Classical & Opera
8 shows found
John Andrews conductor
Music from some of your favourite films; Gone with the Wind, The Magnificent Seven, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Zhivago and many more.
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Leicester Symphony Orchestra: Carmina Burana
Claus Efland conductor
DUKAS The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
POULENC Les Biches - Suite
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade
Join the Bardi and immerse yourself in familiar but other-worldly sounds and let your imagination run riot! The programme opens with mischievous music from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (remember Disney’s immortal ‘Fantasia’ character?) followed by the Suite from the tuneful and playful ballet ‘Les Biches’. The second half features Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade portraying tales of the Arabian Nights alongside the timeless love story of the young Prince and Princess. Pure escapism for an early spring afternoon.
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An evening of passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias.
This dazzling production with orchestra features Bizet’s unforgettable melodies including The Toreador’s Song, Carmen’s enticing Habanera, and Don José’s lyrical Flower Song in a setting evoking the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences.
Sung in French with English surtitles.
*Cast subject to change.
"Impassioned and sultry." The Observer
"Hot-blooded, a joy." The Independent
Don't miss Madama Butterfly on Sunday 3 April 2022
Welcoming back the fabulous Korean soprano Elena Dee and the celebrated international soprano Alyona Kistenyova*.
Back by overwhelming public demand, this award-winning Opera returns in a new production with exquisite sets including a spectacular Japanese garden and fabulous costumes including antique wedding kimonos from Japan.
One of the world’s most popular operas, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly tells the heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant – with dramatic results.
Highlights include the melodic Humming Chorus, the moving aria One Fine Day and the unforgettable Love Duet.
Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
*Cast subject to change.
"Above all it was a production which captured the raw emotion at the centre of the opera. Don’t take a handkerchief with you, take a box of them." The Independent
Don't miss Carmen on Saturday 2 April 2022
Stanislav Kochanovsky conductor
Gil Shaham violin
BORODIN ‘Polovtsian Dances’ from Prince Igor
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
Join the Philharmonia for a spring evening celebrating Russia’s timeless classical music tradition in a programme welcoming violinist Gil Shaham to the De Montfort Hall stage.
The American violinist returns to Leicester for the first time in 12 years with one of the most popular concertos in the repertoire. Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto evokes its Russian heritage from the start, with a folk-inspired melody that weaves through the entire piece, capturing the full emotional range of the instrument along the way. From that graceful tune to spellbinding virtuosity, the music finally makes its way to Spain, where the original Russian melody finds itself joined by sprightly castanets for a fiery finale.
Framing the programme, two works filled to the brim with instantly recognisable tunes used across the world in everything from adverts to film soundtracks. Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances form the stunning finale to Act Two of his unfinished opera Prince Igor, bringing to life a roaring celebration of the villainous Khan Konchak. Equally vivid, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition images the listener stepping into the worlds of a series of paintings in a gallery. Led by the stately Promenade theme as we wander past the canvases, each movement evokes a new tableau, from grand castles to adorable baby chicks dancing inside their eggs.
Our evening comes to a close as we head from a journey deep into gloomy catacombs to a devilish witch’s hut on chicken legs, before finally bursting into radiant golden sunshine as we hear the majestic final theme of the Great Gate of Kiev – this concert will leave you humming melodies for days.
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Philharmonia: New World Symphony
Ross Jamie Collins conductor
Randall Goosby violin
NIELSEN Helios Overture
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
Celebrate the warmth of spring as the Philharmonia closes its Leicester season with the beautiful melodies of Mendelssohn’s life-affirming Violin Concerto paired with Sibelius’s best-loved symphony.
Appearing centre-stage is violinist Randall Goosby, whose meteoric career launched as a protege of violin legend Itzhak Perlman. Having taken the world by storm ever since, he makes his Leicester debut with Mendelssohn’s stunning Violin Concerto. Filled with stormy emotion, unforgettable melodies and electrifying virtuosity, Mendelssohn’s masterly work delights wherever it is performed.
Completing the programme is Sibelius’s Second Symphony. While the first notes came to him during a happy period spent in Italy, the piece is filled with the unmistakeable sound of Sibelius’s Finnish homeland. Lush, flowing melodies in the strings balance against soulful solo moments for each instrument of the woodwind section, evoking green forests and icy landscapes. While the second movement sees a cold, austere walking bass line underpin a melancholy mood, the music gradually builds in energy as it launches into a feverishly intense third movement. But finishing the concert – and the Philharmonia’s entire season in its Leicester residency – a towering brass finale provides a majestic send-off.
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Philharmonia: New World Symphony
Claus Efland conductor
Lydia Shelley cello
ELGAR Serenade for Strings
ELGAR Cello Concerto
ELGAR Symphony No 1
The Bardi’s De Montfort Hall season finale sees three works showing different sides of one of England’s greatest composers, Sir Edward Elgar. The first half has the delightful String Serenade contrasting strongly with the passionate and powerful Cello Concerto with soloist Lydia Shelley. The mighty First Symphony brings the concert to a magnificent conclusion with one of Elgar’s most inspired themes.
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Bardi Symphony Orchestra: Fantasy & Adventure!
John Andrews conductor
Nicholas Daniel oboe
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Oboe Concerto
BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
This concert celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
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Leicester Symphony Orchestra: Carmina Burana
Leicester Symphony Orchestra: 100 Years of Music at the Movies