London Symphony OrchestraLiving Music

London’s Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 18 September 2016 7pm Tuesday 20 September 2016 7.30pm Barbican Hall

2016/17 SEASON OPENING VERDI REQUIEM

Gianandrea Noseda conductor Erika Grimaldi soprano Daniela Barcellona mezzo-soprano Francesco Meli tenor Michele Pertusi baritone London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director

Concert finishes approx 8.45pm (18 Sep) & 9.15pm (20 Sep) Please note that there will be no interval

Generously supported by

2 Welcome 18 & 20 September 2016

Welcome Kathryn McDowell

Living Music In Brief

A very warm welcome to the opening concerts of the LSO’s 2016/17 season with Gianandrea Noseda, who makes his first London appearance as LSO Principal Guest Conductor in these performances of Verdi’s Requiem. We are also joined by a stellar cast of Italian soloists, Erika Grimaldi, Daniela Barcellona, Francesco Meli and Michele Pertusi, as well as the London Symphony Chorus, which continues its 50th anniversary celebrations.

These two concerts are sponsored by Reignwood, and mark the beginning of their new Principal Partnership with the LSO. We thank them for their important commitment to our work and we warmly welcome them and their guests to tonight’s concert and to the LSO’s community of supporters.

At these performances we welcome guests from the City of London Corporation, which, together with Arts Council England, provides core funding for the LSO to present its annual season as Resident Orchestra of the Barbican Centre. We are extremely grateful to all those who support the Orchestra, and offer our thanks to our individual Patrons and Friends, Sponsors, Trusts and Charitable Foundations who do so much to enable the LSO to thrive.

Thanks to all those who join us in the audience for this occasion. I hope that you enjoy these performances and will return throughout the 2016/17 season.

Kathryn McDowell CBE DL Managing Director

SUN 18 SEP: VERDI REQUIEM LIVE STREAM

The concert on Sunday 18 September is being streamed live on the LSO’s YouTube channel, preceded by a backstage tour and introductions from presenter Rachel Leach streamed live on Facebook. Both broadcasts will be available to watch again shortly.

lso.co.uk/livestream

LSO LIVE LATEST RELEASE: RACHMANINOV SYMPHONY CYCLE

The final part of the LSO’s acclaimed Rachmaninov Symphony Cycle was released on 9 September. Coupling Rachmaninov’s First Symphony with Balakirev’s Tamara, the Orchestra’s performance was described as ‘full-blooded and engrossing’ by The Daily Telegraph.

lsolive.lso.co.uk

A WARM WELCOME TO THE GROUPS ATTENDING THESE CONCERTS

Members of the Greater London Lieutenancy Gerrards Cross Community Association Marjorie Wilkins & Friends Darren Jameson & Friends

lso.co.uk/groups

A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN

REIGNWOOD GROUP, CHATEAU LATOUR

AND FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS

OPENING Q1 2017

CLUB.TENTRINITYSQUARE.COM

PROGRAMME NOTE WRITER

DAVID CAIRNS

Volume 2 of David Cairns’ life of

Berlioz (Servitude and Greatness)

won the biography category of the

Whitbread Prize and the Samuel

Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in

2000. Volume 1 (The Making of

an Artist) has been re-issued in

a revised edition. His most recent

book, Mozart and His Operas,

was published in 2006.

4 Programme Notes 18 & 20 September 2016

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Messa da Requiem (1874)

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Earlier, Verdi had tried to explain what it was he felt about him. Manzoni, he said, had written ’not only the greatest book of our time but one of the greatest books that the human mind has produced [I promessi sposi]. It’s not just a book, it’s a consolation to humanity. I was 16 when I first read it. Since then … if anything my experience of men has made me admire it all the more – because it’s a true book … Oh, if artists could but understand that ‘true’, there would be no more composers of the future or composers of the past, no puristic, realistic or idealistic painters, no poets Classic or Romantic, but true poets, true painters, true composers.’

This was Verdi’s creed as an artist, and the Requiem he wrote as a tribute to Manzoni and performed in 1874 on the first anniversary of the writer’s death is the fruit of it – whatever the critics’ subsequent attempts to reduce it to a category, labelled theatrical or operatic. The Requiem is true, before it is anything else. Verdi could only respond to the liturgy as the dramatist he was and by using the personal language he had evolved while composing a score of operas. But the sound-quality, texture and whole feel of the work is as unique and as different from La traviata or Don Carlos as they are from each other. And perhaps none of the works written before it had been so perfectly fashioned, so consistently strong in inspiration, so lofty in aim and achievement (even if the gaiety of the ‘Sanctus’ may at first disconcert the non-Italian). The Requiem used to be called ’Verdi’s greatest opera’. Why not? As a sneer

REQUIEM AND KYRIE

DIES IRAE

DOMINE JESU

SANCTUS

AGNUS DEI

LUX AETERNA

LIBERA ME

GIANANDREA NOSEDA CONDUCTOR

ERIKA GRIMALDI SOPRANO

DANIELA BARCELLONA MEZZO-SOPRANO

FRANCESCO MELI TENOR

MICHELE PERTUSI BARITONE LONDON SYMPHONY CHORUS

SIMON HALSEY CHORUS DIRECTOR

Verdi did not feel the death of Alessandro Manzoni, the Italian novelist and poet, any less keenly because Manzoni was a very old man. It was a grievous blow. Verdi had long had a reverence, almost amounting to idolatry, for the eminent writer. He had admired him from a distance and, when a meeting was finally arranged, he was moved to the depths. ’How shall I describe the extraordinary, indefinable sensation I felt in the presence of your ‘saint’?’ he wrote to Countess Clarina Maffei. ’I would have gone down on my knees if one could worship men.’

ALESSANDRO MANZONI (1785–1873) is widely

regarded as one of the greatest Italian novelists.

His 1842 novel I promessi sposi (The Betrothed),

is set in northern Italy in 1628, during the years of

Spanish rule, but is also a critique of the Austrian

Empire that ruled the region in the 19th century.

Manzoni’s work is a landmark of the Risorgimento

(Resurgence), an ideological and literary movement

that helped lead to the establishment of the unified

Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

The Requiem used to be called ’Verdi’s greatest opera’. Why not? What is the text of the ‘Dies Irae’ if not operatic?’

lso.co.uk Programme Notes 5

the remark is meaningless; as a splendid compliment it is not far short of the truth. What is the text of the ‘Dies Irae’ if not operatic?

Verdi’s Requiem is certainly not religious in an orthodox way. Neither is Brahms’ A German Requiem, nor Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts. Even in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis God is, in a sense, the projection, the creation of human fears and longings. Like Berlioz, Verdi was a humanist who retained a poignant regret for his childhood beliefs. But he had little use for the historical church (listen to the Grand Inquisitor’s scene in Don Carlos or the gloomy, brutish music that accompanies the procession of condemned heretics in the same work); and the criticisms that emanated from the Catholic hierarchy when Manzoni died did not dispose Verdi any more gently towards it. ’Not a Catholic in the political and strictly theological sense of the word – nothing could be further from the truth,’ was Boito’s verdict. As Verdi’s wife Giuseppina remarked, ’the science, the sophisms, the metaphysical subtleties of the theologians and the learned of all the religions of all the ages strike vainly against the mystery of death.’ It is too big a subject to be left to the clergy.

Death and fear pervade the work. As someone who, in D’Annunzio’s phrase, ’wept for all’, Verdi could express humanity’s feelings about it with ample authority. Hell, he knew, was something human beings can carry in themselves, and inflict on others. And death was in the air: Manzoni palpably a dying man some years before his long life ended in 1873; Rossini dead in 1868 (Verdi’s ‘Libera Me’ originated as a movement contributed to an abortive project for a mass in his honour); Verdi’s father dead, followed by his beloved father-in-law and benefactor Antonio Barezzi. The Requiem is, among other things, the passionate protest of a man who rebels against the

outrage that is death. Boito experienced a similar feeling when he watched Verdi on his death-bed: ’Never have I had such a feeling of hatred against death, of contempt for that mysterious, blind, stupid, triumphant and craven power … He too hated it, for he was the most powerful expression of life that it is possible to imagine’.

VERDI ON LSO LIVE – AVAILABLE NOW

VERDI Requiem

Sir Colin Davis conductor

£12.99

VERDI Otello

Sir Colin Davis conductor

£14.99

VERDI Falstaff

Sir Colin Davis conductor

£14.99

lsolive.lso.co.uk

VERDI’S DON CARLOS (1867)

is based on the play Don Carlos,

Infant von Spanien (Don Carlos,

Infante of Spain), telling the story of

Carlos, Prince of Asturias, and his

tumultuous engagement to Elizabeth

of Valois. Verdi returned to the opera

time and time again over a period

of 20 years, producing versions in

French, Italian, and later ‘Milan’ and

‘Modena’ versions in the 1880s.

When performed in its entirety it

is the composer’s longest opera,

lasting nearly four hours.

6 Composer Profile 18 & 20 September 2016

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Composer Profile

Verdi revolutionised Italian opera, finding a powerful musical expression for such themes as abduction, murder, premature death and seduction in early mature works like Rigoletto and La traviata and, in

later life, brilliantly translating Shakespeare’s Othello and Falstaff to the operatic stage. Keyboard and other musical studies in Le Roncole and nearby Busseto nurtured the boy’s natural talent;

however, he failed to gain a place at the Milan Conservatory. Undeterred, Verdi studied privately with Vincenzo Lavigna and duly became Maestro di Cappella in Busseto.

His first marriage ended tragically with the death of his wife in 1840. By then Verdi had completed his first opera, Oberto, which was performed in 1839 at La Scala, Milan. A series of works was commissioned by the illustrious Milanese theatre, including Nabucco and I Lombardi. Their public success led to further commissions elsewhere, with new works created for Venice, Paris, London and Florence. His international profile was enhanced with the triumphant first productions of Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853) and La traviata (1853). In 1859, Verdi married the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi.

After the censors refused to allow the theme of regicide in Un ballo in maschera (1859), Verdi’s work was championed by Italy’s nationalist movement. By coincidence the letters of his

name stood as an acronym for ‘Vittorio Emanuele, Re D’Italia’, allowing partisan opera fans to cry ‘Viva Verdi’ in support of both the composer and Italy’s future king.

Between the composition of Aida (1871) and Otello, created for La Scala in 1887, Verdi wrote little for the stage. He broke off his retirement, however, to fashion his Requiem Mass in honour of Alessandro

Manzoni. The success of the Requiem and Aida confirmed Verdi’s position as one of the world’s leading composers, attracting honours and adding to his considerable income. His final opera, Falstaff (1892–3), was immediately recognised as a masterpiece.

Composer Profile © Andrew Stewart

KEY DATES

1813 Born Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi in Le Roncole, Italy

1825 Begins lessons with Ferdinando Provesi in Busseto and

composes his first instrumental pieces

1832 Rejected from Milan Conservatory

1836 Marries Margherita Barezzi, daughter of the leader of the

Busseto Philharmonic, Antonio Barezzi

1839 Verdi’s opera Oberto is performed at La Scala for the first time

1840 Death of Margherita, following the death of the couple’s two

young children in 1838 and 1839

1842–49 Early period of composition, in which Verdi composes operas

Nabucco, Macbeth and Jérusalem

1851–60 Middle period of composition, during which Verdi produces

his most popular operas, Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata

1860s–70s Late period operas move towards the French vogue for spectacle:

La forza del destino, Don Carlos and Aida

1874 Premiere of the Requiem at the San Marco Church, Milan

1893 Verdi’s final opera, Falstaff, premieres at La Scala

1901 Dies in Milan, Italy, at the age of 87, after suffering a stroke

London Symphony OrchestraSeason 2016/17

LIGETI’S LE GRAND MACABRE Sat 14 & Sun 15 Jan 2017 Ligeti Le grand macabre (semi-staged performance)

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Peter Sellars director

Produced by the LSO and the Barbican.

Part of the LSO 2016/17 Season and

Barbican Presents.

LSO ARTIST PORTRAIT: JANINE JANSEN Sun 5 Feb 2017 Bernstein Serenade Sir Antonio Pappano conductor Janine Jansen violin

Sun 12 Mar 2017 Brahms Violin Concerto Valery Gergiev conductor Janine Jansen violin

Thu 6 Apr 2017 Berg Violin Concerto Gianandrea Noseda conductor Janine Jansen violin

BERNARD HAITINK: MAHLER & BRUCKNER Tue 23 May 2017 Mahler Symphony No 9

Sun 28 May 2017 Bruckner Symphony No 9 Bruckner Te deum with London Symphony Chorus

Thu 1 Jun 2017 Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3 Bruckner Symphony No 9 with Mitsuko Uchida piano

SIR SIMON RATTLE & LANG LANG

Tue 11 & Wed 12 July 2017 Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from ‘Tristan and Isolde’ Bartók Piano Concerto No 2 Haydn An imaginary orchestral journey

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Lang Lang piano

lso.co.uk 020 7638 8891

2016/17 Season Highlights

8 Text 18 & 20 September 2016

Messa da Requiem Text

1 REQUIEM AND KYRIE Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet.

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

2 DIES IRAE Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla, Teste David cum sibylla.

Quantus tremor est futurus, Quando judex est venturus, Cuncta stricte discussurus.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum Per sepulchra regionum Coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit et natura, Cum resurget creatura Judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur In quo totum continetur Unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit Quidquid latet apparebit; Nil inultum remanebit.

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them. To Thee belongs, O God, a hymn in Sion and to Thee shall be paid a vow in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to Thee all flesh shall come.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

The day of wrath, that day will dissolve the world in ashes as David testified with the Sibyl.

How great a terror there will be when the Judge shall come, he who shall examine all things strictly.

The trumpet, spreading its wondrous sound to the tombs of the whole world will bring everyone before the throne.

Death and nature shall be dumbfounded when creation rises again to answer its Judge.

The written book shall be brought forth in which is contained everything by which the world shall be judged.

Therefore when the judge takes his seat whatever is secret shall be revealed; nothing shall remain unpunished.

lso.co.uk Text 9

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus, Quem patronum rogaturus, Dum vix justus sit sicurus?

Rex tremendae majestatis, Qui salvandos salvas gratis, Salva me fons pietatis.

Recordare, Jesu pie, Quod sum causa tuae viae; Ne me perdas illa die.

Quaerens me, sedisti lassus, Redemisti crucem passus; Tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis, Donum fac remissionis Ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco tamquam reus, Culpa rubet vultus meus; Supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti Et latronem exaudisti, Mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae, Sed tu bonus fac benigne Ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praesta Et ab haedis me sequestra, Statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis, Flammis acribus addictis, Voca me cum benedictis.

What shall I say then, wretch that I am, whom shall I ask to be my advocate when the righteous themselves shall scarce be saved?

King of dreadful majesty, who freely savest the redeemed, save me, O fount of pity.

Remember, O merciful Jesus, that I am the cause of Thy journey hither; do not lose me on that day.

Seeking me, Thou didst sit down weary, suffering the Cross, Thou didst redeem me; let not such a burden have been in vain.

Righteous Judge of vengeance, grant me the gift of redemption before the day of reckoning.

I groan as one guilty, my face blushes with guilt; spare Thy supplicant, O God.

Thou who didst absolve Mary and didst hear the prayer of the thief, to me also hast Thou given hope.

My prayers are not worthy, but do Thou in Thy goodness bring it about that I be not burned in the everlasting fire.

Grant me a place among the sheep and separate me from the goats, setting me on Thy right hand.

When the damned have been put to confusion and consigned to the fierce flames, summon me with the blessed.

10 Text 18 & 20 September 2016

Oro supplex et acclinis, Cor contritum quasi cinis. Gere curam mei finis.

Lacrimosa dies illa, Quae resurget ex favilla Judicandus homo reus; Huic ergo parce, Deus.

Pie Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem. Amen.

3 DOMINE JESU Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu; libera eis de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.

Sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctum, quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.

Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus. Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.

4 SANCTUS Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Domine Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.

I pray, humbly and bending low, my contrite heart like cinders, have compassion on me at the end.

That day will be one of weeping, when there rises again from the ashes the guilty man to be judged; spare him therefore, O God.

Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of Hell and from the abyss; deliver them from the mouth of the lion, so that Hell may not engulf them, that they may not fall into darkness.

But may St Michael the standard-bearer bring them into the holy light, as Thou once did promise to Abraham and to his seed.

Sacrifices and prayers to Thee, O Lord, of praise we offer. Receive them for those souls whom today we remember. Make them, O Lord, pass from death into life, as Thou once did promise to Abraham and to his seed.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Messa da Requiem Text (continued)

lso.co.uk Text 11

5 AGNUS DEI Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.

6 LUX AETERNA Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternam, quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis, cum sanctis tuis in aeternam, quia pius es.

7 LIBERA ME Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda; quando coeli movendi sunt et terra; dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

Tremens factus sum et timeo, dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira; quando coeli movendi sunt et terra.

Dies irae, dies illa calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest.

O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest eternal.

May eternal light shine upon them, O Lord, with Thy saints in eternity, for Thou art merciful.

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them, with Thy saints in eternity, for Thou art merciful.

Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death on that day of dread when the heavens and the earth are moved, when Thou shalt come to judge the world with fire.

I am seized with trembling and I am afraid when the trial and the wrath to come shall near; when the heavens and the earth are moved.

Day of wrath, that day of calamity and woe, a great and bitter day indeed.

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them.

WORKING WITH THE LSO …

It’s a privilege for me to become a part of one of the greatest orchestras in the world. I felt an immediate connection with the artists in the LSO during our first meeting in 2008. Together we have pursued the highest possible level of music-making which is the ultimate aim for any musician. Since then we have explored the widest possible repertoire including Britten’s War Requiem, Verdi’s Rigoletto, the world premiere of Sally Beamish’s Equal Voices and music by Beethoven, Berg, Mahler, Shostakovich, and many others.

I have always appreciated the versatility of the LSO artists, which, along with their integrity and commitment, both in rehearsal and concert, makes any performance a special and unique experience.

ON THE VERDI REQUIEM …

[Verdi’s Requiem] speaks today with the same freshness that it spoke when it was written. It still has such an integrity and honesty which are so needed nowadays. The vocal element makes it easier to connect with any kind of audience.

In Verdi’s music I look to bring out a certain urgency: there is an important element of warning that tells us not to waste time. The Verdi Requiem is addressed to the living, it’s not intended to mourn the dead. I go back to the Requiem quite often because it pushes me to dig inside myself. It makes me recognise my limits and encourages me to overcome them.

12 In Conversation with Gianandrea Noseda 18 & 20 September 2016

In conversation with … Gianandrea Noseda

This season Gianandrea Noseda stepped into the role of LSO Principal Guest Conductor, with this performance of the Verdi Requiem marking the first London concert of his tenure. Here, he shares his thoughts with us on working with the LSO and Verdi’s monumental work.

The LSO has limitless virtuosity, flexibility,

such attention to detail and care.’

Gianandrea Noseda,

LSO Principal Guest Conductor

lso.co.uk Artist Biographies 13

Gianandrea Noseda Conductor

Gianandrea Noseda has a long-standing relationship with the Metropolitan Opera, New York, which dates back to 2002. He has conducted many new productions and the two most recent ones were widely praised operas not seen at the Met in a century: Borodin’s Prince Igor, available on Deutsche Grammophon, and Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles, soon available on Warner Classics, both DVDs.

Highlights of the 2016/17 season include substantial tours with the London Symphony Orchestra, concerts with the Israel Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra, in addition to his return to the Verbier Festival. He will also return to the Met with a new production of Roméo et Juliette by Gounod and conduct for the first time at the Operhaus Zurich for a new production of The Fiery Angel staged by Calixto Beito.

Gianandrea Noseda’s discography includes over 50 CDs, many of which have been celebrated by critics and received awards. His Musica Italiana project, which he initiated over ten years ago, has chronicled under-appreciated Italian repertoire of the 20th century. Conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra Teatro Regio Torino he has recorded albums with Ildebrando d’Arcangelo, Diana Damrau, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. His recordings are also available on LSO Live, Helicon Classics and Foné.

A native of Milan, Maestro Noseda is Cavaliere Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, marking his contribution to the artistic life of Italy.

Widely recognised as one of the leading conductors of his generation, Gianandrea Noseda is the 2016 International Opera Awards Conductor of the Year and Musical America’s Conductor of the Year 2015. He was recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, while from the 2017/18 season he will become Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Music Director of the Teatro Regio Torino since 2007 his initiatives have propelled the Teatro Regio Torino onto the global stage, where it has become one of Italy’s most important cultural ambassadors. Under his leadership it has recorded with the leading singers of our time and embarked on tours to Austria, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the United States, including a recent visit to the Hong Kong and Savonlinna Festivals.

Gianandrea Noseda is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Orquestra de Cadaqués and Artistic Director of the Stresa Festival (Italy). He was at the helm of the BBC Philharmonic from 2002 to 2011, and in 1997 he was appointed the first foreign Principal Guest Conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre, a position he held for a decade.

Gianandrea Noseda works regularly with the world’s leading orchestras such as the NHK Symphony in Japan, the Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras in North America and the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala and Wiener Symphoniker in Europe. In May 2015 he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Principal Guest Conductor

London Symphony Orchestra

Music Director

Teatro Regio Torino

Principal Guest Conductor

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Principal Conductor

Orquestra de Cadaqués

Artistic Director

Stresa Festival

Music Director Designate

National Symphony Orchestra

14 Artist Biographies 18 & 20 September 2016

Erika Grimaldi Soprano

Daniela Barcellona Mezzo-soprano

Erika Grimaldi is one of the most sought-after young sopranos in Europe today, having delivered critically acclaimed performances in nearly a dozen roles at the prestigious Teatro Regio di Torino. She is equally at home at such major opera houses as Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and Opéra National de Montpellier.

Born in Asti, Italy, Erika Grimaldi graduated with distinction from the Conservatorio Giuseppe

Verdi in Turin. Her first of many successes came at the Crescentino International Competition in Vercelli and the International Giacomo Lauri-Volpi Competition in Spain. After winning First Prize at the Comunità Europea competition in 2008, Grimaldi was immediately offered the role of Mimi in La bohème at the Teatro Regio in Turin.

Grimaldi gave her first performance at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in 2010, playing the role of Anaï in Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon under the baton of Riccardo Muti. Previous roles also include Desdemona in Otello and the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at Teatro Regio, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and Donna Fiorilla in Il turco in Italia for her debut at Staatsoper Hamburg. Recently she joined Jonas Kaufmann in a scene from Il Trovatore on the tenor’s all-Verdi album.

Grimaldi’s engagements last season included the title role in Giovanna d’Arco at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Armilla in La donna serpente at Teatro Regio, Alice Ford in Falstaff at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Mimi in La bohème at the Savonlinna Festival in Finland, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in Hong Kong, and Micaëla in Carmen for her debut at San Francisco Opera. Engagements for the 2016/17 season include her debut as Nedda in Pagliacci at Teatro Regio, and Mathilde in William Tell at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

Daniela Barcellona was born in Trieste, Italy, where she studied under the guidance of Alessandro Vitiello. She was the winner of many competitions, including the Aldo Belli in Spoleto, Iris Adami Corradetti in Padua and the Pavarotti International in Philadelphia.

Barcellona has performed to great acclaim at opera houses across Italy, including in Verdi’s Falstaff and Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at La Scala Milan, in Tancredi and La donna del lago at Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, in Donizetti’s

Anna Bolena at Teatro Regio in Turin, and in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and The Italian Girl in Algiers at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome. Internationally, she has performed at the Royal Opera House in London, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, at the Teatro Real in Madrid, at Staatsoper in Vienna, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic and the orchestra of the Bayerische Rundfunk, and appeared in Rossini’s Semiramide at the 2016 BBC Proms.

Daniela Barcellona has collaborated with some of the greatest conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Myung-whun Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Georges Prêtre and Wolfgang Sawallisch. She has won many major awards, among them the Italian Premio Abbiati, the ‘Lucia Valentini-Terrani’ and ‘Aureliano Pertile’ awards, and an Opera Award.

Daniela Barcellona’s forthcoming performances include Falstaff in Chicago with Riccardo Muti, Semiramide in London and Munich, Tancredi in Marseille and Valencia, La Gioconda in Berlin, Aida in Madrid, Samson and Delilah in Turin and Bilbao, and Falstaff in Munich and Berlin with Daniel Barenboim.

lso.co.uk Artist Biographies 15

Francesco Meli Tenor

Michele Pertusi Baritone

Born in Genoa in 1980, Francesco Meli began his singing studies at the age of 17 with soprano Norma Palacios at the Conservatorio di Musica ‘Niccolò Paganini’ in Genoa.

In 2002 Meli made his debut in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, broadcast by RAI (the Italian state broadcasting company) from the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto. He went on to make his debut at La Scala Milan in Poulenc’s Les dialogues des Carmelites under

the baton of Riccardo Muti, later returning for Verdi’s Otello, Mozart’s Idomeneo and Don Giovanni, and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. Other productions include Bianca e Falliero at Rossini Opera Festival, The Barber of Seville in Zurich, Don Giovanni in Paris and at the Barbican, Rossini’s Maometto II in Tokyo, Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Massenet’s Werther in Washington and Verdi’s I due Foscari in Los Angeles.

2013 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Verdi, and as part of these celebrations Meli sang in a new production of Simon Boccanegra conducted by Riccardo Muti, appeared as a soloist in recitals in London, Tokyo, Oslo, Poznan and in performances of Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Daniele Gatti, Lorin Maazel, Gianandrea Noseda and Yuri Temirkanov. He has also recorded a DVD of Verdi’s Requiem for Deutsche Grammophon and I Lombardi alla prima crociata for Unitel.

Future engagements include performances of four of Verdi’s works with Riccardo Muti in Rome, Chicago and Salzburg, Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at Accademia di Santa Cecilia under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, Verdi’s Ernani at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and at the Metropolitan Opera, Carmen, Giovanna d’arco and I due Foscari at La Scala, and further appearances in Vienna, Paris, Washington, Verona, Parma and Turin.

Born in Parma, acclaimed bass Michele Pertusi studied singing with Arrigo Pola, Carlo Bergonzi and Rodolfo Celletti. Pertusi has performed in the world’s most important concert halls and opera houses, such as the Opéra National de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and the Opernhaus in Zurich. His repertoire includes the leading roles in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and

Don Giovanni, Rossini’s Semiramide, L’italiana in Algeri and William Tell, Donizetti’s Anna Bolena and Lucrezia Borgia, and Verdi’s Oberto and Falstaff. He has collaborated with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Myung-whun Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Daniele Gatti, Vladimir Jurowski, James Levine, Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti.

During the 2015/16 season he performed Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at Teatro alla Scala, Rossini’s Zelmira at Opéra de Lyon, Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra in Hong Kong with Teatro Regio di Torino, and Maria Stuarda at Opéra d’Avignon. His future plans include Verdi’s Don Carlos at Teatro Regio di Parma, at Opéra de Lyon and at Teatro Real de Madrid, Rossini’s La gazza ladra at Teatro alla Scala, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at Covent Garden in London, Don Pasquale at Opéra National de Paris, and Maria Stuarda at the Metropolitan Opera.

Michele Pertusi’s recording of Rossini’s Il turco in Italia conducted by Riccardo Chailly was recently awarded a Gramophone Award. In February 2005 the LSO Live recording featuring Pertusi in the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis, won the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. Recently he has been the recipient of the Gold Medal as Cultural Benemeritus from the President of the Italian Republic.

16 Artist Biographies 18 & 20 September 2016

Simon Halsey CBE Choral Director

Simon Halsey occupies a unique position in classical music. He is the trusted advisor on choral singing to the world’s greatest conductors, orchestras and choruses, and also an inspirational teacher and ambassador for choral singing to amateurs of every age, ability and background. Making singing a central part of the world-class institutions with which he is associated, he has been instrumental in changing the level of symphonic singing across Europe.

He is also a highly respected teacher and academic, nurturing the next generation of choral conductors on his post-graduate course in Birmingham and through masterclasses at Princeton, Yale and elsewhere. He holds three honorary doctorates from universities in the UK, and in 2011 Schott Music published his book and DVD on choral conducting, Chorleitung: Vom Konzept zum Konzert.

Halsey has worked on nearly 80 recording projects, many of which have won major awards, including the Gramophone Award, Diapason d’Or, Echo Klassik, and three Grammy Awards with the Rundfunkchor Berlin. He was made Commander of the British Empire in 2015, was awarded The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2014, and received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2011 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to choral music in Germany.

Since becoming Choral Director of the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in 2012, Halsey has been credited with bringing about a ‘spectacular transformation’ (Evening Standard) of the LSC. Highlights with the LSO in 2016/17 include Verdi’s Requiem in London and at the Lincoln Center White Lights festival with Gianandrea Noseda; El Niño with John Adams in London and Paris; and Ligeti’s Le grand macabre with Sir Simon Rattle. In June 2016,

the LSC, LSO Discovery Choirs and Community Choir performed the world premiere of The Hogboon, the late Peter Maxwell Davies’ new children’s opera, with Sir Simon Rattle and students from the Guildhall School of Music. In Summer 2017 the LSO Discovery and Community Choirs will premiere a new opera by Andrew Norman, which Rattle and Halsey will also take to Berlin to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic and their youth choir, of which he is Artistic Director.

Born in London, Simon Halsey sang in the choirs of New College, Oxford, and of King’s College, Cambridge, and studied conducting at the Royal College of Music in London. In 1987, he founded the City of Birmingham Touring Opera with Graham Vick. He was Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir from 1997 to 2008 and Principal Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia’s Choral Programme from 2004 to 2012. From 2001 to 2015 he led the Rundfunkchor Berlin (of which he is now Conductor Laureate); under his leadership the chorus gained a reputation internationally as one of the finest professional choral ensembles. Halsey also initiated innovative projects in unconventional venues and interdisciplinary formats.

Choral Director

London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Chorus

Artistic Director

Orfeó Català Choirs

Artistic Advisor

Palau de la Música Catalana

Chorus Director

City of Birmingham Symphony

Orchestra Choruses

Conductor Laureate

Rundfunkchor Berlin

Artistic Director

Berlin Philharmonic

Youth Choral Programme

Director

BBC Proms Youth Choir

Artistic Advisor

Choir Academy of the

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

lso.co.uk London Symphony Chorus 17

London Symphony Chorus On stage

The London Symphony Chorus was formed in 1966 to complement the work of the London Symphony Orchestra, and this year marks its 50th anniversary. The partnership between the LSC and LSO was strengthened in 2012 with the appointment of Simon Halsey as joint Chorus Director of the LSC and Choral Director for the LSO.

The LSC has partnered many other major orchestras and has performed nationally and internationally with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Championing the musicians of tomorrow, it has also worked with both the NYOGB and the EUYO. The Chorus has toured extensively throughout Europe and has also visited North America, Israel, Australia and South East Asia.

Much of the LSC’s repertoire has been captured in its large catalogue of recordings, which have won nine awards including five Grammys. In June 2015 the recording of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Symphony No 10, commissioned by the LSO and recorded by the LSO and the LSC with Sir Antonio Pappano, won a prestigious South Bank Sky Arts award in the Classical category.

Highlights from last season included Haydn’s The Seasons with Rattle, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with Sir Mark Elder, and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Hogboon. In 2016/17 the LSC continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary with performances of Verdi’s Requiem in London and New York, followed by Ligeti’s Le grand macabre with Sir Simon Rattle, John Adams’ El Niño conducted by the composer, Brahms’ Requiem with Fabio Luisi and Bruckner’s Te Deum with Bernard Haitink.

President Sir Simon Rattle OM CBE

President Emeritus André Previn KBE

Vice President Michael Tilson Thomas

Patrons Simon Russell Beale CBE and Howard Goodall CBE

Chorus Director Simon Halsey CBE

Assistant Directors Neil Ferris and Matthew Hamilton

Chorus Accompanist Roger Sayer

Chairman Owen Hanmer

BASSES Simon Backhouse* Roger Blitz Chris Bourne Gavin Buchan Andy Chan Steve Chevis Edward Cottell Damian Day Peter Deane Joe Dodd Thomas Fea* Ian Fletcher Sam Foster Robert Garbolinski* Gerald Goh Daniel Gosselin John Graham Owen Hanmer* J-C Higgins Anthony Howick Alex Kidney Thomas Kohut Gregor Kowalski Andy Langley Isaac Leaverton Stefan Magier George Marshall Hugh McLeod Geoff Newman Peter Niven Malcolm Rowat Richard Tannenbaum Gordon Thomson Robin Thurston Jez Wareing Anthony Wilder

* Denotes LSC council member

SOPRANOSFrankie Arnull Liz Ashling Kerry Baker Faith Baxter Louisa Blankson Evaleen Brinton Anna Byrne-Smith Carol Capper* Laura Catala-Ubassy Elaine Cheng Jessica Collins Shelagh Connolly Emma Craven Harriet Crawford Rebecca Dent Katharine Elliot Elisa  Fanzinetti Lucy Farrington Lucy Feldman Naomi Fletcher Maureen Hall Isobel Hammond Emma Harry Lydia Haynes Emily Hoffnung Denise Hoilette Josefin Holmberg Claire Hussey* Debbie Jones Ruth Knowles-Clark Luca Kocsmarsky Mimi Kroll Junelle Kwon Debbie Lee Winnie Lei Meg Makower Jane Morley Emily Norton Jessica Norton Maggie Owen Isabel Paintin Andra Patterson

Frances Pope Louisa Prentice Carole Radford Liz Reeve Mikiko Ridd Alison Ryan Giulia Stiedl Rebecca Vassallo Lizzie Webb Alice Young

ALTOS Lauren Au Lara Bienkowska Hetty Boardman-Weston Elizabeth Boyden Gina Broderick Jo Buchan* Elizabeth Campbell Liz Cole Maggie Donnelly Lynn Eaton Linda Evans Amanda Freshwater Christina Gibbs Joanna Gill Rachel Green Kate Harrison Elisabeth Iles Ella Jackson Kristi Jagodin Christine Jasper Jill Jones Vanessa Knapp Gillian Lawson Olivia Lawson Belinda Liao* Anne Loveluck* Aoife McInerney* Jane Muir Caroline Mustill Dorothy Nesbit Helen Palmer

Susannah Priede* Lucy Reay Emma Recknell Maud Saint-Sardos Sarah Scott Lis Smith Jane Steele Margaret Stephen Claire Trocmé Rachael Twyford Kathryn Wells Zoe Williams

TENORS Paul Allatt* Robin Anderson Erik Azzopardi Iain Christie Michael Delany Matt Fernando Matthew Flood Andrew Fuller Simon Goldman Euchar Gravina Michael Harman Matt Horne Alastair Mathews Matthew McCabe Tom McNeill John Moses Daniel Owers Chris Riley Brais Romero-Breijo Peter Sedgwick Chris Straw Richard Street* Malcolm Taylor Owen Toller Simon Wales James Warbis Brad Warburton Robert Ward* Paul Williams-Burton

The London Symphony Chorus is generously supported by:

The John S Cohen Foundation, The Helen Hamlyn Trust, The Revere Charitable Trust,

The Welton Foundation, LSC Friends, Members of the LSC

LSO Sing is generously supported by:

Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement and The John S Cohen Foundation

Want to sing with the LSC? Find out more about life in one of London’s

leading choirs, and how to apply, at lsc.org.uk/join-us

18 London Symphony Chorus: Verdi’s Requiem 18 & 20 September 2016

London Symphony Chorus Verdi’s Requiem

The London Symphony Chorus has been performing Verdi’s Requiem with the LSO for nearly 50 years.

1960s/ 1970s

1980s

1967 The LSC gives its first performance of Verdi’s Requiem with the LSO, conducted by Sir Georg Solti.

1989 Performance of the Requiem at the Barbican with Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.

1973 The LSC and the LSO embark on a UK tour to Colston Hall, Bristol, performing the work with conductor Riccardo Muti and soprano Jessye Norman. The Chorus and Orchestra return to the Colston Hall in 1979 with LSC Music Director Richard Hickox.

1970 The LSC and LSO perform the Requiem at St Paul’s Cathedral for London Weekend Television and CBS. The performance was conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and featured soloists Placido Domingo, Josephine Veasey, Martina Arroyo and Ruggiero Raimondi. Bernstein would famously perform his ‘Lenny Leap’ and jump a foot into the air at the opening of the Dies Irae!

Founded in 1966, 2016 marks the LSC’s 50th anniversary year – and it is fitting that the Chorus should return to the Barbican for a work that has been performed over 44 times throughout its history. Since 1967 the Chorus and the LSO have worked side-by-side to perform the work on numerous occasions: at the Barbican; at the BBC Proms; on tour both in the UK and further afield; and in recordings for LSO Live. Here are jus t some of the highlights of 50 years of collaboration.

lso.co.uk London Symphony Chorus: Verdi’s Requiem 19

1990s 2000s 2010s

1995 Returns to the Barbican Hall for a performance of the Requiem with the LSO, conducted by Richard Hickox (pictured here with the Chorus in 1991).

1997 The Requiem is performed once again with Sir Colin Davis and the LSO at a memorial BBC Prom shortly after the death of Princess Diana, and of Sir Georg Solti (who had been due to conduct the concert). Princess Diana was Patron of the LSC from 1988–1996, and the Verdi Requiem was known to be one of her favourite pieces.

1990s The LSC performs the Requiem with the LSO and Sir Colin Davis at the Barbican on two occasions over the course of the decade: in March 1992; and December 1996, in celebration of their 30th anniversary.

2001 Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the Requiem in a performance marking the 100th anniversary of Verdi’s death, joined by soloist Renée Fleming.

2005 Sir Colin Davis, the LSO and the LSC take Verdi’s Requiem to New York.

2009 Sir Colin Davis conducts the Requiem in a performance dedicated to the memory of Richard Hickox, who died in 2008. The performance is recorded and released on LSO Live.

2016 In the Chorus’ 50th anniversary year, LSO Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda opens the 2016/17 season at the Barbican with the Requiem, before conducting the work on tour in New York.

20 The Orchestra 18 & 20 September 2016

London Symphony Orchestra On stage

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TRUMPETS Philip Cobb David Elton Gerald Ruddock Daniel Newell Robin Totterdell Jason Evans Paul Mayes Niall Keatley

TROMBONES Dudley Bright James Maynard

BASS TROMBONE Paul Milner

TUBA Patrick Harrild

TIMPANI Nigel Thomas Antoine Bedewi

PERCUSSION Neil Percy

FIRST VIOLINS Carmine Lauri Leader Lennox Mackenzie Clare Duckworth Nigel Broadbent Ginette Decuyper Gerald Gregory Jörg Hammann Maxine Kwok-Adams Claire Parfitt Laurent Quenelle Harriet Rayfield Colin Renwick Sylvain Vasseur Rhys Watkins Shlomy Dobrinsky Helena Smart

SECOND VIOLINS Thomas Norris Miya Väisänen David Ballesteros Matthew Gardner Julian Gil Rodriguez Naoko Keatley Belinda McFarlane William Melvin Iwona Muszynska Andrew Pollock Paul Robson Hazel Mulligan Alain Petitclerc Robert Yeomans

VIOLAS Edward Vanderspar Malcolm Johnston Anna Bastow German Clavijo Julia O’Riordan Robert Turner Heather Wallington Jonathan Welch Stephen Doman Carol Ella Felicity Matthews Caroline O’Neill

CELLOS Tim Hugh Alastair Blayden Jennifer Brown Noel Bradshaw Eve-Marie Caravassilis Daniel Gardner Hilary Jones Amanda Truelove Steffan Morris Miwa Rosso

DOUBLE BASSES Colin Paris Patrick Laurence Matthew Gibson Thomas Goodman Joe Melvin Jani Pensola Simon Oliver Nicholas Worters

FLUTES Adam Walker Alex Jakeman

PICCOLO Sharon Williams

OBOES Olivier Stankiewicz Rosie Jenkins

CLARINETS Andrew Marriner Chi-Yu Mo

BASSOONS Daniel Jemison Joost Bosdijk Lawrence O’Donnell

CONTRA BASSOON Dominic Morgan

HORNS Nicolas Fleury Angela Barnes Alexander Edmundson Jonathan Lipton Vittorio Schiavone

Jenna Sherry Still feeling under the spell of last night’s Haitink/@londonsymphony Mahler 3 … space, architecture, humility. Very inspiring. @bbcproms

Jack So last night’s #bbcproms was the best Mahler 3 I’ll ever see. Hands down. #StillNotOverIt @londonsymphony

Peter Cullen Extraordinary, emotional ovation for Bernard Haitink and @londonsymphony after last night’s wonderful Mahler 3 @bbcproms. Glad to be there

Frankie Perry Midnight’s approaching and I’m relishing the memory of @spconnolly’s voice and gorgeous D Major. Thanks @londonsymphony @bbcproms #Mahler3

The Scheme is supported by Help Musicians UK The Fidelio Charitable Trust N Smith Charitable Settlement Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust The Lefever Award LSO Patrons

LSO STRING EXPERIENCE SCHEME

Established in 1992, the LSO String Experience Scheme enables young string players at the start of their professional careers to gain work experience by playing in rehearsals and concerts with the LSO. The scheme auditions students from the London music conservatoires, and 15 students per year are selected to participate. The musicians are treated as professional ’extra’ players (additional to LSO members) and receive fees for their work in line with LSO section players.

Cover Photography Ranald Mackechnie, featuring LSO Members with 20+ years’ service. Visit lso.co.uk/1617photos for a full list.

Photography Ranald Mackechnie, Alberto Venzago, Matthias Heyde, Silvano Bacciardi, Edoardo Fornaciari, Mark Allan, Roberto Pistone, London Weekend Television/The Estate of Leonard Bernstein

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London Symphony Orchestra Barbican Silk Street London EC2Y 8DS

Registered charity in England No 232391

Details in this publication were correct at time of going to press.

Editor Edward Appleyard edward.appleyard@lso.co.uk

LSO AT THE BBC PROMS 2016 – HAITINK/MAHLER SYMPHONY NO 3