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FANCY A MOMENT OF 

Intensity THIS EVENING? 

An appreciation for the finer things in life is something 

music and chocolate lovers have in common. Together, 

Lindt and the Orchestra have been appreciating a fine 

relationship for over 8 years. 

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Discover more at www.lindt.co.uk

Contents 

Spring/Summer Concerts 

2012–2013 

Welcome to the Southbank Centre and to your free 

programme. This is our third season of offering 

complimentary programmes and we hope that they 

are adding to your enjoyment of the evening. 

OAE regulars may notice some features missing from 

this programme. In an effort to reduce costs we are 

now only publishing our artist interviews and 

composer biographies online – you will be able to find 

them at oae.co.uk. If you don’t have internet access, do 

speak to us at our information desk in the foyer or call 

us on 020 7230 9370, and we’ll be happy to send you a 

printed version in the post. 

Don’t forget to bring this programme back with you if 

you are attending another concert and remember that 

you can always download programmes in advance of 

the concert at oae.co.uk/programmes. Lastly, perhaps 

you might consider putting the £3 you would usually 

have paid for this programme towards an OAE 

Priority Booking or Friends Membership? These start 

from £15 a year and you can find information at our 

desk in the foyer or within this programme. 

OAE Administration 02 

Mozart’s Eroica 

Monday 25 February 2013 03 

Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers: 

Curtain Raisers and High Drama 

Friday 8 March 2013 12 


A Tribute to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson 

Monday 3 June 2013 29 

Glossary 44 

OAE Biography 45 

OAE Education 46 

Major sponsor 

OAE News 48 

OAE Supporters 50 

2013-2014 Concerts 52 

01

Management 

Chief Executive 

Stephen Carpenter 

Orchestra Manager 

Philippa Brownsword 

Projects Director 

Ceri Jones 

Projects and Tours 

Manager 

Laura Sheldon 

Education Director 

Cherry Forbes 

Education Officer 

Ellie Cowan 

Librarian 

Colin Kitching 

Finance Director 

Lisa Sian 

Finance Officer 

Sophie Kelland 

Director of 

Development 

Clare Norburn 

Development 

Manager, Individual 

Giving 

Isabelle Tawil 

Development 

Manager, Trusts and 

Foundations 

Samuel Coote 

Development 

Administrator 

Jodie Gilliam 

Corporate Relations 

and Events 

Administrator 

Lucy Pilcher 

Development Trainee 

William Campbell- 

Gibson 

Projects Officer 

Nancy Cole 

Board of Directors 

Sir Martin Smith 

(Chairman) 

Martin Kelly 

(Vice-Chairman) 

Cecelia Bruggemeyer 

Stephen Carpenter 

Jane Carter 

Robert Cory 

Sally Jackson 

Nigel Jones 

Colin Kitching 

Andrew Roberts 

Susannah Simons 

Mark Williams 

Development Board 

Sally Jackson 

(Player Member) 

James Flynn QC 

David Marks 

Anthony Simpson 

Artistic Direction 

Committee 

Susie Carpenter-Jacobs 

Debbie Diamond 

Martin Lawrence 

Leaders 

Alison Bury 

Kati Debretzeni 

Margaret Faultless 

Matthew Truscott 

American Friends 

Board 

Wendy Brooks (Chair) 

Advisory Council 

Sir Martin Smith 

(Chairman) 

Sir Victor Blank 

James Joll 

Christopher Jonas 

Christopher Lawrence 

Jonathan Sumption QC 

Sir John Tooley 

Communications 

Director 

(sabbatical) 

William Norris 

Press Manager 

Katy Bell 

Marketing Manager 

(acting) 

Natasha Stehr 

Digital Content 

Officer 

Zen Grisdale 

Marketing and Press 

Assistant 

Matthew Grindon 

Administration 

Orchestra of the 

Age of Enlightenment 

Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG 

Tel: 020 7239 9370 

Email: info@oae.co.uk 

Website: oae.co.uk 

orchestraoftheageofenlightenment 

theoae 

02 

Registered Charity No. 295329 

Registered Company No. 2040312

Mozart’s Eroica Monday 25 February 2013 

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment would like to thank the 

following Benefactors for their support, without which this concert 

would not have been possible 

Selina and David Marks 

03 

Cecelia Bruggemeyer of the OAE and Melissa Blanco Borelli. Photo: Eric Richmond /Harrison & Co

Mozart’s Eroica 

Monday 25 February 2013 

7pm 

Queen Elizabeth Hall 

Mozart 

Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat 

Haydn 

Symphony No. 98 in B flat 

Interval 

Violin 1 

Alison Bury 


Margaret Faultless 

Miki Takahashi 

Jennifer Godson 


Susan Carpenter-Jacobs 

Henrietta Wayne 

Violin2 


Roy Mowatt 

Claire Sansom 

Claire Holden 

Catherine Weiss 

Catherine Ford 

Violas 

Jan Schlapp 

Nicholas Logie 

Martin Kelly 

Annette Isserlis 

Katharine Hart 

Cellos 

Robin Michael 

Helen Verney 

Jennifer Morsches 

Aoife Nic Athlaoich 

Double Basses 


Andrew Durban 

Flute 

Lisa Beznosiuk 

Oboes 

Anthony Robson 

Richard Earle 

Clarinets 

Antony Pay 

Jane Booth 

Bassoons 

Andrew Watts 

Zoe Shevlin 

Horns 

Roger Montgomery 

Gavin Edwards 

Trumpets 

Paul Sharp 

Simon Munday 

Timpani 

Adrian Bending 

Mozart 

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor 

András Schiff conductor/piano 

Tonight’s concert is being broadcast live 

on BBC Radio 3. 

The concert will finish at approximately 8.45pm 

with an interval of 20 minutes. 

OAE Extras at 5.45pm, Free Admission 

Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer 

New Horizons – new ensembles. 

Come and join OAE REMIX players in a preconcert 

event inspired by Mozart. Working with 

composer James Redwood, OAE players have 

taken ideas from Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 and 

Piano Concerto No. 9 to create new music 

inspired by old ideas. 

04


Concert in 

Context 

When Joseph Haydn heard the 

news that Wolfgang Amadeus 

Mozart had died, he was 

devastated. Haydn was Mozart’s 

senior by 24 years, but he had the 

humility to recognise Mozart’s 

superlative talent, and to know 

what a loss to human civilisation his 

death would be. More than that, 

though, the two were friends. The 

younger composer’s disdain for 

authority held no truck with 

Haydn, on whose shoulders he 

stood and whose music he admired 

perhaps more than anyone else’s. 

When he heard that Mozart had 

died, Haydn was here in London 

preparing a new symphony for his 

adoring West End fans. The grief 

he felt found its way – 

subconsciously, perhaps – into the 

aching second movement of the 

symphony we hear tonight. 

Though Mozart died at 35, he had 

already achieved enough not just to 

ensure his place in history, but also 

his recognition as possibly the 

greatest composer who ever lived – 

an artist whose works live and 

breath this very day, from Frankfurt 

to Fiji, from Gateshead to 

Gwangju. His life is a patchwork of 

phases and fashions, but one 

activity the composer engaged in 

with relative consistency was 

writing and playing piano 

concertos*. Through these pieces 

we can trace the line of Mozart’s 

development with delicious clarity. 

It’s no accident that we hear those 

numbered 9 and 24 tonight – the 

two that are most frequently 

picked-out: by musicologists for 

their technical significance, and by 

musicians and audiences for their 

rare poise, beauty and atmosphere. 

Programme Notes 

Wolfgang Amadeus 

Mozart (1756-1791) 

Piano Concerto No.9 

in E flat, K271 

(i) Allegro 

(ii) Andantino 

(iii) Rondeau: Presto 

*Words indicated by an asterisk 

are explained on page 44. 

05 

Mozart wrote piano concertos 

throughout his life, a process of 

growth and evolution which led 

him to create some of his most 

astounding masterpieces. Of all 

those 21 concertos we know of, 

though, the Ninth is one that 

enjoys a special status – a halo 

placed above it by generations of 

musicians, critics and scholars. For 

Charles Rosen, author of the most 

significant study of 18th-century 

music, this concerto was ‘Mozart’s 

first unqualified masterpiece in any 

genre’. For musicologist Alfred 

Einstein, it was ‘a monumental 

work…one of those in which 

Mozart feels entirely himself ’. 

Einstein, in fact, went further 

still, referring to the piece as 

Mozart’s ‘Eroica’ – a reference to 

the symphony that changed the 

course of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 

composing life. What Einstein was 

getting at was the way in which this 

concerto seemed to say more than 

any of its predecessors had – which 

in turn proved so vital for the piano 

concertos that were to follow it 

(and not just those by Mozart). 

Beethoven’s Eroica, aka his 

Third Symphony, is such a 

touchstone work, not only because 

of its breadth and structure but also 

because of its mood – its sit-upand-listen 

qualities that left 

audiences in no doubt that this was 

music to engage them rather than 

simply distract them. In a sense, 

this concerto strove for the same 

ends, albeit on a lesser scale: gone is 

the ‘gallant’ style associated with 

the emotional control and narrative 

flatline of the courtly dance. In its 

place is a human frankness 

manifested in profound contrasts in 

mood, surprises in structure and 

detail, and – vitally – an invitation 

to the orchestra to join in the 

conversation as a dramatic 

character. 

That conversation is apparent 

from the very opening of this 

concerto, as the orchestra starts


06 

playing a theme which the piano 

promptly interrupts and finishes 

off. There’s a degree of swagger to 

that presumptuous (and at the time 

very unusual) behaviour from the 

solo piano that pervades the 

opening movement. Listen out 

later on, at the start of the section in 

which this opening material is 

reprised, as Mozart uses the same 

device but flips it around: the 

orchestra answers the piano. 

Mozart then re-introduces the 

piano after its cadenza* – another 

snub to tradition, and a gesture 

Mozart would only repeat once, in 

his C minor concerto (which, 

conveniently, we hear after the 

interval). 

The middle movement 

Andantino slips down to the related 

key of C minor, from which 

emerges music of concurrent 

freedom and tragedy shot-through 

with stringent accents that break 

the phrases. The feeling here, and 

one in which the orchestra is fully 

involved with its muted strings 

imitating one another, must have 

felt strangely character-dramatic at 

the time and distinctly personal. In 

the helter-skelter finale Mozart 

does use a courtly dance, a minuet* 

and subsequent variations, but he 

injects it with richer-than-usual 

harmonies and introspective 

scoring; it’s proposed by the piano 

and only occasionally supported by 

strings. The moto perpetuo* material 

of the opening, with its more firm 

and virtuosic interplay between 

piano and Orchestra, then returns, 

before a final statement (a ‘coda’) 

prefaced by the piano’s nowfamiliar 

teetering trill. 

We know that Mozart wrote 

this concerto in Salzburg in January 

1777, and it was long presumed it 

was created for a young French 

pianist ‘Mademoiselle 

Jeunehomme’ to play – her identity 

(and even the first name) was 

always shrouded in mystery. 

Recently, however, evidence has 

proved that theory wrong. We’re 

therefore left without much to go 

on, other than the fact that Mozart 

would have played the piece 

himself and probably did so on 3 

April 1781 after he arrived in 

Vienna. It’s no bad thing, either, to 

imagine Mozart on the piano stool 

in this, one of his most revealing 

and heartfelt creations.



Joseph Haydn 

(1732-1809) 

Symphony No.98 

in B flat 

(i) Adagio – Allegro 

(ii) Adagio cantabile 

(iii) Menuet: Allegro – Trio – 

Menuet 

(iv) Finale: Presto 

07 

While Mozart was an incessant 

traveller, his friend and teacher Joseph 

Haydn spent most of his career in one 

isolated corner of the Austro- 

Hungarian Empire. In 1761 Haydn 

entered the service of the Esterházy 

family, based predominantly at the 

castle which rose imposingly from the 

swamplands at Eisenstadt. It was here, 

with the court orchestra, that Haydn 

began a long musical experiment that 

would help spawn what we know as 

the ‘symphony’ – a multi-movement 

orchestral piece that takes the listener 

on something of a journey. 

Haydn worked uninterrupted in 

the service of the Esterházys for 

almost three decades. But in 1790 

regime-change arrived at Eistenstadt. 

The incoming guardian of the estates 

didn’t share his predecessors’ keen 

interest in music, the resident 

orchestra and opera company were 

disbanded, and Haydn was left 

without much to do. 

But despite his thirty years of 

isolation, Haydn had been building a 

reputation for himself in absentia 

through the distribution and 

publishing of his works throughout 

Europe. The London impresario 

Johann Peter Salomon had been eager 

to lure Haydn to London, where his 

music was widely enjoyed. Learning of 

the changes at Eisenstadt, Salomon 

seized his chance: he whisked Haydn 

to England, where the composer was 

met like a celebrity and gave concerts 

of unprecedented popularity. 

The twelve symphonies born of 

this excursion in 1791-2 and a second 

in 1794-5 have assumed the collective 

title ‘London’. In these pieces, of 

which this symphony was written as 

part of the second batch during the 

second trip, Haydn seems to throw off 

some shackles; to stride out into the 

wider world with a sense of 

uninhibited freedom and joy. Not only 

are the symphonies delightfully sure of 

themselves, they show an advanced 

sense of musical argument that 

foreshadows the orchestral tapestries 

of Schubert and Beethoven. 

On both trips, London responded 

well to Haydn’s symphonies. 

Audiences broke into spontaneous 

applause if they heard an unusual 

change in key or a characteristic slice 

of Haydnesque mischief. The works 

were appropriately grand and 

imposing, given the larger concert 

halls and orchestras this city offered. 

Thematically though, the London 

symphonies were purposefully simple: 

they used short and immediately 

appealing musical motifs and even 

tunes Haydn knew Londoners would 

be familiar with. 

He did so with particular clarity in 

this symphony, written early in 1792 

and first performed at the Hanover 

Square Rooms on 2 March. The 

symphony famously references the 

national anthem God Save the Kingin 

its heartfelt second movement* (Haydn 

would probably have been familiar with 

the tune as it enjoyed an alter egoas the 

national hymn of Saxony). That slow 

movement is the heart of the piece, a 

profound meditation which might 

have been shaped by the news of 

Mozart’s death, which was conveyed to 

a disbelieving Haydn (such was the 

strength of his grief) just days before he 

wrote the piece. 

The sobriety of that movement 

doesn’t come as much of a surprise 

after the slow opening Adagio and 

following Allegro* – both strong but 

pensive movements, built from the 

same ascending three-note figure (the 

three notes of the major triad). A sense 

of darkness lurks beneath the 

animated Minuet, too. But this 

symphony, which would have 

appeared unusually grave to Haydn’s 

London fans (perhaps appealingly so), 

takes off in its finale – described by 

Haydn scholar HC Robbins Landon 

as ‘the largest, most complex and 

ambitious symphonic finale of 

Haydn’s career up to now’. Haydn 

threw the Londoners a bone in the 

form of two short but flair-filled solos: 

one on the harpsichord marked 

‘Haydn solo’ (for himself to play) and 

one on the violin marked ‘Salomon 

solo’ – the impresario responsible for 

getting Haydn here in the first place 

led the orchestra at that first 

performance.



Mozart (1756-1791) 

Piano Concerto No.24 

in C minor, K491 

(i) Allegro 

(ii) Larghetto 

(iii) Allegro 

In 1781 Mozart left Salzburg – 

birthplace of the piano concerto 

heard first tonight – and travelled 

to Vienna to free himself from the 

shackles of court service and write 

instead for paying audiences. It was 

a wise decision. In Vienna, Mozart 

prospered both professionally and 

personally: he wrote a string of 

outstanding masterpieces 

(including his finest opera The 

Marriage of Figaro) and settled into 

family life with his wife and their 

children. 

In Vienna, Mozart didn’t just 

keep his piano concerto project 

going, he stepped it up a gear. He 

called the city ‘Piano Land’, and the 

public there were hungry for his 

concertos and wanted to hear him 

playing them. Mozart established a 

subscription concert series and in 

the three years from the beginning 

of 1784 to the end of 1786, he 

wrote no less than twelve concertos 

– each building on the 

achievements of its predecessor. 

As you’d expect, it wasn’t long 

before Mozart raised eyebrows. His 

concerto numbered 20, written and 

performed in 1785, was cast 

predominantly in a minor key; only 

the end of its third movement 

graduated into the brightness of the 

major. It certainly got the Viennese 

talking – and mostly in negative 

terms. If they thought that was a 

one-off, they were wrong. A year 

later in 1786, Mozart did the same 

but without the light relief. He 

unveiled this concerto, cast in a 

minor key throughout, and one that 

maintains its tragic mood right to 

the very end. Today we can 

recognise it as a work of standout 

importance and beauty – it’s been 

programme with the Ninth in this 

evening’s concert precisely because 

of that. But the Viennese weren’t 

ready for it, and they’d had enough. 

They voted wit their feet: Mozart’s 

subscription series faltered and 

eventually finished altogether. 

The characteristics that riled the 

Viennese are precisely those which 

musicologists cite as this concerto’s 

seismic developments: its use of the 

minor key; its increased use of 

chromatic notes (stepping through 

semitones or ‘half notes’ rather than 

whole ones, thus lending the music 

a slithery, expressive feel); its 

increased sense of argument 

between different tunes vying for 

attention and the richness with 

which it pitted differing musical 

lines against one another (known as 

counterpoint). That, and the work 

wasn’t exactly exuberant. German 

musicologist Wolfgang Rehm has 

described it as a concerto 

‘characterised by veiled tragedy, 

suppressed sorrow and ominous 

tension’. 

One element in which we can 

trace a line to this concerto from 

that heard before the interval is 

Mozart’s writing for winds. Some 

have described the piece as a 

concerto for solo piano and solo 

winds – the Larghetto, in which 

piano and winds seem to hang on 

each others words, illustrates that 

best. But we hear it too in the final 

movement – a theme and variations 

in which the woodwinds take on 

the second variation. As for that 

‘chromaticism’, it’s there in the 

opening movement’s widelyleaping 

main theme, which forms 

the basis of the grandest concerto 

movement Mozart had written to 

date – one said by Mozart’s 20thcentury 

biographer Hermann 

Albert to display a ‘titanic defiance’. 

Programme notes by 

Andrew Mellor © 2013 

08


Boffin’s Corner Mozart and Haydn: The Relationship 

Though we know Haydn and Mozart met, got on well and respected one another’s works, we don’t know 

much about the details of their relationship or the frequency with which they found themselves together. 

It’s possible their first meeting took place on either 28 or 30 March 1784 at the first performance of Haydn’s 

oratorio Il ritorno di Tobia in Vienna. It’s likely the years after Mozart’s move to Vienna in 1781 would have 

seen the most contact between the two composers – and at some point during that time Haydn leant his 

copy of Fux’s counterpoint textbook to Mozart (we know because Mozart’s copy is full of Haydn’s 

annotations). 

It’s highly likely that Haydn and Mozart played music together, an idea fleshed-out and researched by 

musicologist Jens Peter Larsen. He points to the memoirs of the tenor Michael Kelly, who reported that he 

attended a string quartet performance in which Haydn took the first violin to Mozart’s viola. ‘A greater treat, 

or a more remarkable one, cannot be imagined’ wrote Kelly of the occasion, but we don’t know precisely 

when the performance took place. 

Letters from the two composers (to third parties) contain gushing praise for each other’s standing and 

significance. One story from Franz Niemetschek’s early biography of Mozart tells of an occasion when a 

new piece by Haydn was performed in the presence of Mozart and another notoriously self-reverential (but 

un-named) composer who was keen to pick at Haydn’s work. A furious Mozart apparently lost his temper 

with the other composer, leaping to Haydn’s defence and stating that neither of them could hope to write 

‘anything so appropriate.’ 

Perhaps the most touching story is that of the last time the composers met, in 1790 and on the very day 

Haydn departed for London. Mozart had been trying to put ‘Papa’ Haydn off the idea of leaving, citing his 

lack of language skills. When it came to departure day, Mozart wouldn’t leave Haydn’s side. Accounts differ 

– some are factual and dry, but that of Albert Christoph Dies (Haydn’s biographer) is particularly moving. 

At the moment of departure, Dies says, both men were near to tears, Mozart suggesting that ‘we are 

probably saying our last farewell in this life.’ 

We’d like to thank the following group for attending this evening: 

John Payne and All Angels 

09

Biography 

András Schiff 

conductor/piano 

Born in Budapest, András Schiff started piano lessons 

at the age of five with Elisabeth Vadasz. He continued 

his musical studies at the Ferenc Liszt Academy with 

Pal Kadosa, Gyorgy Kurtag and Ferenc Rados, and in 

London with George Malcolm. 

Recitals and special cycles form an important part 

of his activities, as does performing chamber music. 

From 1989 to 1998 he was Artistic Director of the 

‘Musiktage Mondsee’ near Salzburg; in 1995 he cofounded, 

with Heinz Holliger, the Ittinger 

Pfingstkonzerte in Kartause Ittingen, Switzerland; in 

1998 he established ‘Hommage to Palladio’ at the 

Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy. From 2004 to 2007 

he was Artist in Residence of the Kunstfest Weimar. 

Mr Schiff has played with most of the major 

international orchestras and conductors, but nowadays 

performs mainly as a conductor/soloist. In 1999 he 

created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella 

Andrea Barca. In addition to working annually with 

this orchestra, he also works with the Chamber 

Orchestra of Europe. 

He has been awarded numerous international 

prizes, including the Golden Mozart-Medaille by the 

International Stiftung Mozarteum, the Schumann 

Prize in 2011, and the Wigmore Hall Medal in 2008. 

In 2006 he became an Honorary Member of the 

Beethoven House in Bonn. 

In 2006 András Schiff and the music publisher G 

Henle began an important Mozart edition project. In 

the course of the next few years there will be a joint 

edition of Mozart’s Piano Concertos in their original 

version to which Mr Schiff is contributing to the 

piano parts, the fingerings and the cadenzas where the 

original cadenzas are missing. In addition, in 2007 

both volumes of Bach’s ‘Well Tempered Klavier’ were 

edited in the Henle original text with fingerings by Mr 

Schiff. 

He holds the title of Honorary Professor at the 

Music Schools in Detmold and Munich, and is a 

Special Supernumerary Fellow of Balliol College, 

(Oxford UK). 

10 

Photo: Sheila Rock

Queens, Heroines 

& Ladykillers: 

an introduction 

11 

There’s something about the 

female voice, and in particular the 

operatic voice. Whether it’s hitting 

you at full pelt or something more 

tender, it has the capacity to move, 

astound, thrill and raise those hairs 

on the back of your neck… Over 

the years composers have stepped 

up to the mark and written some 

truly astounding music and roles 

(as the series title suggests) for 

female characters. 

Our Queens, Heroines & Ladykillers 

series of four concerts and a study 

day celebrates not only the music 

and roles but also the singers – 

culminating in a tribute to 

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, one of 

the greatest of all mezzo-sopranos, 

who the OAE worked closely with, 

and whose music-making inspired 

this whole series. 

Martin Kelly and Annette 

Isserlis (OAE viola players) told us 

about the experience of curating 

the Queens, Heroines & Ladykillers 

series in conjunction with our chief 

executive, Stephen Carpenter. 

“Our original aim was to 

structure a cohesive season 

containing a balanced selection of 

repertoire and to include an 

innovative series. We also wanted 

to work with a range of our named 

conductors, OAE leader-directors 

and some vibrant and inspirational 

artists from further afield. 

Inevitably, certain plans had to 

be revised for mundane reasons of 

budget, artist and Orchestra 

availability, promoters’ wishes etc. 

We were very grateful for Stephen 

Carpenter’s ability to keep us 

abreast of dates and details 

concerning these often frustrating 

factors during our planning 

meetings! 

Sir Simon Rattle was already 

scheduled to do the three last 

Mozart Symphonies, which was an 

encouraging start. For the series, 

Martin came up with the idea of 

“Queens, Heroines and 

Ladykillers”, (it took an 

entertaining group exercise to 

arrive at that catchy title!) and the 

choice of dramatic music that 

would give us. The late mezzosoprano 

Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson 

was the inspiration behind the 

centre-piece tribute concert on 3 

June and it was decided to feature 

three young and exceptional 

soloists to present repertoire 

directed by William Christie.”

Mozart 

Overture, Idomeneo 


Curtain Raisers and High Drama 

Friday 8 March 2013 

7pm 


Violin 1 


Jennifer Godson 

Rodolfo Richter 

Miranda Fulleylove 

Alida Schat 

Joanne Quigley 

Judith Templeman 

Roy Mowatt 

Rachel Isserlis 

Claire Sansom 

Rafael Font* 

Violin 2 

Ken Aiso 


Colin Scobie 

Claire Holden 



Susan Carpenter-Jacobs 

Catherine Ford 

Davina Clarke* 

Violas 

Judith Busbridge 


Martin Kelly 


Katharine Hart 

Kate Heller 

Cellos 

Sarah McMahon 

Richard Tunnicliffe 

Helen Verney 

Ruth Alford 

Josephine Horder 

Penny Driver 

Double Basses 

Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE 


Andrew Durban 

Iurii Gavryliuk* 

12 

Flutes 

Lisa Beznosiuk 

Neil McLaren 

Oboes 


Cherry Forbes 

Clarinets 

Antony Pay 

Jane Booth 

Bassoons 

Andrew Watts 

Sally Jackson 

Horns 

Roger Montgomery 

Martin Lawrence 

Gavin Edwards 

David Bentley 

Trumpets 

Paul Sharp 

John Hutchins 

Trombones 

Susan Addison 

Peter Thorley 

Andrew Harwood- 

White 

Timpani 

Adrian Bending 

*Ann and Peter Law 

OAE Experience 

players 

Mozart 

O smania! O furie! ... D’Oreste, d’Aiace 

from Idomeneo 

Beethoven 

Overture, Leonore No.3 

Beethoven 

Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? ... 

Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern 

from Fidelio 

Interval 

Weber 

Ocean! Thou Mighty Monster 

from Oberon 

Schumann 

Symphony No.2 in C 

Marin Alsop conductor 

Emma Bell soprano 

The concert will finish at approximately 9pm 

with an interval of 20 minutes 

OAE Extras at 5.45pm, free admission 

Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium 

Concerts and the Canon 

On this date in 1813, the Philharmonic Society 

gave its first public concert in London. As part of 

the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Bicentenary 

celebrations, this talk looks at what concert life 

was like two hundred years ago and how the 

recognised classics of today, including Schumann’s 

Symphony No. 2 were introduced to British 

audiences.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment would like to thank the 

following Benefactors for their support, without which this concert 

would not have been possible 

Julian and Annette Armstrong 

13 

Audience member Susann Offenmüller and Steven Devine of the OAE. Photo: Eric Richmond/Harrison & Co

Concert in Context 

Where would opera be without its 

heroines? Even if Beethoven didn’t 

in the end name his opera Leonore, 

there’s no doubt that she is the hero 

(quite literally when disguised as 

Fidelio) of the moment and her 

steely conviction is nowhere more 

defiantly yet touchingly expressed 

than in the aria we hear tonight. 

Weber’s Reiza is another feisty soul 

as she’s subjected to trial after trial: 

the course of true love never did 

run smooth, especially if you add 

meddling fairies to the mix. But 

she triumphs in the end, which is 

more than can be said for the 

troubled Elettra in Idomeneo, her 

torment deliciously expressed in 

her closing scene. And to finish, 

Schumann’s glorious Second 

Symphony, which contains one of 

his most sublime slow movements. 

Programme notes 


Mozart (1756–1791) 

Idomeneo – Overture, 

O smania! O furie... 



14 

Even former child prodigies aren’t 

inured to major commissions and 

when the 24-year-old Mozart 

secured just that for an opera for 

Munich (which had the best opera 

company in the world at that point) 

it resulted in not just his first 

mature opera but also one of the 

last great examples of opera seria, a 

genre whose high drama made it 

the reality television of its day. For 

the protagonists it all too often 

ended badly and even if it didn’t, 

anxiety, pain and a lot of high notes 

were pretty much a given. Idomeneo 

was commissioned by the Elector 

of Bavaria, Carl Theodor, to open 

the 1780–1 carnival season in 

Munich. Such a prominent event 

normally came with strings 

attached and politicians were in the 

habit of prescribing subject matter 

that would make them look good 

(and even if they didn’t, wiley 

composers tended to second-guess 

them). But in the Elector, Mozart 

was lucky, because he was an ardent 

music lover, of whom it was once 

written: ‘It would be hard to find 

another great man who has woven 

music as tightly into his life as this 

one’. He was also a keen 

Francophile so the natural text was 

a French one: Idoménée, written by 

Antoine Danchet and already set 

by Campra. But with some major 

updating and a switch of language, 

from French to Italian (undertaken 

by the poet and court musician 

Giambattista Varesco) it fitted the 

bill. Even the ending was changed, 

from full-on tragedy to the more 

modern concept that virtue should 

be rewarded and justice be done. 

Though lasting less than five 

minutes, the overture sets up the 

mood of tumult and turmoil that 

runs through this story, set shortly 

after the Trojan War – a tale of illconceived 

promises, warring 

families and manipulative gods. 

The original singers in Idomeneo 

included two members of the 

Wendling family, of which 

Elisabeth sang the role of the tragic 

Elettra (Electra), and it’s hardly 

surprising that she was more than a 

little pleased with the music 

Mozart provided for her character. 

Apart from anything else, Elettra 

has one of the greatest exit arias in 

opera – a more vivid and tortured 

illustration of mental disintegration 

would be hard to imagine. She 

alone of the characters in the opera 

is incapable of either pity or selfsacrifice 

(no funeral pyre for her to 

end all earthly suffering). So she 

sings farewell to love and hope and 

we feel her pain at the prospect of 

seeing Idamante in the arms of 

another. She calls on horned vipers 

and serpents to tear out her heart 

yet she cannot die and leaves, as the 

stage directions say, infuriata 

(‘crazed with fury’).

Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers: Curtain Raisers and High Drama Friday 8 March 2013 

O smania! O furie... 

Oh smania! Oh furie! 

Oh disperata Elettra! 

Addio amor, addio speme! 

Ah, il cor nel seno già m’ardono 

l’Eumenide spietate. 

Misera! A che m’arresto? 

Sarò in queste contrade 

della gioia, e trionfi 

spettatrice dolente? 

Vedrò Idamante alla rivale in braccio, 

e dall’uno, e dall’altra 

mostrarmi a dito 

Ah no, il germano Oreste 

ne’ cupi abissi io vuò ’ seguir. 

Ombra infelice! Lo spirto mio accogli, 

or or compagna m’avrai 

là nell’Inferno. 

A sempiterni guai, al pianto eterno. 

Oh frenzy! Oh Furies! 

Oh frenzy! Oh Furies! 

Oh, desperate Electra! 

Farewell, love! Farewell, hope! 

Ah! Already within my breast 

the pitiless Eumenides are burning my heart. 

Wretch that I am! Why do I hold back? 

Shall I, in this region 

of joy and triumphs 

be a grieving spectator? 

Shall I see Idamante in the arms of my rival, 

and see both of them point their 

fingers at me? 

Ah, no! My brother Orestes 

I shall follow into the deep abysses. 

Unhappy shade! Receive my spirit; 

in no time you’ll have me as a 

companion in Hell. 

In everlasting woe, in eternal weeping. 

D’Oreste, d’Aiace 

D’Oreste, d’Aiace 

Ho in seno i tormenti. 

D’Aletto la face 

Già morte mi d a. 

Squarciatemi il core 

Ceraste, serpenti, 

O un ferro il dolore 

In me finirà. 

The torments of Orestes and Ajax 

The torments of Orestes and Ajax 

I have in my breast 

The torch of Alecto 

already brings me death. 

Tear open my heart, 

Ceraste, serpents, 

or a sword will put an end 

to my sorrow. 

Libretto by Giambattista Varesco 

15


Ludwig van Beethoven 

(1770–1827) 

Overture, Leonore No. 3 

Abscheulicher! Wo eilst 

du hin? ... 

Komm, Hoffnung, lass 

den letzten Stern from 

Fidelio 

Beethoven wrote Fidelio between 

1804 and 1805 and it was 

premiered in Vienna late in 1805. 

When it was revived four months 

later, he revised it, notably the 

overture, known as Leonore 

Overture* No.3. Leonore was the 

original name for the opera itself 

and Beethoven wrote no fewer 

than four overtures for the work, 

though it’s No. 3 that has gained 

currency in the concert hall. It’s 

easy to understand why he rejected 

it as a curtain-raiser for the opera – 

ironically it’s too dramatic, too 

complete in itself. The overture he 

eventually decided upon may be 

less viscerally thrilling, but it works 

better in terms of stagecraft. 

Leonore No. 3 makes little 

attempt to introduce us to all the 

characters or to encapsulate the 

opera’s storyline. But there are key 

elements from it, not least the 

descending octaves of the opening, 

which foreshadow the passage in 

Act 2 in which Leonore descends 

into Florestan’s cell; and there’s 

also a reference to his lamenting 

aria ‘In des Lebens Frühlingstagen’ 

(‘In the springtime of my life’). 

And the overture’s powerful climax 

is dramatically interrupted by the 

trumpet call, which in the opera 

announces the arrival of Don 

Ferrando, the Minister of Justice, 

signalling a reprieve and freedom. 

The way in which Beethoven 

reworks earlier material in the 

coda, with Florestan’s lament now 

transformed into a confident 

fanfare, is a technical and 

emotional masterstroke. 

Leonore is a woman of 

extraordinary courage and 

conviction – a figure who seems 

strikingly modern more than two 

centuries on. Having disguised 

herself as a young man (Fidelio) 

and gained access to the prison 

where she’s working as the gaoler’s 

assistant, she is hoping to find a 

way to rescue her husband. But, 

suspecting that the grave that is to 

be dug is for none other than 

Florestan, even she begins to fear 

that the situation is hopeless. But 

even though ‘Abscheulicher’ starts 

with spitting rage, she is calmed by 

the thoughts of her husband and a 

complete conviction that love will 

conquer all. 

16


Abscheulicher!...Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern 

Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? 

Was hast du vor in wildem Grimme? 

Des Mitleids Ruf, 

der Menschheit Stimme, 

Rührt nichts mehr deinen Tigersinn? 

Doch toben auch wie Meereswogen 

Dir in der Seele Zorn und Wut h, 

So leuchtet mir ein Farbenbogen, 

Der hell auf dunkeln Wolken ruht: 

Der blickt so still, 

so friedlich nieder, 

Der spiegelt alte Zeiten wieder, 

Und neu besänftigt wallt mein Blut. 

Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern 

Der Müden nicht erbleichen! 

O komm, erhell ’ mein Ziel, sei’s noch so fern, 

Die Liebe wird’s erreichen. 

Ich folg’ dem innern Triebe, 

Ich wanke nicht, 

Mich stärkt die Pflicht 

Der treuen Gattenliebe! 

O du, für den ich alles trug, 

Könnt’ ich zur Stelle dringen, 

Wo Bosheit dich in Fesseln schlug, 

Und süssen Trost dir bringen! 

Ich folg’ dem innern Triebe, 

Ich wanke nicht, 

Mich stärkt die Pflicht 

Der treuen Gattenliebe! 

Abominable one! Where are you going? 

What will you do in wild anger? 

The call of sympathy, 

the voice of humanity, 

Moves nothing in your tiger’s will? 

But like turbulent seas rage 

Anger and hatred in your soul, 

So appears to me a rainbow, 

That bright on dark clouds sits: 

That watches so quiet, 

so peaceful, 

That mirrors old times, 

And new appeased my blood flows. 

Come, hope, let the last star 

From fatigue not fade! 

Illuminate my goal, even if it’s far, 

Love will reach it. 

I follow an inner drive, 

I will not waver, 

My duty strengthens me 

(My duty) of true marital love 

O you, for whom I bore everything, 

If only I could be at your side, 

Where evil has you bound, 

And bring you sweet comfort! 

I follow an inner drive, 

I will not waver, 

My duty strengthens me 

(My duty) of true marital love. 

Translation by Katharina Fink 

17


Carl Maria von Weber 

(1786–1826) 

Oberon – Ocean! 

Thou Mighty Monster 

It was Oberon that killed Weber. He 

took on the project – against stern 

medical advice – because he needed 

the money. And because it was for 

England, the text and spoken 

dialogue had to be in English 

(though the origins of the libretto 

lay in a French medieval romance, 

which formed the basis for 

Wieland’s German poem from 

which librettist James Robinson 

Planché took his text). Ever the 

professional, Weber was anxious to 

improve his own command of the 

language, which was one of the 

reasons why he completed the music 

in London, where he died in June 

1826, just two months after the 

work’s Covent Garden premiere. 

If the libretto is not exactly of the 

first rank, Weber’s music certainly is. 

The tale itself is a conflation of 

earthly and supernatural characters, 

with Reiza and Huon the human 

lovers and Oberon and Titania the 

quarrelsome king and queen of the 

fairies. It is human love and 

faithfulness that brings about a 

happy ending, but not before threats 

of death, a hungry lion, a magic horn 

and some very inclement weather 

have all played their part. Reiza sings 

her great aria ‘Ocean, Thou Mighty 

Monster’ after she and Huon have 

survived a vicious storm at sea, 

whipped up by Puck; her mood 

switches as she relives the 

experience, from fear (you hear quite 

clearly the rising wind and 

pounding waves) to relief, as the 

weather calms, to hope as she spies a 

ship. But what she doesn’t realise is 

that it’s a pirate ship and even as she 

exclaims ‘we are saved, we are saved’ 

the next crisis is about to overtake 

her. The pleasure of this 

extraordinary, extended aria arises as 

much from Weber’s scintillating ear 

for colour – and about two-thirds of 

the way through, some 

extraordinary anticipations of 

Berlioz in the repeated-note writing 

– before an almost Rossinian 

eruption of joy as the aria concludes. 

Recitative and Aria, Ocean! Thou Mighty Monster 

Ocean! Thou Mighty Monster, that liest curl’d 

like a green serpent round about the world, 

To musing eye thou art an awful sight, 

When calmly sleeping in the morning light, 

But when thou risest in thy wrath, as now, 

And fling’st thy folds around some fatal prow, 

Crushing the strong ribb’d bark as ‘twere a reed, 

Then, Ocean, art thou terrible indeed. 

Still I see thy billows flashing, 

Through the gloom their white foam flinging, 

And the breakers ’ sullen dashing, 

In mine ear hope’s knell is rising, 

But lo! methinks a light is breaking, 

Slowly o’er the distant deep, 

Like a second morn awaking, 

Pale and feeble from its sleep. 

Brighter now behold ‘tis beaming! 

On the storm whose misty train, 

Like some shatter’d flag is streaming, 

Or a wild steed’s flying mane. 

And now the sun bursts forth, 

The wind is lulling fast, 

And the broad wave but pants from fury past. 

Cloudless o’er the blushing water 

Now the setting sun is burning, 

Like a victor, red with slaughter, 

To his tent in triumph turning, 

Ah, perchance these eyes may never 

Look upon its light again, 

Fare thee 

well, bright orb, forever, 

Thou for me wilt rise in vain! 

But what gleams so white and fair, 

Heaving with the heaving billow? 

‘Tis a seabird, wheeling there 

O’er some wretch’s wat’ry pillow, 

No, it is no bird! A sail! 

And yonder rides a gallant bark 

Unimpair’d by the gale! 

O transport! My Huon! haste down the shore, 

Quick, for a signal, this scarf shall be wav’d, 

They see me! they answer! they ply the strong oar. 

Huon, my husband, my love! we are sav’d! 

Text by J. R. Planché 

17



Robert Schumann 

(1810–1856) 

Symphony No. 2 in 

C major, Op. 61 

(i) Sostenuto assai – Allegro, ma 

non troppo 

(ii) Scherzo: Allegro vivace 

(iii) Adagio espressivo 

(iv) Allegro molto vivace 

18 

Three of Schumann’s four 

symphonies date from two 

extraordinary bursts of creativity a 

decade apart, in 1841 and 1851, 

though he’d previously toyed with 

the medium in the early 1830s. So 

what prompted him to write 

symphonies? Like his 

contemporaries, he experienced 

the burden of Beethoven’s legacy, 

but it’s clear from his writings that 

he also felt that the symphony had 

to find its way into the modern age. 

He was also encouraged by his 

wife, Clara, who felt that 

symphonies were an essential 

ingredient in any self-respecting 

composer’s CV. 

Schumann had sketched his 

First in a mere four days in 1841. 

But the Second was a very different 

animal, not least because in the 

four years that separate the two 

works he claimed to have begun 

writing in a completely new style. 

Counterpoint became increasingly 

important in his musical workingout 

and plays a significant part in 

the Second Symphony. This is 

particularly evident in the finale, 

where he combines variations on a 

hymn tune with a chorale melody 

that opened the symphony and 

played a prominent role 

throughout the first movement. 

Tautness of working-out is, as ever 

with this composer, an essential 

way of building coherence into a 

large-scale structure. The work’s 

Scherzo* has all the scorching 

energy of Mendelssohn, but 

harmonically and melodically it 

could be by no one but Schumann, 

while his ear for colour, particularly 

in the more chamber-musical 

moments of scoring, is unfailingly 

effective. There’s an instance of 

Schumann weaving into the music 

his own secret message too: before 

the midpoint of the finale he 

introduces a melody (first heard on 

the oboe) that makes reference to 

both Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ and 

his own Piano Fantasie, which 

itself included a quotation from 

Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte 

song-cycle, as a message of love to 

Clara). 

The work’s inherently uplifting 

character belies the traumatic time 

that Schumann had been having. 

He began sketching the piece 

(again with extreme rapidity) late 

in 1845, the year after a bad 

breakdown, orchestrating it over 

the following months. 

Mendelssohn conducted the 

premiere but it was not particularly 

well received and Schumann 

fretted to his publisher that his 

illness might have been all too 

apparent: ‘I began to feel more 

myself when I wrote the last 

movement, and was assuredly 

better when I finished the whole 

work. Still, it reminds me of dark 

days.’ And perhaps it is that sense 

of overcoming adversity that 

helped to create such a striking 

amalgam, at once stirring and 

profoundly moving. 

Programme notes by 

Harriet Smith © 2013

Boffin’s Corner Schumann’s orchestral works 

Schumann’s orchestral works – and his symphonies in particular – were persistently misjudged for many 

decades, their alleged shortcomings being principally the lack of an ear for orchestration and an inability to 

control large-scale structures. Add to that the notion that his later works were undermined by mental 

instability, and it’s easy to see how such myths arose. 

Things such as this hardly helped: 

‘In his symphony in C … Schumann went for his melody to a dried-up well. Schumann’s faculty of invention 

was next door to null; and Schumann … was, at the best, a half-formed musician.’ 

So opined the Musical World in 1864. Happily, history is a great leveller, and today such ideas have largely 

been swept aside. But there’s no doubt that he is a more vulnerable composer than many others and an 

insensitive performance can obscure his genius: heaviness of texture is death to his music and his often 

galumphing rhythms need a subtle touch so as not to become merely insistent. What has transformed his 

fortunes as much as anything is the burgeoning of period-instrument performances, which have helped to 

reveal the airiness of his writing (not least the thrusting rhythms of the finale of the Second Symphony). 

And the keener differentiation between instrumental timbres pays dividends everywhere, whether it’s the 

oboe, bassoon and flute solos that colour the rapturous slow movement or the prominent brass writing that 

so enlivens the finale, right up to the decisive timpani thwacks of the closing bars. 

We’d like to thank the following group for attending this evening: 

The Royal Philharmonic Society 

19


21 

Audience member Scott Jonathan and Henrietta Wayne of the OAE. Photo: Eric Richmond/Harrison & Co

Celebrating 200 years of the 

Royal Philharmonic Society 

This concert marks, to the day, the 200th anniversary of the first concert 

given by the Philharmonic Society of London (later the Royal Philharmonic 

Society) which was set up in 1813 by a group of professional musicians with 

the aim “to promote the performance, in the most perfect manner possible, of the 

best and most approved instrumental music”. The Philharmonic was truly 

international in outlook, introducing the finest musicians of the day to 

London audiences and commissioning a wide array of composers of the time 

(including notably Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony), and out of the Society’s 

annual concert seasons which continued unbroken for over 175 years, the 

UK’s rich tradition of orchestral playing was born. Today the RPS continues 

to champion excellence in all levels of performance and to commission 

outstanding new repertoire. 

It is not only in the 21st century that new music sometimes faces a hostile reception. Schumann was a 

considerably ‘slow burn’ for British audiences – even his close friend, William Sterndale Bennett, who succeeded 

Wagner as conductor of the Philharmonic in 1856, privately considered his music ‘eccentric’. Nonetheless the 

Philharmonic Society made determined efforts, giving the first London performance of the First Symphony in 

1854 and inviting Clara Schumann to London, for the first of many visits, in 1856. Clara’s advocacy of Robert’s 

music was passionate and as soloist in the Piano Concerto she was praised for making “her husband’s curious 

rhapsody pass for music with an uninitiated audience.” (It’s heartening to note the work did later become a firm 

favourite Philharmonic repertoire piece, with 28 performances given by 1910). However Clara’s efforts to 

persuade Sterndale Bennett to mount a performance of the cantata Paradise and the Peri were sadly ill-advised. It 

was a hot summer evening and any members of the audience who did not fall asleep apparently witnessed – to the 

dismay of the conductor – Clara trying to direct at strategic moments from a place within the orchestra. The 

critics were unanimous in their condemnation: A “more dreary concert was never listened to”. 

Disheartened by this experience, it was perhaps not surprising that Sterndale Bennett waited some 18 years after 

the world premiere in Germany to give the first UK performance of Schumann’s C major Second Symphony with 

the Philharmonic in June 1864. But London was still not ready. While critics were ready to acknowledge his 

mastery – “to those who understand him Robert Schumann may represent everything that is noble and beautiful in 

music” – and praised the “most magnificent” Philharmonic performance, the music itself still caused general 

mystification. The same commentator in The Era wrote that that the work was “disjointed, incomplete and 

unsatisfactory in the extreme.” Fortunately critical opinion changes with time and as we celebrate the RPS’s 200th 

Birthday with this OAE performance, we’d like to thank those early pioneers of the Society for their vision and 

determination to shake up our musical perceptions. 

Are you philharmonic? Please join the RPS 

“The Royal Philharmonic Society supports the culture, the understanding and the imagination behind live music 

making. If you love classical music and believe it its future you should, without question, join us.” Sir Mark Elder 

After 200 years at the heart of music, the RPS is, to quote The Times, 

“still the beating heart and conscience of British musical life.” Our vision 

is ambitious but even a small regular donation will make a difference. 

By joining the RPS, from just £3 a month, you’ll be helping to support 

a vibrant future of music. 

www.rps200.org/join 

22


Biography 

Marin Alsop 

conductor 

Music Director since 2007 of the Baltimore 

Symphony Orchestra, as well as Principal Conductor 

of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra since the start 

of the 2012 season, Marin Alsop is both a visionary 

Music Director and an inspiring and powerful voice in 

the international music scene. As part of her 

recognised success in Baltimore, she has spearheaded 

educational initiatives that reach more than 60,000 

school and pre-school students. And, in São Paulo, she 

is already steering the orchestra in its artistic and 

creative programming, recording and touring ventures 

and its education and outreach activities. Since 1992, 

Alsop has also been Music Director of California’s 

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. 

Alsop retains strong links with all her previous 

orchestras – Bournemouth Symphony (now 

Conductor Emeritus) and Colorado Symphony (now 

Music Director Laureate). In the UK she has a close 

relationship with the London Symphony and London 

Philharmonic, appearing with both orchestras most 

seasons, as well as with the Orchestra of the Age of 

Enlightenment. Alsop is also Artist in Residence at 

the Southbank Centre. 

Alsop is a regular guest conductor with the great 

orchestras of the world, including the New York 

Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and Los 

Angeles Philharmonic. Highlights of 2012/13 include 

Marin Alsop’s Viennese debut with the Vienna 

Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein; a 

performance of the Brahms Requiem with the MDR 

Symphony Orchestra at the Leipzig Gewandhaus; 

and her debut with Orchestre National de France in 

Paris. 

Marin Alsop is the recipient of numerous awards 

and is the only conductor to receive a MacArthur 

Fellowship for exceptional creative work. 

Alsop’s extensive discography includes a notable set 

of Brahms symphonies with the LPO and a highlypraised 

Dvořák series with the Baltimore Symphony. 

Born in New York, Marin Alsop studied at Yale 

and The Juilliard. She was the first woman to be 

awarded the Koussevitzky Prize from Tanglewood, 

where she was a pupil of Leonard Bernstein. 

23 

Photo: Grant Leighton

Biography 

Emma Bell 

soprano 

Emma Bell trained at the RAM and NOS, and 

continues to study with Joy Mammen. Winner of the 

Kathleen Ferrier Prize in 1998, she was a BBC New 

Generation Artist in 1999. She is at the forefront of the 

younger generation of sopranos and is admired for her 

richly coloured voice and sensitive musicianship. 

In 2002 Emma joined the Berlin Komische Oper, 

where she has sung Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Micaëla 

Carmen, Countess Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro, the title 

role in Alcina, Agathe Der Freischütz and Mimì 

La bohème. She has sung the title role in Rodelinda 

(GFO, GOT, Châtelet, Bilbao, Barbican, Vienna 

Konzerthaus); Female Chorus The Rape of Lucretia 

(Lausanne); Miss Jessel The Turn of the Screw (Geneva 

and Glyndebourne); Vitellia La Clemenza di Tito (ENO, 

Montreal); Leonore Maskarade (ROH); Violetta La 

traviata (ENO); Governess The Turn of the Screw 

(Leipzig); Alcina title-role (Opéra National de Paris); 

Elettra Idomeneo (La Scala, Barbican, Lisbon and 

Amsterdam Madrid Teatro Real). 

Concert engagements include Rossini’s Stabat Mater 

(Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Dresden, Rome and 

Siena with Pappano); St John Passion (Châtelet); 

Concerts at the Teatro Real Madrid, and for the 

Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse; Mahler’s 

4th Symphony with the BBC NOW and Otaka, St 

Matthew Passion with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and concert performances of The 

Rape of Lucretia with Ticciati (Vienna and Cologne). 

She has also sung at the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 

Royal Festival Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, 

BBC Proms and Mostly Mozart Festival. She has 

worked with Harry Bickett, William Christie, Andrew 

Davis, Emmanuelle Haïm, Bernard Labadie, Sir Charles 

Mackerras, Antonio Pappano and Leonard Slatkin. 

Recordings include Handel’s Saul with Jacobs and 

two solo discs (a recital of lieder by Strauss, Marx and 

Walter and Handel Operatic Arias for Linn Records) 

both supported by an award from the Borletti-Buitoni 

Trust for whom she has given recitals in London, 

Amsterdam and Vienna. In June 2008 she gave a recital 

of Strauss songs with Emanuel Ax at the Wigmore 

Hall. Further engagements include Beethoven’s 9th 

Symphony with Gianandrea Noseda at the BBC Proms, 

Donna Elvira Don Giovanni with Pappano (ROH), 

Countess Almaviva at the Liceu, Barcelona, War 

Requiem with Pappano and the Royal Opera House 

Orchestra & Chorus in Birmingham, Anne Truelove 

24 

The Rake’s Progress at La Scala, concert performances of 

Mitridate with Sir Charles Mackerras for Welsh 

National Opera and Handel concerts with Harnoncourt 

at the Styriarte Festival. Other engagements include 

Countess Almaviva (Metropolitan Opera), Beethoven 

Missa Solemnis (Santa Cecilia), Donna Elvira (La Scala) 

and Elettra Idomeneo (ENO) and Edinburgh Festival. 

Recent engagements have included Strauss Vier 

Letze Lieder in Iceland with the Helsinki Philharmonic, 

Governess Turn of the Screw (Teatro Real Madrid), 

Barber’s Knoxville at the Casa da Musica in Porto and a 

Wigmore Hall recital, Leonore Fidelio (Opera North 

with Sir Richard Armstrong), the main role in a new 

commission Miss Fortune by Judith Weir (Bregenz 

Festival) and Mozart Requiem at the BBC Proms, War 

Requiem (Royal Flanders Philharmonic) Eva Die 

Meistersinger (ROH with Pappano), Tina Miss Fortune 

(ROH), Fox Cunning Little Vixen Glyndebourne 

Festival with Vladimir Jurowski) and Countess 

Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro (Opéra Bastille). 

Future plans include concerts with Sir Mark Elder 

and the Halle in Manchester and at the Aldeburgh 

Festival, Classical arias with the OAE and Alsop and 

Beethoven 9 with Jurowski and the LPO in London and 

Paris, Elsa Lohengrin (WNO), Leonore Fidelio (ENO) 

and for the Netherlands Radio in the Concertgebouw 

Amsterdam, Eva Meistersinger (Zurich), Mme Lidoine 

Dialogues de Carmélites (Royal Opera House) and 

ElisabethTannhauser (ROH). 

Photo: Paul Forster-Williams

Audience member Greg Mitchell and OAE principal viola Annette Isserlis. Photo: Eric Richmond/Harrison & Co

Handel Overture to Giulio Cesare 

Handel L’angue offeso mai riposa 

from Giulio Cesare 


A Tribute to Lorraine Hunt 

Lieberson 

Monday 3 June 2013 

7pm 

Royal Festival Hall 

Handel Ah! Whither should we fly… 

As with rosy steps the morn from Theodora 

Handel Concerto Grosso in B minor 

Op.6 No.12 

Handel Where shall I fly? from Hercules 

Interval 

Violins 


Alison Bury 


Claire Holden 

Rachel Isserlis 

Roy Mowatt 


Claire Sansom 


Henrietta Wayne 


Violas 

Jan Schlapp 


Martin Kelly 


Cellos 

Jonathan Manson 

Susan Sheppard 

Helen Verney 

Double Basses 

Chi-Chi Nwanoku MBE 


Oboes 


Richard Earle 

Handel Overture to Theodora 

Handel Lord, to Thee each night and day 

from Theodora 

Handel Dopo notte from Ariodante 

Handel Concerto Grosso in B flat 

Op.3 No.2 

Handel Svegliatevi nel core from 

Giulio Cesare 

William Christie director 

Stéphanie d’Oustrac mezzo-soprano 

Anna Stéphany mezzo-soprano 

Renata Pokupić mezzo-soprano 

Bassoon 

Andrew Watts 

Theorbo 

Elizabeth Kenny 

Harpsichord 

Robert Howarth 

29 

The concert will finish at approximately 8.50pm with 

an interval of 20 minutes 

OAE Extras at 5.45pm, free admission 

Royal Festival Hall auditorium 

A look back at the life and career of Lorraine Hunt 

Lieberson.

‘The artistry of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was the inspiration for our season 

series "Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers". Tragically Lorraine died of breast 

cancer a year after our Glyndebourne revival of Theodora and the subsequent 

Handel arias CD. Everyone who heard her beautiful singing of the role of 

Irene was left spellbound by her commitment. As performers we are lucky to 

to work with many great musicians but it is rare that we experience an artist 

who identifies with a role to such a degree that the sadness of their portrayal 

is almost unbearable. We have chosen three singers in three contrasting 

Handel roles that Lorraine sang on stage, Sesto, Dejenira,and Irene. In this 

concert we hope to pay tribute to the memory of a wonderful artist, a musical 

heroine, in glorious music by a genius, Handel.’ 

Martin Kelly 

OAE Vice-Chairman & viola player 

30

Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers: A Tribute to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Monday 3 June 2013 

Concert in Context 

Handel’s output as a composer of 

large-scale vocal works can be 

divided into two distinct groups: 

operas in Italian, mostly composed 

for the London stage between 

1711 and 1741; and oratorios* in 

English, which, after a hesitant 

start, supplanted opera as his 

principal activity during 

throughout the 1740s. Common to 

both is the crucial role of the solo 

aria, the musical equivalent of a 

monologue in which the action 

stops for a moment and a character 

examines his or her own reaction to 

it. In the course of his career 

Handel composed hundreds of 

them, in which emotional 

intelligence, supreme melodic gifts 

and canny understanding of 

singers’ needs combine in the 

service of one of the sharpest 

musico-dramatic instincts in the 

history of music. 


George Frideric 

Handel (1685–1759) 

Overture 

Giulio Cesare 

Grave – Allegro 

The most popular and familiar of 

Handel’s operas today is Giulio 

Cesare in Egitto ( Julius Caesar in 

Egypt), first performed in 1724. 

Set in Alexandria at the time of 

Caesar’s conquest of Egypt in 

pursuit of his Roman rival Pompey, 

it positions the evolving love story 

between the great Emperor and 

the Egyptian queen Cleopatra 

against a background of political 

conflict, not least the scheming of 

Cleopatra’s brother and co-ruler 

Ptolemy. Like all Handel’s operas, 

it opens with an overture in the 

imposing style – slow and stately 

opening followed by a faster, more 

contrapuntally* inclined section – 

which had developed from the 

examples of French opera 

composers of the late 17th century. 



31



Handel (1685–1759) 

L’angue offeso mai 

riposa 

(from Giulio Cesare) 

In the opening exchanges of Giulio 

Cesare, Ptolemy, in an attempt to 

curry favour, has Pompey 

murdered and his head served up 

on a plate as a gift for Caesar. 

Pompey’s stricken wife Cornelia is 

left longing for death, but her son 

Sesto vows vengeance, even 

though being not much more than 

a boy he has little idea how to 

achieve it. His first attempt to 

assassinate Ptolemy is easily 

thwarted, but eventually another 

opportunity presents itself when 

one of Cleopatra’s servants offers 

to lead him to Ptolemy when he is 

off-guard. In ‘L’angue offeso mai 

riposa’ Sesto looks forward firmly 

but calmly to his moment of 

revenge, with Handel’s 

meandering accompaniment 

suggesting the ‘offended serpent’ to 

which he compares himself. 

L’angue offeso mai riposa 

Figlio non è, chi vendicar non cura 

del genitor lo scempio. 

Su dunque alla vendetta 

ti prepara, alma forte, 

e prima di morir altrui dà la morte! 

L’angue offeso mai riposa, 

se il veleno pria non spande 

dentro il sangue all’offensor. 

Così l’alma mia non osa 

di mostrarsi altera e grande, 

se non svelle l’empio cor. 

The offended serpent will not rest 

There is not a son who is not concerned 

With avenging his father’s murder. 

Up then, prepare yourself for revenge, 

Brave soul, and, before dying, 

Cause another’s death! 

The offended serpent will not rest 

Until it has spent its venom 

In the blood of its offender. 

Thus my soul does not dare 

To lay claim to greatness and pride 

Until the villain’s heart has been torn from his breast. 

Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym 

after Giacamo Francesco Bussani 

32




Handel (1685–1759) 

Ah! Whither should we 

fly… As with rosy steps 

the morn 

(from Theodora) 

By the late 1730s Italian opera was 

failing, and Handel was beginning 

to find oratorio a more effective 

channel for his dramatic gifts, not 

least as the increasingly affluent 

English middle classes discovered 

the allure of what was effectively 

unstaged opera in their own 

language. Biblical or otherwise 

morally uplifting subjects were 

popular, but while Theodora is 

certainly that, it was not a great 

success at its premiere in 1750, its 

story of a fourth-century Christian 

martyr who goes to her death 

rather than worship the heathen 

gods of her Roman captors proving 

perhaps just a little too gloomily 

introverted for the public’s liking. 

In the opening scenes of the 

oratorio the Roman governor of 

Antioch has issued a decree that all 

citizens must sacrifice to Jupiter, 

after which the action switches to a 

meeting of the Christians. A 

messenger arrives with news of the 

Governor’s order and urges all 

present to flee, but Irene, 

Theodora’s confidante, speaks up. 

Why should they be afraid when 

they have God’s protection? Her 

resolute recitative leads to an aria 

of uniquely Handelian nobility and 

calm, in which the growth of God’s 

love is likened to the inevitable 

spread of morning light. 

Ah! Whither should we fly 

Irene 

Ah! Whither should we fly, or fly from whom? 

The Lord is still the same, today, for ever, 

And his protection here, and everywhere. 

Though gath’ring round our destin’d heads 

The storm now thickens, and looks big with fate, 

Still shall thy servants wait on Thee, O Lord, 

And in thy saving mercy put their trust. 

As with rosy steps the morn, 

Advancing, drives the shades of night, 

So from virtuous toil well-borne, 

Raise Thou our hopes of endless light. 

Triumphant saviour, Lord of day, 

Thou art the life, the light, the way! 

As with rosy steps. . . 

Words by Thomas Morell 

33



Handel (1685–1759) 

Concerto Grosso in 

B minor Op.6 No.12 

(i) Largo 

(ii) Allegro 

(iii) Aria: Larghetto e piano 

(iv) Largo 

(v) Allegro 

That Handel’s orchestral output is 

almost bizarrely disordered 

compared to that of many Baroque 

composers – not least Bach and 

Vivaldi – should not surprise us in 

a composer whose primary field 

was vocal music. What is 

remarkable is that when he did 

turn his hand to it the results were 

more often than not fully worthy of 

his genius. Such was the case with 

his Op. 6 concerti grossi, which 

also had the unusual distinction of 

being composed in a single spurt 

lasting just over a month in the 

autumn of 1739. 

The title under which they 

eventually appeared – ‘Twelve 

Grand Concertos’ – literally 

translates the Italian term concerto 

grosso, a genre best exemplified by 

the Op. 6 concertos of Arcangelo 

Corelli, published in 1714. Those 

perfectly crafted works – which 

made use of interplay between a 

small kernel of players and a larger 

orchestral group – had remained 

immensely popular in England 

long after the solo concerto 

typified by Vivaldi had taken over 

the rest of Europe, and Handel’s 

adoption of their style (and 

perhaps even his use of the same 

opus number*) must have been 

carried out in full awareness of the 

fact. Not that he had anything to 

fear from comparison, for in these 

twelve works he produced a set to 

rival even Bach’s Brandenburg 

Concertos at the pinnacle of 

Baroque orchestral writing. The 

last of the set is a particularly happy 

Handelian inspiration, from its 

amiable overture-like opening 

through its broad, glorious 

Larghetto, to the gigue-like fugue* 

(based on a theme by his old 

teacher Friedrich Wilhelm 

Zachow) with which it finishes. 

34




Handel (1685–1759) 

Where shall I fly? 

(from Hercules) 

Hercules, composed for Handel’s 

1744-5 oratorio season, could in a 

sense be said to occupy a position 

somewhere between Italian opera 

and English oratorio, for while it 

has the outward appearance of the 

latter, its secular subject and 

general dramatic style take it closer 

to that relatively rare thing, a fullscale 

eighteenth-century opera in 

English. In this respect it is like his 

better-known oratorio of the year 

before, Semele, and significantly the 

composer named the three sections 

of both works not ‘parts’, as was 

usual in his oratorios, but the more 

theatrical ‘acts’. 

The story is a mix of Sophocles 

and Ovid, and it is from the latter 

that Handel and his librettist 

Thomas Broughton drew out the 

character of Dejanira, Hercules’s 

wife. Hercules, mortal son of Zeus 

and a great hero known for his 

feats of bravery and strength, 

returns home from a military 

campaign with a party of prisoners 

that includes the princess Iole, 

whom he had once wanted to 

marry. Dejanira cannot control her 

jealousy, and after a series of 

episodes accidentally causes 

Hercules’s death by giving him a 

magic cloak she thinks will make 

him love her more, but which 

instead poisons him. ‘Where shall I 

fly?’ is her horror-struck reaction, a 

boiling cauldron of self-accusation 

and longing for oblivion which 

may owe something to the madscenes 

of 17th-century English 

theatre, but which nevertheless 

produces from Handel a stream of 

white-hot inspiration. Small 

wonder that the great Handel 

scholar Winton Dean claimed that 

‘the whole range of dramatic music 

contains no more terrifying picture 

of mental derangement’. 

Where shall I fly? from Hercules 

Where shall I fly? Where hide this guilty head? 

O fatal error of misguided love! 

O cruel Nessus, how art thou reveng’d! 

Wretched I am! By me Alcides dies! 

These impious hands have sent my injur’d lord 

Untimely to the shades! Let me be mad! 

Chain me, ye Furies, to your iron beds, 

And lash my guilty ghost with whips of scorpions! 

See, see, they come! Alecto with her snakes, 

Megaera fell, and black Tisiphone! 

See the dreadful sisters rise, 

Their baneful presence taints the skies! 

See the snaky whips they bear! 

What yellings rend my tortur’d ear! 

Hide me from their hated sight, 

Friendly shades of blackest night! 

Alas, no rest the guilty find 

From the pursuing furies of the mind! 

Words by Thomas Broughton 

35



Handel (1685–1759) 

Overture to Theodora 

(i) [Grave] – Allegro 

(ii) Trio 

(iii) Courante 

Lack of success with the public did 

not stop Theodora from being 

Handel’s favourite among his 

oratorios, and neither did his habit 

of adapting existing musical 

material from other composers 

prevent it from being a work of 

unmistakably Handelian stamp. In 

the three-movement Overture, 

another opening in ‘French’ style is 

followed by a Trio and a Courante* 

borrowed from a collection of 

keyboard pieces by the Austrian 

composer Gottlieb Muffat, in both 

of which Handel strengthened 

their sense of direction and 

proportion by shortening them and 

spruced up their bass-lines; the 

little chromatic ‘lift’ in the second 

half of the Courante, for instance, 

is a refinement entirely his own. 


Handel (1685–1759) 

Lord, to Thee each night 

and day from Theodora 

By the start of the third of 

Theodora’s three parts, the 

Governor’s rage at the Christians’ 

resistance has focused on Theodora 

herself, who has been condemned 

to the life of a prostitute. As she 

lies imprisoned, wanting only 

death, her companions keep vigil 

for her, led by Irene’s stoical prayer 

‘Lord, to Thee each night and day’. 

The simple, optimistically rising 

melody of its outer sections 

contrasts with an agitated central 

section which will have struck a 

chord with its first audiences: not 

long before the premiere, London 

had suffered discomfiting earth 

tremors. 

Lord, to Thee each night and day 

Lord, to Thee each night and day, 

Strong in hope, we sing and pray. 

Though convulsive rocks the ground, 

And thy thunders roll around, 

Still to Thee, each night and day, 

We sing and pray. 

Lord, to Thee. . . 

Words by Thomas Morell 

36




Handel (1685–1759) 

Dopo notte from 

Ariodante 

Ariodante, first performed at 

Covent Garden in 1735, is the 

middle work in a trilogy of superb 

Handel operas from the mid- 

1730s (the others being Orlando 

and Alcina), all of which took as a 

starting-point episodes from 

Ludovico Ariosto’s poetic romance 

Orlando furioso. Set in medieval 

Scotland, it centres on the 

villainous efforts of Duke 

Dopo Notte 

Dopo Notte, atra e funesta 

Splende in ciel più vago il sole, 

E di gioia empie la terra. 

Mentre in orrida tempest 

Il mio legno è quasi assort, 

Giunge in porto, e’l lido afferra. 

Polinesso to separate the prince 

Ariodante from his love, the 

princess Ginevra. ‘Dopo notte’ 

comes from the third and final act, 

when all is resolved. Polinesso has 

been killed, Ginevra’s impugned 

innocence proved, and, in an 

energetic aria driven forward by 

carefree syncopations, Ariodante 

can allow himself some joy once 

more. 

After night, black and gloomy 

The sun shines more brightly in the sky 

And fills the earth with joy 

Though in the terrible storm 

My boat was almost engulfed 

It has now reached the shore. 

Translated by Nicholas John 


Handel (1685–1759) 

Concerto Grosso 

in B flat Op.3 No.2 

(i) Vivace 

(ii) Largo 

(iii) Allegro 

(iv) [no tempo indication] 

(v) [no tempo indication] 

Handel’s Op. 6 Concerti grossi 

may have been composed in a short 

burst of energy, but the formation 

of his previous (and only other) set 

was considerably less organic. 

Indeed, Handel may have had very 

little part in it, since his Op. 3 of 

1734 seems to have been a 

compilation of assorted preexisting 

orchestral movements put 

together by the publisher John 

Walsh, perhaps without even 

consulting the composer himself. 

If Handel had any objections, 

however, no record of them has 

survived. 

Op. 3, then, is a far more disparate 

set than Op. 6, with a greater 

variety of scorings and formal 

designs, but that does not prevent 

them from containing music of 

great quality, freshness and colour. 

Perhaps the most satisfying in all 

those respects is Concerto No. 2, a 

work whose five movements 

manage to take in a tender oboe 

solo with expansive 

accompaniment for two cellos, a 

robust but shapely fugue and a 

climatic set of variations. 

37



Handel (1685–1759) 

Svegliatevi nel core 

(from Giulio Cesare) 

Back to Egypt to finish, and the 

suffering but ever-determined 

Sesto. Whereas ‘L’angue offeso mai 

riposa’ had shown the 

inexperienced but fast-maturing 

youth in a moment of clear-eyed 

anticipation of revenge (though in 

fact his second attempt to kill 

Ptolemy failed almost as weakly as 

the first), his first aria in the opera, 

‘Svegliatevi nel core’, shows him in 

a more desperately impotent state 

of rage immediately after 

witnessing his father’s death. Yet 

his depth of his feeling, and thus 

perhaps his ultimate success, are 

hinted at in the aria’s central 

section in which he calls on his 

father’s shade to offer him strength 

for the task ahead. 

Svegliatevi nel core, Sesto’s aria from Giulio Cesare 

Vani sono i lamenti; 

è tempo, o Sesto, ormai 

di vendicar il padre; 

si svegli alla vendetta 

l’anima neghittosa, 

che offesa da un tiranno invan riposa. 

Svegliatevi nel core, 

furie d’un alma offesa, 

a far d’un traditor 

aspra vendetta! 

L’ombra del genitore 

accorre a mia difesa, 

e dice: a te il rigor, 

Figlio si aspetta. 

Vain are the laments, o Sesto, 

Now, the time has come to avenge the father 

Awaken to vengeance, the futile soul, 

that offended by a tryant, in vain rests. 

Translated by Vincenzo Elia 

Awaken in my heart 

The wrath of an offended soul 

So I may wreak upon a traitor 

My bitter vengeance! 

The ghost of my father 

Hastens to my defense 

Saying, “From you, my son 

Ferocity is expected” 

38


Boffin’s Corner Vocal Variety 

All tonight’s arias are from roles associated with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Sesto (in Giulio Cesare) was one 

of her first operatic engagements in New York back in 1985, when she was a soprano, and also marked her 

first collaboration with director Peter Sellars; eleven years later she would work with him again for 

Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s searing production of Theodora (conducted by William Christie), investing 

Irene with an intense nobility that will linger long in the memories of those who witnessed it. By that time 

she had sung and recorded Ariodante in the 1995 Göttingen Handel Festival staging conducted by Nicholas 

McGegan, and in 1999 the role of the tortured, jealous Dejanira (in Hercules) must have seemed made for 

her vivid vocal acting skills when she perfomed it in Boston, the city where her singing career had begun as 

a choir member in Craig Smith’s Emmanuel Music. 

Yet although it is her artistry we celebrate, the original interpreters of these arias were very different 

from each other. For one thing they were not all women – the attitude of opera-goers towards gender in an 

age when the beauty of the high voice mattered more than realism was relaxed to say the least. The first 

Sesto was Margherita Durastanti, a Venetian soprano whom Handel had known since his youthful days in 

Italy. Handel wrote a total of four male operatic roles for her – ironic when you consider that when she 

sang the part of Mary Magdalen in his oratorio La resurrezione in Rome in 1708, the Pope complained and 

she was replaced by a castrato! She was a gifted actress, though the eighteenth-century music historian 

Charles Burney described her person as ‘coarse and masculine’. By contrast, the castrato singer who created 

the role of Ariodante, the great Giovanni Carestini, was remembered as ‘tall, beautiful and majestic’, and his 

stage debut in 1721 had been in a female role. He was Handel’s leading man in the mid-1730s, however, 

before resuming his glittering career on the continent. 

Irene was Caterina Galli, a young singer whom Handel probably taught himself; despite the role’s 

feminine stoicism, she often sang male parts elsewhere, including the title-role in Solomon, and Burney 

remarked that ‘there was something spirited and interesting in her manner’. We know little about the 

singer who took the meaty role of Dejanira; ‘Miss Robinson’ was perhaps the daughter of the Ann Turner 

Robinson who had sung a number of minor roles for Handel in the 1720s and ’30s, but her own time with 

the composer was limited to the 1744-5 season, and she was not heard of again. 

Programme notes by Lindsay Kemp © 2013 

39

Biography 

William Christie 

director 

William Christie’s pioneering work has led to a 

renewed appreciation of Baroque music in France, 

notably of 17th- and 18th-century French repertoire. 

Born in Buffalo (New York State), Christie studied at 

both Harvard and Yale Universities and has lived in 

France since 1971. The major turning point in his 

career came in 1979 when he founded Les Arts 

Florissants. 

From Charpentier to Rameau, through Couperin, 

Mondonville, Campra or Montéclair, he is an 

acknowledged master of tragédie-lyrique as well as 

opéra-ballet, and is equally at home with French 

motets as with music of the court. However, his 

affection for French music does not prevent him from 

exploring other European repertoire and he has given 

many acclaimed performances of works by Italian 

composers such as Monteverdi, Rossi and Scarlatti. 

He undertakes Purcell and Handel with as much 

pleasure as Mozart and Haydn. 

His extensive discography covers more than 100 

recordings including award-winning releases. 

In addition to his engagements with Les Arts 

Florissants, he is regularly invited to conduct at the 

world’s leading opera houses. 

William Christie is equally committed to the 

training and professional development of young 

artists. In 2002, he created an academy for young 

singers in Caen, called Le Jardin des Voix, whose 

sessions generated a huge amount of interest all over 

Europe as well as in the United States. Since October 

2007, he has been Artist in Residency, with les Arts 

Florissants, at the Juilliard School, New York. 

William Christie acquired French nationality in 

1995, has been elected at the Académie des Beaux- 

Arts and is a Commandeur dans l’Ordre de la Légion 

d’Honneur as well as Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et 

des Lettres. 

40 

Photo: Denis Rouvre

Biography 

Stéphanie d’Oustrac 

mezzo-soprano 


Stéphanie d’Oustrac was born in Rennes and studied 

at the Conservatoire National Supérieure in Lyon. 

Before she had even won a prize there, William 

Christie offered her the leading role - Medea - in 

Lully’s Thésée, at the Académie d’Ambronay. This was 

a decisive meeting, and Christie followed up with the 

offer of Psyché in Les Métamorphoses de Psyché (Lully- 

Quinault / Molière-Corneille). 

Her débuts were strongly marked by the world of 

the Baroque repertoire, and after her discovery by 

Christie she worked with conductors such as Jean- 

Claude Malgoire, Gabriel Garrido and Hervé Niquet. 

During the same period she was also invited to play 

the jeune première and travesti roles of mainstream 

opera repertoire. 

Her widely praised interpretations of Medea and 

Armide led her logically to Carmen: a role she first 

performed at the Lille Opera House in May 2010. In 

the same period her performances in La Voix 

Humaine (Royaumont Abbey, Toulouse) and La 

Dame de Monte-Carlo won her the definitive support 

of all lovers of Poulenc. 

She has regularly collaborated with prestigious 

directors including Laurent Pelly (Belle-Hélène, La 

Périchole, Tales of Hoffmann), Robert Carsen (Armide), 

Jérome Déschamps (L’Etoile), Jean-Marie Villégier 

(Les Métamorphoses de Psyché), Yannis Kokkos (Giulio 

Cesare, Phaedra, Dido & Aeneas), Mariame Clément 

(Belle-Hélène), Vincent Vittoz (La Voix Humaine), 

David McVicar (Giulio Cesare), Jean-François 

Sivadier (Carmen), and choreographers 

Montalvo/Hervieu (Les Paladins), Christian Rizzo 

(La Voix Humaine). 

Her guest appearances include Opéra National de 

Paris, Opéra Comique, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre 

des Champs-Elysées, Opéra Royal de Versailles, the 

opera houses of Rennes, Nancy, Lille, Tours, 

Marseille, Montpellier, Caen, Lyon, Bordeaux, 

Toulouse and Avignon. She is equally appreciated 

abroad: Baden-Baden, Luxembourg, Geneva, 

Lausanne, Madrid (Teatro de La Zarzuela), London 

(Barbican), Tokyo (Bunkamura), New-York (Lincoln 

Center) and Shanghai Opera. 

She regularly gives concerts of chamber music with 

ensembles such as Amarillis, Il Seminario Musicale, 

Les Paladins, La Bergamasque or Arpeggiata. She also 

appears in recitals, since 1994 mostly with her great 

41 

friend the pianist Pascal Jourdan. Stéphanie d’Oustrac 

has received several prizes: Prix Bernac (1999), Radios 

Francophones (2000), Victoires de la Musique (2002), 

and the Gramophone Editor’s Choice for her Haydn 

CD (2010). 

Photo: Bertrand Pichene

Biography 

Anna Stéphany 

mezzo-soprano 

Anglo/French mezzo-soprano Anna Stéphany is a 

winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and the 

Guildhall Gold Medal and in 2009 represented 

England in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Born 

in the North East of England, she is a graduate of 

King’s College London, The Guildhall School of 

Music & Drama and the National Opera Studio. 

In the summer of 2011 Anna sang Annio in David 

McVicar’s production of La Clemenza di Tito for 

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Earlier that year Anna 

made her debut at Théâtre du Châtelet singing the 

role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, she also made 

her debut in the United States to critical acclaim in the 

title role of Charpentier’s Medée with Christian 

Curnyn and Chicago Opera Theater and with the 

Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow as Orlovsky Die 

Fledermaus. 

In concert Ms Stéphany has appeared with many of 

the world’s finest orchestras including London 

Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of 

Enlightenment, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic 

Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, NDR 

Sinfonieorchester, London Philharmonic Orchestra, 

CBSO and at the Proms. Anna can also be heard on a 

number of recordings for the BBC, LSO Live and 

Wigmore Hall Live labels. 

Conductors with whom she has performed include 

Jaap van Zweden, Thomas Hengelbrock, Sir Colin 

Davis, Vassily Sinaisky, Andris Nelsons, Sir Charles 

Mackerras, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, David Zinman, 

Thierry Fischer, Donald Runnicles, Sir Andrew Davis 

and David Parry. 

Engagements in 2012 and beyond include a return 

to the Bolshoi Theatre to sing Octavian in Der 

Rosenkavalier with Sir Thomas Allen, Elgar’s Sea 

Pictures with David Parry, Speranza in Orfeo with the 

Balthasar Neumann Chor, Les Nuits d’été with the 

BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bruckner’s 

Requiem with the Northern Sinfonia, Kathleen 

Ferrier Centenary Concert at the Wigmore Hall and 

the recording of the title role Serse with Christian 

Curnyn and Early Opera Company for Chandos. 

Anna Stéphany joins the ensemble at Opernhaus 

Zürich this year. Her roles during the first season 

include Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella Cosi 

fan Tutte and Lola Cavalleria Rusticana. Future roles 

include Marguerite Faust, Nicklausse Les Contes 

42 

d’Hoffmann and Minerva Ulisse. She will also cover 

Elena in La Donna del Lago for Covent Garden. 

Photo: Marco Borggreve


Biography 

Renata Pokupić 

mezzo-soprano 

Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupić is known 

internationally through her acclaimed performances 

of baroque, classical and coloratura repertoire. 

Recent operatic engagements include the title role 

Cendrillon for Opéra de Lille, Dorabella Cosi fan tutte 

for Washington National Opera, and Nerone 

Agrippina in Lille, Dijon and Beaune. She has also 

sung Irene Tamerlano for Royal Opera House, Covent 

Garden, Cherubino for Washington National Opera 

and Los Angeles Opera, Octavian Der Rosenkavalier 

for Minnesota Orchestra, Bradamante Orlando 

Furioso for Oper Frankfurt, Sesto La clemenza di Tito 

for Chicago Opera Theater, Annio La clemenza di Tito 

for Opéra de Lyon and the title role in Cavalli 

Eliogabalo at Grange Park Opera. 

Much in demand on the concert platform, Pokupić 

most recently sang David Penitente at Festival de 

Saint-Denis, Dvořak Stabat Mater with DSO Berlin, 

St Matthew Passion with Rotterdam Philharmonic, 

Haydn Paukenmesse, Mozart Coronation Mass and 

Haydn Stabat Mater with the Orchestre de chambre 

de Paris, Mozart’s Requiem at the BBC Proms, and 

she appeared in Le Concert d’Astrée’s 10th 

anniversary concert. In previous seasons she has also 

sung Alcina Orlando Furioso with Ensemble Matheus 

in Madrid, Beethoven Symphony No.9 with 

Orchester Beethoven Bonn, Mahler Symphony No. 2 

with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, 

Pulcinella with the Orchestre Philharmonique de 

Strasbourg, Mozart and Rossini arias with the 

Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Haydn The Creation 

with Northern Sinfonia, Angel Elijah with the 

London Philharmonic Orchestra and Mendelssohn 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Orchestre 

National de France, Bach Christmas Oratorio with 

Ensemble Matheus, and Pergolesi Stabat Mater with 

Les talens lyriques. She works with such leading 

conductors as Kurt Masur, Kazushi Ono, Kent 

Nagano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Louis Langreé, Fabio 

Biondi, John Eliot Gardiner, Paul McCreesh, Jérémie 

Rhorer, Emmauelle Haïm, Christophe Rousset, Carlo 

Rizzi, Jean-Christoph Spinosi, Laurence Cummings 

and Christian Curnyn. 

A committed recitalist, Pokupić works regularly 

with the internationally acclaimed Roger Vignoles. 

They have appeared together at the Wigmore Hall, 

The Frick Collection New York, Danube Festival, 

43 

Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Petworth Festival, Bath 

Mozartfest, Delft Chamber Festival, and the Great 

Hall in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. 

Highlights in the 2012/13 season include Nerone 

Agrippina for De Vlaamse Opera, Cecilio in Anfossi’s 

Lucio Silla at Mozarteum Salzburg with Le Cercle de 

l’Harmonie, Bruckner Mass in F minor with 

Orchestre de Paris under Ingo Metzmacher, St 

Matthew Passion with the Bach Choir, and a European 

tour of ‘Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers: Tribute to 

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’ with the Orchestra of the Age 

of Enlightenment and William Christie. With Roger 

Vignoles, she will record songs by Czech composer 

Václav Tomášek for Hyperion Records. 

Photo: Chris Gloag

Glossary 

44 

Allegro 

Used chiefly as musical direction, it indicates a 

quick, lively tempo, usually considered to be 

faster than allegretto but slower than presto. 

Andantino 

An indication to play with a slow, moderate 

tempo. Andantino is slightly faster than ‘andante’ 

but slower than ‘moderato’. 

Cadenza 

An extended solo passage, usually placed near the 

end of a piece, which is either improvised by the 

performer or written out by the composer. 

Historically, cadenzas provided soloists with a 

chance for virtuoso display, and allowed 

composers a way to generate momentum before 

the end of the composition. 

Concerto 

Like many musical terminologies, the word 

‘concerto’ differs in its meaning across musical 

history. The Classical form to which these notes 

refer used the following basic structure: a first 

movement, usually composed in sonata form (see 

below), a slower, quieter second movement, and a 

third faster and more virtuosic movement to end 

the piece. 

Contrapuntal 

Since the Renaissance period in European music, 

much music which is considered contrapuntal has 

been written in imitative counterpoint. This is 

where two or more voices enter at different times, 

and (especially when entering) each voice repeats 

some version of the same melodic element. 

Courante 

A dance of Italian origin marked by quick 

running steps. A courante is performed in quick 

triple time or in a mixture of 3⁄2 and 6⁄4 time. 

Fugue 

From the Latin meaning flight –the fugue is a 

composition written for several independent 

parts. It begins with the main theme after which 

the other parts are gradually introduced, build 

and are layered on ‘top’ of one another. 

Minuet 

French dance, originally from Poitou, introduced 

at the court of Louis XIV in 1650. It became 

popular during the 17th and 18th cent. In 3–4 

meter and moderate tempo, the minuet was 

performed by open couples who made graceful 

and precise glides and steps. The minuet left a 

refined but definite imprint on music; it is found 

in the operatic sinfonias of Alessandro Scarlatti 

and appears frequently as a movement in the 

symphonies and sonatas of Haydn and Mozart. 

Molto 

The word Molto means much or very, so ‘allegro 

molto’ would mean ‘to play very fast’. 

Moto Perpetuo 

Literally translated as ‘perpetual motion’. Moto 

Perpetuo is a term used to describe rapidly 

executed and persistently maintained figuration. 

Movement 

A separate section of a larger composition. 

Opus number 

A number assigned to an individual composition 

or set of compositions in order to help identify 

works. 

Oratorio 

An extended musical setting of a sacred text 

made up of dramatic, narrative and 

contemplative elements. Except for a greater 

emphasis on the chorus throughout much of its 

history, the musical forms and styles of the 

oratorio tend to approximate to those of opera in 

any given period, and the normal manner of 

performance is that of a concert (without scenery, 

costumes or action). The oratorio was most 

extensively cultivated in the 18th and 19th 

centuries. 

Overture 

An instrumental composition planned especially 

as an introduction to an extended work, such as 

an opera or oratorio. The earliest Italian opera 

overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music 

and were called ‘sinfonie’. Later the overture 

begun to foreshadow the themes and melodic 

strands of the subsequent larger work and in the 

19th and 20th Centuries, the overture became a 

potpourri of the work’s proceeding tunes, played 

as a teaser. 

Presto 

This Italian tempo marking means ‘very fast,’ 

approximately 168 - 200 beats per minute. 

Scherzo 

A vigorous, light, or playful composition, 

developed from the minuet, with a contrastive 

middle section. 

Symphony 

An extended musical composition in Western 

classical music, scored almost always for 

orchestra. Many symphonies are tonal works in 

four movements, which is often described by 

music theorists as the structure of a classical 

symphony, although many symphonies by the 

acknowledged classical masters of the form, 

Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and 

Ludwig van Beethoven do not conform to this 

model.

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment 

Principal Artists 

Sir Mark Elder 

Iván Fischer 

Vladimir Jurowski 

Sir Simon Rattle 

Emeritus Conductors 

Frans Brüggen 

Sir Roger Norrington 

‘For this 

remarkable 

ensemble, it’s all 

about the music’ 

Independent on Sunday 

45 

Just over two decades ago, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look 

at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. 

They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. 

Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move 

on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born. 

And as this distinctive ensemble playing on period-specific instruments began to get 

a foothold, it made a promise to itself. It vowed to keep questioning, adapting and 

inventing as long as it lived. Those original instruments became just one element of its 

quest for authenticity. Baroque and Classical music became just one strand of its 

repertoire. Every time the musical establishment thought it had a handle on what the 

OAE was all about, the ensemble pulled out another shocker: a Symphonie Fantastique 

here, some conductor-less Bach there. All the while, the orchestra’s players called the 

shots. 

At first it felt like a minor miracle. Ideas and talent were plentiful; money wasn’t. 

Somehow, the OAE survived to a year. Then to two. Then to five. It began to make 

benchmark recordings and attract the finest conductors. It became the toast of the 

European touring circuit. It bagged distinguished residencies at the Southbank Centre 

and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. It began, before long, to thrive. 

And then came the real challenge. Eccentric idealists the ensemble’s musicians were 

branded. And that they were determined to remain. In the face of the music industry’s 

big guns, the OAE kept its head. It got organised but remained experimentalist. It 

sustained its founding drive but welcomed new talent. It kept on exploring performance 

formats, rehearsal approaches and musical techniques. It searched for the right repertoire, 

instruments and approaches with even greater resolve. It kept true to its founding vow. 

In some small way, the OAE changed the classical music world too. It challenged 

those distinguished partner organisations and brought the very best from them, too. 

Symphony and opera orchestras began to ask it for advice. Existing period instrument 

groups started to vary their conductors and repertoire. New ones popped up all over 

Europe and America. 

And so the story continues, with ever more momentum and vision. The OAE’s series 

of nocturnal Night Shift performances have redefined concert parameters. Its home at 

London’s Kings Place has fostered further diversity of planning and music-making. 

Great performances now become recordings on the Orchestra’s in-house CD label, OAE 

Released.The ensemble has formed the bedrock for some of Glyndebourne’s most 

groundbreaking recent productions. It travels as much abroad as to the UK regions: New 

York and Amsterdam court it, Birmingham and Bristol cherish it. 

Remarkable people are behind it. Simon Rattle, the young conductor in whom the 

OAE placed so much of its initial trust, still cleaves to the ensemble. Iván Fischer, the 

visionary who punted some of his most individual musical ideas on the young orchestra, 

continues to challenge it. Mark Elder still mines for luminosity, shade and line. Vladimir 

Jurowski, the podium technician with an insatiable appetite for creative renewal, has 

drawn from it some of the most revelatory noises of recent years. All four share the title 

Principal Artist. 

Of the instrumentalists, many remain from those brave first days; many have come 

since. All seem as eager and hungry as ever. They’re offered ever greater respect, but 

continue only to question themselves. Because still, they pride themselves on sitting ever 

so slightly outside the box. They wouldn’t want it any other way. 

© Andrew Mellor, 2011

OAE Education 2012–2013 

Schools Concerts 

This programme details OAE concerts from February 

to June, where hopefully, we see the cold winds of 

winter finally leave and the sun starts to warm us up 

again. During March, we will perform the last in our 

2013 series of Schools Concerts, aptly titled Changing 

Seasons, where audiences of school pupils are treated 

to a musical exploration of the seasons, with 

highlights from Purcell and Vivaldi. These hour long 

concerts are specially designed for Key Stage Two 

pupils and provide an opportunity for children to hear 

a live period orchestra and perform with them. In 

advance of the concerts, participating schools receive 

workshops from OAE players who work with classes 

of instrumentalists so they can join in at the concert at 

specific moments – from violins to recorders, everyone 

has a chance to play and sing with the orchestra which 

is especially remarkable considering the Orchestra 

play at Baroque pitch, where the note A equals 415 

Hertz and pupils play at modern pitch where A equals 

440 Hertz. 

In a new development for OAE Education, we are 

piloting a Key Stage One concert series this summer. 

These concerts are for designed for 5-7 year olds and 

we will be welcoming over 1200 children over the 

course of the concerts. 

Early Years 

This is our third consecutive year of a very successful 

partnership with Camden Integrated Early Years 

Service during which we have collaborated to design a 

programme of OAE events for early years settings. At 

the beginning of this year, each participating nursery in 

Camden received visits from a pair of OAE musicians to 

explore live music. Every setting is different and the 

musicians react accordingly to tailor the visit to the 

children involved. This branch of work is 

complimentary to our public TOTS series – concerts for 

under-six year olds which continue to grow in 

popularity. 

OAE Academy 

We pride ourselves in having an education programme 

that provides opportunities for all ages and abilities. 

This year started with our annual OAE Academy – a 

three day course for young players on the Ann and Peter 

Law OAE Experience scheme. During the Academy, 

players on the scheme form an orchestra and receive 

coaching from different OAE musicians, each offering 

different expertise. The Academy finished with an open 

performance for friends and family. This grounding for 

the year provides a starting point before participants are 

given different opportunities to work with the OAE 

throughout the year, on concerts and education projects. 

photo: Gavin Edwards 

46

Gloria projects 

We have been working in collaboration with Brighton 

Early Music Festival (BREMF) to design and deliver a 

singing project between local primary schools and the 

BREMF community choir. The project involves 

everyone learning Vivaldi’s Gloria in workshops in 

schools before coming together for a big performance 

with OAE players in March 2013. 

The format of this intergenerational project is 

something we are also using in the Summer term to 

work with schools in King’s Lynn to deliver another 

project using Vivaldi’s Gloria as the inspiration for the 

project. 

String Club 

Our weekly string club continues successfully where 

over 50 local Kings Cross primary and secondary 

school pupils receive string coaching from OAE 

players. 

Mayor’s Fund for Youth partnership work 

Under the umbrella of the Mayor’s Fund for Youth 

Music, we continue work in our four partner boroughs, 

Camden, Islington, Wandsworth and Merton. We 

have helped in the development of three new 

ensembles coached by the OAE, through which, 

young music students from all four boroughs receive 

OAE coaching as well as opportunities to perform. 

We are looking ahead to our first tour working with 

these four music services where OAE players will 

accompany students on tour for an intensive weekend 

of period performance coaching and a performance in 

France. 

To find out more about the education programme 

please contact Ellie on ellie.cowan@oae.co.uk or visit 

our website at oae.co.uk/education 

Musicians on Call 

Our Musicians on Call programme continues in 

nursing homes in and around London. This is where 

musicians visit settings where residents can’t manage 

to visit the concert hall and give an in-house recital. 

Welcome to Southbank Centre, we hope you enjoy your visit. 

We have a Duty Manager available at all times. If you have any queries please ask any member of staff for assistance. 

Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shops and restaurants include Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO! 

Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Concrete and 

Feng Sushi, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Hayward 

Gallery. 

If you wish to make a comment following your visit please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank 

Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone 020 7960 4250 or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk 

We look forward to seeing you again soon. 

Programme Editors 

Matthew Grindon 

Natasha Stehr 

Design 

Harrison and co design 

Artwork 

Heather Kenmure Graphic Design 

Season Photography 

Eric Richmond 

Printed by Cantate 

47

OAE News 

Touring with the OAE 

The OAE has had a busy start to 2013, with the 

Creation here in London back in January, followed by a 

visit to the beautiful country of Malta for the first time – 

enjoying a fantastic Baroque concert in the Co- 

Cathedral of Valetta (and a teeny glimpse of 

Mediterranean January sunshine). After this, we toured 

Northern Europe in the snow with Simon Rattle & 

Mozart to sold-out audiences in Cologne, Frankfurt, 

Salzburg, Vienna & Budapest. A great coincidence to 

be playing Mozart on his birthday in Vienna! 

Thankfully for the Tours department, there is 

slightly less travel over the next few months, though not 

to be missed is a St John Passion at the Théâtre des 

Champs-Élysées in Paris before Easter and then trips to 

Rheingau, Paris again and New York later in the 

summer. That doesn’t mean we won’t be busy 

organising things here in the UK though… 

2013-2014 concerts now on sale 

Our Southbank Centre concerts start on 

30 September when baroque legend William Christie 

returns to us to conduct a programme of orchestral 

overtures and arias by Rameau as well as music from 

England’s favourite adopted composer, George 

Frideric Handel. This opening concert not only starts 

our season but also our eight-event series 

Gamechangers, featuring works and composers that 

were pivotal in shaping musical history and 

performers who are gamechangers in the musical 

scene today. 

The season continues through until June 2014 with 

artists appearing including Semyon Bychkov, 

Principal Artist Sir Mark Elder, Katia and Marielle 

Labèque, Robert Levin and Sir Simon Rattle. Also 

during the year, our The Works series continues as well 

as OAE TOTS concerts for music-lovers aged 6 and 

under. And, new for 2013, we have a Family Concert 

celebrating Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Our 

late-night popular series, The Night Shift will also 

continue, with performances being announced later. 

Details of all performances are now online at 

oae.co.uk or you can pick up a new concert diary from 

our desk in the foyer. We’ll be sending our full season 

brochures in the Spring, so do look out for them! 

48 

Night Shift News 

It was great to see so many at our last Night Shift, 

where we had our first ever dance event in front of a 

sold-out audience. We did say that we’d be 

announcing the next event soon and so, we’re very 

excited that we’ll be taking our late-night concert 

series back to Wilton’s Music Hall in the summer, 

following a sell-out event there back in 2010. Details 

are still being firmed up but tickets will be available 

soon. To be the first to know when the event goes on 

sale, visit our website at oae.co.uk/thenightshift 

The Works: your guide to the 

classics 

The next edition of The Works – our series giving you a 

guided tour of the classics, is on 26 March at the 

Queen Elizabeth Hall. It features Pergolesi’s Stabat 

Mater, probably his best-known piece, which was later 

arranged by a number of other famous composers 

including Johann Sebastian Bach. Let director Steven 

Devine and presenter Hannah Conway guide you 

through the music movement by movement, followed 

by a complete performance by the OAE and soloists 

Elin Manahan Thomas and William Purefoy. 

From 7pm there’ll be music in the Queen 

Elizabeth Hall bar and after the 8pm concert an 

opportunity to ‘speed-date’ players from the Orchestra 

and find out more about them and their instruments. 

Tickets are now on sale from just £15 and full 

information can be found on our website: 

oae.co.uk/theworks

Kings Place Bach Unwrapped 

We’re very excited to be part of Kings Place’s largest 

annual series to date, celebrating the genius of Johann 

Sebastian Bach. 

We kick off our set of nine events on 22 March with 

a concert celebrating Bach’s Cantatas and Brandenburg 

Concertos, led by the effervescent conductor, John Butt. 

But it doesn’t end there...from March to May, we’ll 

have two OAE TOTS concerts (23 March) for our 

younger music-lovers, a chance to sing Bach’s Passions 

with OAE principal keyboardist Robert Howarth (23 

March), as well as a lively family concert (18 May) and 

a study day, focusing on Bach’s sublime Brandenburg 

Concertos (20 April). 

Tickets start from just £9 for evening concerts and 

£4.50 for OAE Family/TOTS events. 

Full information and booking is online at 

kingsplace.co.uk or via the Kings Place Box Office on 

020 7520 1490. 

OAE Extras 

We have an Insight Club coming up this Easter at the 

Royal Festival Hall on 6 April. Led by astrologer and 

OAE enthusiast Shelley von Strunckel, she’ll examine 

a piece of the OAE’s core operatic repertoire, Mozart’s 

Magic Flute, talking a close look at its more mystical 

elements. Interaction between the audience and 

speaker is encouraged so do come along and be part of 

the discussion. 

The session lasts 2 hours, and tickets are £10 (£5 

concessions/£4 students) and include tea or a coffee 

and a cake. 

For information on everything the OAE does, visit 

our website at oae.co.uk, ring the office on 020 7239 

9370 or speak to our staff tonight at the OAE 

welcome desk next to the box office. 

WATERLOO WINE CO. 

IMPORTERS OF FINE WINES 

are proud to support 

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment 

retail: 61 Lant Street 

Borough 

SE1 1QL 

tel: 020 7403 7967 

sales@waterloowine.co.uk 

49

Our Supporters 

The OAE continues to grow and thrive through the generosity of our supporters. We are very grateful to 

our sponsors and patrons and hope you will consider joining them. We offer a close involvement in the 

life of the Orchestra with many opportunities to meet players, attend rehearsals and even accompany 

us on tour. For further information please call Isabelle Tawil on 020 7239 9380. 

MAJOR SPONSOR 

CORPORATE BENEFACTORS 

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INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS CLUB MEMBER 

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OAE Futures is the long term artistic development 

programme of the OAE and was established in 2006 with a 

substantial lead donation from The Smith Challenge Fund. 

The OAE is grateful to Martin and Elise Smith for this 

generous and imaginative support. OAE Futures comprises 

projects grouped under three headings: Future Orchestra, 

Future Performers and Future Audiences, and offers a 

special opportunity for donors to be involved in the 

development of the Orchestra’s artistic strategy at the 

highest level. The Orchestra thanks for the following for 

their support of OAE Futures: 

OAE Futures Funders 

Bob & Laura Cory 

The Smith Challenge Fund 

Ann & Peter Law OAE Experience Scheme 

Ann & Peter Law 

Melgaard OAE Young Conductor Scheme 

Greg & Gail Melgaard 

For further details about becoming an OAE Futures Funder 

please contact Clare Norburn, Director of Development: 

clare.norburn@oae.co.uk 

50 

BENEFACTORS 

Julian & Annette Armstrong 

Robert & Laura Cory 

Nigel Jones & Françoise Valat Jones 

Selina & David Marks 

Julian & Camilla Mash 

Anthony Simpson & Susan Boster 

Philip & Rosalyn Wilkinson 

CHAIR PATRONS 

Sir Martin & Lady Smith Leader 

Mark, Rosamund, Benedict & Emily Williams Violin Chair 

Hugh & Michelle Arthur Violin Chair 

Bruce Harris Viola Chair 

Sir Vernon & Lady Ellis Co-Principal Viola 

Dominic & Ali Wallis Continuo Cello 

Michael & Licia Crystal Principal Double Bass 

Felix Appelbe & Lisa Bolgar Smith Principal Flute 

Christopher & Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas Principal Oboe 

Fraser and Ute Partridge Sub-Principal Oboe/Cor anglais 

Peter & Leanda Englander Principal Clarinet 

Roger & Pam Stubbs Sub-Principal Clarinet 

Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA Principal Bassoon 

John & Rosemary Shannon Co-Principal Horn 

Sir Timothy & Lady Lloyd Keyboard 

Franz & Regina Etz Lute/Theorbo 

James Flynn QC Lute/Theorbo 

Steve & Joyce Davis Orchestra Manager 

Mrs Nicola Armitage Education Manager 

Lord & Lady Lloyd of Berwick 

EDUCATION PATRONS 

John & Sue Edwards (Principal Education Patrons) 

Mrs Nicola Armitage 

Venetia Hoare 

Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA 

The OAE is a registered charity number 295329 accepting 

tax efficient gifts from UK taxpayers and businesses

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Support the OAE from just 

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OTHER SUPPORTERS 

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J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust 

The Idlewild Trust 

John Lewis Partnership 

John Lyon’s Charity 

The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust 

Margaret & Richard Merrell Foundation 

Marsh Christian Trust 

Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians 

The Nugee Foundation 

Orchestras Live 

The Charles Peel Charitable Trust 

The Prince’s Foundation for Children & The Arts 

The Radcliffe Trust 

The RK Charitable Trust 

OAE SEASON FUND DONORS 

Tony Baines 

Mr & Mrs D Baldry 

A. Boettcher 

Robert & Laura Cory 

James Flynn QC 

Ian & Debbie Hannam 

Bruce Harris 

M Hulmes 

J.A. James 

Selina & David Marks 

Heleen Mendl-Schrama 

Peter Pitman 

Poling Charitable Trust 

Michael & Frances Rose 

TW Sharp 

Mrs M E Smith 

Sir Martin & Lady Smith 

Roger & Pam Stubbs 

Nigel Jones & Francoise Valat Jones 

John Westwood 

Philip & Rosalyn Wilkinson 

We would also like to thank the 14 donors who 

have chosen to remain anonymous. 

51 

If you have not donated already, it is not too late to join the OAE Season Fund! 

You can donate online at oae.co.uk/donate or send a cheque made payable to ‘Orchestra of the 

Age of Enlightenment’ to Isabelle Tawil, OAE, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.

2013-2014 

Southbank Centre 

Concerts 

Booking Information 

Southbank Centre 

Ticket Office 0844 847 9922 

southbankcentre.co.uk/oae 

Tickets: £9, £24 & £38 unless 

otherwise indicated. 

Premium seats available for 

selected concerts. 

All concerts start at 7pm unless 

otherwise indicated and are 

preceded by a free pre-concert 

OAE Extras event at 5.45pm. 

Free programmes are available at 

every concert. 

You can find more information 

about the OAE at: 

Email: info@oae.co.uk 

Website: oae.co.uk 

orchestraofthe 

ageofenlightenment 

theoae 

Monday 30 September 

2013 

Royal Festival Hall, 7pm 

Gamechangers: 

Musical Fireworks 

Rameau Règne amour from 

Anacréon 

Rameau Je vole Amour from Les 

Paladins 

Handel Concerto Grosso in G 

minor Op. 6 No. 6 

Handel Che sento o Dio and Se 

Pieta from Giulio Cesare 

Handel March from Scipione 

Handel Scoglio d’immota fronte 

from Scipione 

Handel Music for the Royal 

Fireworks 

William Christie conductor 

Sandrine Piau soprano 

Premium seats at £60 available 

Thursday 31 October 2013 


Gamechangers: Arcangelo Corelli 

Handel Overture to Il Trionfo del 

Tempo e del Disinganno 

Muffatt Passacaglia from 

Armonico Tributo No. 5 

Clare Connors Corelli Leaves 

(London premiere) 

Corelli Concerto Grosso Op 6, 

No 8, Christmas Concerto 

Corelli Sinfonia to Santa Beatrice 

d’Este 

HandelConcerto Grosso Op 6, No. 4 

Corelli Trio Sonata Op 3, No. 12 

Geminiani Concerto Grosso, 

La follia 

Alison Bury director/violin 

Tuesday 26 November 2013 


A Pianistic Partnership 

Beethoven Overture, Coriolan 

Mendelssohn Concerto in A flat 

for Two Pianos 

Schubert Fantasy in F minor for 

piano duet 

Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F 

Margaret Faultless leader/director 

Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang 

fortepianos 


Sunday 15 December 2013 

Royal Festival Hall 

King Of Fools: 

Offenbach’s Fantasio 

Offenbach Fantasio 

(concert performance) 

Sir Mark Elder conductor 

Cast includes: 

Marlis Petersen Elsbeth 

(La Princesse) 

Sarah Connolly Fantasi 

Victoria Simmonds Flamel 

Robert Murray Marinoni 

Russell Braun Le Prince 

Neal Davies Sparck 

Brindley Sherratt Le Roi 

Opera Rara Chorus 

Concert given in partnership with 

Opera Rara. 


52

RAYMOND GUBBAY PRESENTS 

JONAS KAUFMANN 

Acclaimed as one of the world's greatest tenors, Jonas Kaufmann makes his eagerly awaited return 

to the Royal Festival Hall with a selection of his favourite music and arias including: 

Verdi - Macbeth - Ah la paterna mano 

Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera - Forse la soglia attinse 

Verdi - Don Carlos - Io l'ho perduta 

Wagner - Rienzi - Gebet 

Wagner - Die Walkure - Ein schwert verhiess mir de Vater 

Wagner - Parsifal - Amfortas! Die Wunde! 

Sunday 21 April 2013 - 7.30pm 

ANGELA GHEORGHIU 

‘Rare refinement and intelligence’ 

DAILY TELEGRAPH 

Jochen Rieder conductor 

Philharmonia Orchestra 

PRESENTED WITH 

MUSIC ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 

A selection of much-loved arias and duets including: 

Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro Deh vieni, non tardar 

Verdi - Don Carlo Tu che le vanità 

Puccini - La bohème O soave fanciulla 

Massenet – Chérubin Vive amour qui rêve 

Friday 10 May 2013 - 7.30pm 

“…one of the best sopranos of her 

generation …perhaps the most instantly 

recognizable and interesting soprano voice 

of our time” 

GRAMOPHONE 

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 

ROLANDO VILLAZÓN 

PRESENTED WITH 

A celebration of VERDI’S 200TH ANNIVERSARY including: 

Don Carlo Io l'ho perduta 

Il corsaro Eccomi prigioniero! 

Luisa Miller Quando le sere al placido 

Oberto Cielo, che feci! 

Songs In solitaria stanza (Berio) 

L'esule (Berio) 

Wednesday 15 May 2013 - 7.30pm 

MUSIC ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 

“A voice of warm and vibrant character… 

what he, the singer, has in abundance is 

heart and soul” 

THE INDEPENDENT 2011 


BRYN TERFEL 

The acclaimed and award-winning operatic powerhouse 

performs works including: 

Bizet – Carmen Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre (Toreador Song) 

Verdi – Simon Boccanegra Il lacerato spirito 

Verdi – Falstaff Ehi! Paggio!...L’onore! 

Verdi – Don Carlo Ella giammai m’amo 

Tuesday 11 June 2013 - 7.30pm 

“Now far more than a singer, 

he’s a national institution...” 

THE TIMES 

Gwawr Edwards soprano 

Caryl Hughes mezzo soprano 


ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL TICKETS 0844 847 9910 southbankcentre.co.uk

Lubbock Fine is proud 

to be associated with The 

Orchestra of the Age of 

Enlightenment and wishes 

it every success. 

LF Creative, the dedicated 

arts and music division of 

Lubbock Fine, provides specialist 

accounting and tax advice 

for musicians. 

Russell Bedford House, 

City Forum, 

250 City Road, 

London EC1V 2QQ 

www.lfcreative.co.uk 

Contact 

Clive Patterson 

clivepatterson@lubbockfine.co.uk 

Russell Rich 

russellrich@lubbockfine.co.uk 

020 7549 2333 

Member of Russell Bedford 

International - with affiliated 

offices worldwide

Notalorchestrasarethesame 

oae.co.uk/shop 

VladimirJurowskiconductor 

SarahConnolymezzo-soprano 

£7.00 

SIGCD259 

THEARTSDESK.COM “Jurowski’swonderfulorchestraplaylikeangels,thenarowborebrassincrediblypresentbutneverstrident.JurowskialsounderstandstheMahler 

idiom,withelegant,restrainedstringportamentiinthework’sreflectivemoments.Magical.” 

THEGUARDIAN 

Inthisliverecordingfrom theRoyalFestivalHal,weshineourmusicaltorchintotherealmsof 

somelaterrepertoire,sheddingnew lightonthemusicofMahler.ConductedbyPrincipalArtist 

VladimirJurowski,thisCDincludesMahler’sSongsofaWayfarer,writeninthewakeofan 

unhappyaffairwithasoprano,andtheextraordinarilyexcitingandpowerfulTotenfeier,a 

strikinglyoriginalpiece,whichwaslaterreworkedintotheopeningmovementofhissecond 

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Alsoavailable: 

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£15.00 

SIGCD237 

*****“.ashimmering,captivatingchoral 

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Beethoven 

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SIGCD254 

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interpretationsIhaveeverheard”FT.com

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