MIDSUMMER MOZARTIADE
What does our festival have in store this year?
No less than an exciting 5th edition under the banner of Imperial Rome, with the sumptuous opera La clemenza di Tito as its centrepiece. One of Mozart's most popular operas for the first 30 years, this masterpiece all but disappeared from the stage before rejoining the repertoire in recent decades. You will not want to miss this unique opportunity to discover this grandiose opera in the intimate setting of the Theatre des Martyrs. That is where you will find our brand-new production (signed Gobin & Hollander) performed by our superb all-Belgian cast from 21 to 28 June. If you cannot make it to any of our Brussels shows, you can always catch us on 30 June in Mons, this time at the Théâtre Royal.
La clemenza di Tito 1791) is both a retrospective glance at opera seria and a work of classical nobility that ushers in the new century. Mozart’s last composition for the stage was commissioned as part of the celebrations of the coronation of the new Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in Prague on September 6, 1791. He had already been invested as Duke of Brabant in Brussels on June 30. These were momentous ceremonies in a context troubled by revolutionary echoes. Mozart received the definitive commission in mid-July, when he had just finished Die Zauberflöte. At the premiere of his “coronation opera” the reactions were tempered. Yet, as soon as the imperial court left for Vienna, the audiences in Prague immediately took the work to heart.
And beyond the opera?
True to the principles that guide our festival, we will also present recitals in the theatre, concerts in the square and lectures in the bookshop. Kicking off our recitals this year will be Gianna Cañete Gallo (Konstanze in 2019, Barbarina in 2016) in a programme featuring Roman noblewomen and foreign queens in works by Handel and Mozart ("Femme romane e barbare regine"). She will be accompanied by Lucas Blondeel (recitial artist in residence in 2019) on fortepiano. Festival pillar, Shadi Torbey (Osmin in 2019, Don Alfonso in 2018, Leporello in 2017, Figaro in 2016) will be joining us for an evening of baroque opera on the theme of imperial Rome (“Romani!"). He will be accompanied on historical instruments by string quartet. First-timers this year will be four young soloists from the “Studio Lyrique du PBA de Charleroi” in a programme devoted to the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy.
What about free events?
This year, our concerts on the Place des Martyrs will be entirely dedicated to the repertoire for brass instruments. In this context, the Geneva Brass Quintet will make its debut alongside two festival regulars: the 11-strong Ensemble de Cuivres de Belgique and the trombone quartet Make It Slide. As for our lectures at the Maison CFC, there will again be two. During the first ("Bruxelles 1791") historian Michèle Galand will recount the current events in our fair city during the last year of Mozart's life. In the second ("Comment Mozart devint le divin Mozart") musicologist Hugo Rodriguez will explore the international reception of our chosen composer’s works, from the French Revolution to the revolutionary wave of 1830.
We look forward to seeing you all in June for this bountiful 5th edition!
Your Amadeus & Co Team
No less than an exciting 5th edition under the banner of Imperial Rome, with the sumptuous opera La clemenza di Tito as its centrepiece. One of Mozart's most popular operas for the first 30 years, this masterpiece all but disappeared from the stage before rejoining the repertoire in recent decades. You will not want to miss this unique opportunity to discover this grandiose opera in the intimate setting of the Theatre des Martyrs. That is where you will find our brand-new production (signed Gobin & Hollander) performed by our superb all-Belgian cast from 21 to 28 June. If you cannot make it to any of our Brussels shows, you can always catch us on 30 June in Mons, this time at the Théâtre Royal.
La clemenza di Tito 1791) is both a retrospective glance at opera seria and a work of classical nobility that ushers in the new century. Mozart’s last composition for the stage was commissioned as part of the celebrations of the coronation of the new Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in Prague on September 6, 1791. He had already been invested as Duke of Brabant in Brussels on June 30. These were momentous ceremonies in a context troubled by revolutionary echoes. Mozart received the definitive commission in mid-July, when he had just finished Die Zauberflöte. At the premiere of his “coronation opera” the reactions were tempered. Yet, as soon as the imperial court left for Vienna, the audiences in Prague immediately took the work to heart.
And beyond the opera?
True to the principles that guide our festival, we will also present recitals in the theatre, concerts in the square and lectures in the bookshop. Kicking off our recitals this year will be Gianna Cañete Gallo (Konstanze in 2019, Barbarina in 2016) in a programme featuring Roman noblewomen and foreign queens in works by Handel and Mozart ("Femme romane e barbare regine"). She will be accompanied by Lucas Blondeel (recitial artist in residence in 2019) on fortepiano. Festival pillar, Shadi Torbey (Osmin in 2019, Don Alfonso in 2018, Leporello in 2017, Figaro in 2016) will be joining us for an evening of baroque opera on the theme of imperial Rome (“Romani!"). He will be accompanied on historical instruments by string quartet. First-timers this year will be four young soloists from the “Studio Lyrique du PBA de Charleroi” in a programme devoted to the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy.
What about free events?
This year, our concerts on the Place des Martyrs will be entirely dedicated to the repertoire for brass instruments. In this context, the Geneva Brass Quintet will make its debut alongside two festival regulars: the 11-strong Ensemble de Cuivres de Belgique and the trombone quartet Make It Slide. As for our lectures at the Maison CFC, there will again be two. During the first ("Bruxelles 1791") historian Michèle Galand will recount the current events in our fair city during the last year of Mozart's life. In the second ("Comment Mozart devint le divin Mozart") musicologist Hugo Rodriguez will explore the international reception of our chosen composer’s works, from the French Revolution to the revolutionary wave of 1830.
We look forward to seeing you all in June for this bountiful 5th edition!
Your Amadeus & Co Team
AN AMADEUS & CO PRODUCTION