story – up to its melancholy end. Which leads on fittingly to Felix Mendelssohn’s overture «Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt» («Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage»): Composed after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem, it gets us out the other side of alarming doldrums until finally wind fills our sails and carries us to a safe harbour.