Repertoire

Domènec Terradellas: Sesostri, re d’Egitto. Symphony (1751) 7′
Héctor Berlioz: La mort de Cléopâtre (1829) with Joyce El-Khoury 22′
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Coral” (1822-24) 65′

ARTISTS

Joyce El-Khoury, soprano
Silvia Tro Santafé, mezzo-soprano
Elgan Llyr Thomas, tenor
Davone Tines, bass-baritone
Orfeó Català
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC)

Programme

A season opening with what is possibly the greatest milestone ever reached by an author: Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 stands out for its incredibly original proposal, which could even be classed as ground-breaking in its original context, with a romantic character that calls upon human beings of all times, united fraternally in the same yearning to celebrate. A specific, immanent feeling of belonging, yet which -as the Orfeó Català will sing in the closing movement, guided by the divine spark that is Schiller’s ode to joy (Freude)- elevates all humans and makes them equal, and transcends their respective singularities.

Ludovic Morlot, chief conductor of the OBC, will head a quartet of soloists formed by Joyce El-Khoury, soprano; Silvia Tro Santafé, mezzo-soprano; Elgan Llyr Thomas, tenor, and Davone Tines, bass. The Lebanese-Canadian soprano is also to take part in the performance of the lyric scene La mort de Cléopâtre, in a concert that will begin with the overture in three tempos (symphony) from the opera Sesostri, re d’Egitto, a work by Domènec Terradellas. Completed in 1751, it was successfully performed for the first time in Rome and, three years later, in Barcelona, his home city. It was the first opera by a Catalan composer to be programmed in Catalonia.