Experience Wagner's Die Walküre with the Colorado Symphony

May 27, 2011 - PRLog -- iennese conductor Christian Arming joins the Colorado Symphony for a spectacular season finale featuring three of music's finest Wagnerian singers as the Colorado Symphony and Chorus bring Wagner's masterworks to life on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12 at Denver's Boettcher Concert Hall. Soprano Amber Wagner, tenor Simon O'Neill and bass Burak Bilgili are featured in the crowning jewel of the season finale: Wagner's Act I from "Die Walküre" from his cycle of "music-dramas," "The Ring of the Nibelungen" ("The Ring Cycle"). Also an exceptional opportunity to experience great Wagner choruses, the Colorado Symphony season finale promises to thrill concertgoers with the Spinning Chorus from Act II of "Der Fliegende Holländer" ("The Flying Dutchman"), "Wach' auf!" from "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" ("The Mastersingers of Nuremberg") and the famous Bridal Chorus from "Lohengrin."

Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelungen" is unique in the history of the art: an ancient mythological tale spread over four interdependent operas; the capstone of Romantic orchestration, harmony and emotional expression; a nodal point in the history of music; and an integral part of the development of modern thought and culture. "Die Walküre" ("The Valkyrie") is the second of the four operas. It is the most enduringly popular of the four, in part due to the captivating love story of Siegmund and Sieglinde, as well as Wagner's brilliant writing for orchestra.

"Lohengrin," as all of Wagner's operas, is resplendant with a daunting Teutonic symbolism that blends myth, religion, history, philosophy and art. The Prelude to Act III of "Lohengrin" is a brief burst of sunlight that serves as a foil to the pervasive seriousness of the work. The Bridal Chorus, probably the most famous melody in all opera, is all sensual sweetness and musical caress.

Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman", with its theme of redemption through love, is regarded as one of the composer's most psychologically intense yet widely-admired operas. Combining musical forces that literally embody the forces of the ocean, "The Flying Dutchman" offers the chorus a standout opportunity to contribute magically to this powerful, sweeping masterpiece.

The composition of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg," which Ignace Paderewski called "the greatest work of genius ever achieved by any artist in any field of human activity," was intimately bound to the ebb and flow of the most flamboyant period of Wagner's life. The Prelude, written between March and June 1862, was the first part of the score to be completed, and served as the thematic source for much of the opera.

The Prelude opens with the majestic processional of the Mastersingers intoned by the full orchestra. The final scene of "Die Meistersinger" is set in a meadow on the banks of the River Pegnitz outside Nuremberg, which has been richly bedecked for the singing contest between Walther and Beckmesser. The guild of Mastersingers arrives to judge the competition, and the burgers give a solemn greeting to Hans Sachs and to the dawning morn in the chorus "Wach auf!" ("Awake!"). In concert, this episode is linked directly to the chorus that closes the opera, "Ehrt eure deutschen Meister" ("Honor your German Mastersingers"), a jubilant paean to music, country and Nuremberg's beloved Sachs.

About the Guest Artists
Austrian conductor Christian Arming first came to public attention when, at just 24, he was appointed chief conductor of the Janácek Philharmonic in Ostrava. Other European positions followed, and since 2003 he has been music director of the New Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo. Arming's career successfully spans both the orchestral and operatic worlds. Opera highlights have included new productions of Britten's "The Turn of the Screw" in Cincinnati and "Rosenkavalier in Triest" as well as "La Bohème" in Lucerne, "Salome" and "Elektra" in Verona, and "Der Fliegende Holländer" and "Jenufa" for Frankfurt Opera. Arming has made a number of recordings including works by Janácek, Schubert and most recently Brahms Symphony No. 1 and Mahler Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5 with the New Japan Philharmonic on Fontec.

Soprano Amber Wagner is a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals and was featured in the documentary film "The Audition," which opened to audiences nationwide in 2009. The 2010/11 season has Wagner returning to Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Elsa in Wagner's "Lohengrin" conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Symphonic highlights include a return to Grant Park Music Festival to sing Beethoven's Mass in C Major under Maestro Carlos Kalmar. In 2009/10, she began her third and final season as a member of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Debut symphonic appearances included Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Grant Park Festival, and with the Oregon Symphony performing Rossini's Stabat Mater, both under the baton of Carlos Kalmar.

Tenor Simon O'Neill has rapidly established himself as one of the finest helden-tenors on the international stage. A native of New Zealand, he is a principal artist with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, La Scala, and both the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, appearing with a number of illustrious conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Edo de Waart, Donald Runnicles and Pietari Inkinen. A consummate musician - he is both a pianist and tuba player - O'Neill's operatic highlights include both Florestan in "Fidelio" and the title role of "Lohengrin" at the Royal Opera House; Metropolitan Opera tour of Japan with "Die Walküre;" "Lohengrin" with Houston Grand Opera; and Mao in John Adams' "Nixon in China" with Minnesota Opera. He also had the honor of touring Europe with Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra performing Act I of "Die Walküre."

Turkish bass Burak Bilgili recently made his San Francisco Opera debut as Ferrando in Verdi's "Trovatore," a role he has also sung at the Metropolitan Opera and in Geneva. He has sung Duke Alfonso in Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia" at Teatro alla Scala, Leporello in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" in Geneva, Giorgio in Bellini's "Puritani" at the Savonlinna Festival, and Zaccaria in Verdi's "Nabucco" and Dulcamara in Donizetti's "Elisir d'amore" at Michigan Opera Theatre. Other roles have included Colline in Puccini's "Bohème," Walter in Verdi's "Luisa Miller," and Escamillo in Bizet's "Carmen." He has been seen at Canadian Opera Company, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, and Palm Beach Opera, among others. Most recently, he sang Fiesco in Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" in Montréal. A recipient of numerous awards, Bilgili received First Prizes in the Belvedere International Competition 2002 in Vienna, the International Alfredo Kraus Competition 2002 in Las Palmas, and the 2001 Neue Stimmen International Opera Competition.

Artists:
Colorado Symphony - Wagner's "Die Walküre"
Christian Arming, conductor
Colorado Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Amber Wagner, soprano
Simon O'Neill, tenor
Burak Bilgili, bass

Program:
WAGNER: Prelude to Act III and Bridal Chorus from "Lohengrin"
WAGNER: Spinning Chorus from Act II of "Der Fliegende Holländer" ("The Flying Dutchman")
WAGNER: Prelude and "Wach' auf!" from "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" ("The Mastersingers of Nuremberg")
WAGNER: Act I from "Die Walküre"

Performances:
Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Come early and enjoy a Prelude to these performances.

Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now at www.coloradosymphony.org, the Colorado Symphony Box Office: (303) 623-7876 or (877) 292-7979 or in-person in the lobby of Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Hours are Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Media Contact
Margaret A. Williams
Office: 303.308.2472
Mobile: 808.551.6062
mwilliams@coloradosymphony.org

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Originally established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall and throughout the Front Range, presenting outstanding education and outreach programs, as well as Masterworks, Pops, Holiday, Family, and the exciting new "Inside the Score" series that has attracted a historic level of first-time concertgoers. By presenting music that is both timeless and inspiring, while taking risks with new musical collaborations and interactive concerts, the Colorado Symphony is attracting more diverse and younger audiences than ever before. To date, 30 percent of the 2010/11 season concertgoers are new patrons. The increasing popularity of Colorado Symphony concerts as well as a strong fund-raising base not only re-affirms the artistic excellence of the orchestra, but also reflects the deep-rooted enthusiasm for symphonic music felt by so many individuals across the region. For more information, visit www.coloradosymphony.org.