| Daniel Harding & Swedish Radio Symphony reunited for the culmination of the season |
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| ◆ June 13 ◆ complete staged performance of “Don Giovanni” with Peter Mattei & Malin Byström in title roles |
| ◆ June 5 ◆ “Solitude” – with Ann Hallenberg |
| Having maintained weekly live broadcast concerts throughout the last months, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is now reunited with its Music Director, Daniel Harding, for his first concerts after ten weeks of quarantine and the culmination of the orchestra’s season. Joining them at home in Berwaldhallen is the Swedish Radio Choirand an elite cast of singers for two filmed performances, streamed live to audiences around the world. Both performances will also be simultaneously broadcast on Swedish Radio. |
| Daniel Harding conducts his first concert on Friday June 5 with a programme built around the four movements of Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony and Thomas Tranströmer’s poems of isolation. Ann Hallenberg sings Mahler and Bach, and the Swedish Radio Choir perform Purcell. Harding says of this programme: “The music touches on the contrasting natures of being alone, of isolation and loneliness, the courage required to look life straight in the eyes (as Sibelius himself wrote) and to contemplate reality however unforgiving it may be.” |
| On Saturday June 13, Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir are then joined by an elite cast of Swedish opera stars, including Peter Mattei, Malin Byström and Johanna Wallroth, for a unique, staged performance of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni at Berwaldhallen. It is directed by Andrew Staples, who also sings, with scenography by Bengt Gomér and Helle Carlsson, broadcast live for free on Berwaldhallen Play. |
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| The theme of separation also features at the heart of Andrew Staples’ semi-staging of Don Giovanni: “One of the things this situation has taught me is how much I rely on my electronic devices. In this staging we explore the darker side of a reliance on screens and remote images, allowing us to examine Don Giovanni’s need for intimacy and adapt that idea to our own current situation. We imagine a world similar to ours now, where the characters maintain a physical distance and satisfy their craving for validation through their proximity to screens. In this world Don Giovanni is less concerned with physical contact. Instead, he desires to capture and curate the moment of seduction. This obsession is perhaps part of our covid-19 world, but it serves to highlight a dependency that is already becoming normal for many of us.” |
| Staffan Becker, Berwaldhallen General Manager, commented: “At a time when we need music more than ever, I am proud of what we have achieved in Berwaldhallen this Spring. The orchestra, choir and whole team adapted quickly to the situation and continued to bring live concerts to our audiences. To close our season with Don Giovanni, at a time when too many concert halls and opera houses remain dark, is a unique and extraordinary moment.” |
| Friday, 5 June 2020 at 19.00 h CET “SOLITUDE” A programme built around the four movements of Sibelius’ symphony and Thomas Tranströmer’s poems SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 4 in A minor MAHLER: “Der Einsame im Herbst” from Das Lied von der Erde PURCELL: Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary J.S. BACH: “Erbarme dich” from St Matthew Passion Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Swedish Radio Choir Daniel Harding conductor Ann Hallenberg mezzo soprano Krister Henriksson narrator |
| available to watch live for free and for a further 90 days on: ► https://www.berwaldhallen.se/play/◀︎ available to listen live for free on: ► https://sverigesradio.se/p2 ◀︎ |
| Saturday, 13 June 2020 at 19.00 h CET MOZART: DON GIOVANNI Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Swedish Radio Choir Daniel Harding conductor Peter Mattei Don Giovanni Johan Schinkler Il Commendatore Mari Eriksmoen Donna Anna Andrew Staples Don Ottavio Malin Byström Donna Elvira John Lundgen Leporello Henning von Schulman Masetto Johanna Wallroth Zerlina Bengt Gomér, Helle Carlsson creative team Andrew Staples director |
| available to watch live for free and for a further 30 days on: ► https://www.berwaldhallen.se/play/ ◀︎ available to listen live for free on: ► https://sverigesradio.se/p2 ◀︎ |
| Berwaldhallen is the Swedish Radio Concert Hall and home to the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir. It is part of the Swedish Public Service company Sveriges Radio. |
Harding, Mattei, Byström – Don Giovanni live from Stockholm, June 13, and Solitude this Friday.
It gladdens my heart to have the opportunity to hear the Sibelius Fourth Symphony from Sweden. Is it the first time Harding has conducted it? He has not struck me as being a beacon for Sibelius but the Fourth is a good test for his sympathies in this most austere of the seven symphonies.
London missed Mark Elder in the Fourth a week into lockdown. We do have his new recording which I heartedly recommend.
Roll on Friday!
Mark Elder’s Sibelius 4 is indeed excellent and is reviewed on this site by myself.