Christmas with the NSO & Cór Linn, Claudia Boyle & David Brophy

National Symphony Orchestra
David Brophy conductor
Claudia Boyle soprano
Cór Linn
Ciaran Kelly choral director

Glinka Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture  

Thomas ‘Oui! pour ce soir… Je suis Titania’ (Mignon)  

Korngold orch. Zemlinsky Entr’acte from Der Schneemann  

John Rutter What Sweeter Music   

Tchaikovsky Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker  

Verdi ‘E strano... Ah, fors’è lui… sempre libera’ (La traviata)  

Rimsky-Korsakov Polonaise from Christmas Eve Suite  

Leroy Anderson A Christmas Festival   

Caccini Ave Maria  

Bach ‘Sleepers Awake’ from Cantata No. 140, BWV 140  

Morley Snow Ride  

Harline/Washington arr. Cian Boyle When You Wish Upon a Star  

Gruber/Mohr arr. Ciaran Kelly Silent Night 

Trad. arr. Douglas Gamley The Twelve Days of Christmas  

Watts arr. Wilberg Joy to the World  

Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride  

Adam arr. Gavin Murphy O Holy Night  

Star soprano Claudia Boyle returns for a Christmas cracker of a concert bursting with orchestral and vocal gems from opera and festive favourites. True to the spirit of the season, there is something for everyone. 

Orchestral highlights include Glinka’s rousingly colourful Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture, the fantasy-filled Entr’acte from Korngold’s Der Schneemann (The Snowman), and the tinsel-delicate Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky’s perennially popular ballet, The Nutcracker. 

Among the vocal jewels are the exquisite coloratura of Ambroise Thomas’s Mignon, the aching emotions and scorching drama of Verdi’s La traviata, and the Italianate beauty and splendour of Caccini’s Ave Maria. 

The gentle balm of Bach’s Sleepers Awake and John Rutter’s What Sweeter Music complement the hushed magic of year’s end, echoed in the timeless Silent Night, O Holy Night and glorious Disney classic When You Wish Upon A Star. 

There’s seasonal romance and merry-making, too, with Angela Morley’s Snow Ride, Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival and Sleigh Ride, and traditional classics including The Twelve Days of Christmas and Joy to the World.  

Did you know?

The first Christmas hymns date back to fourth-century Rome. Many of the traditional Carols we sing today, including Silent Night and O Holy Night, date from the 19th century.  

Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven were all once credited for Silent Night; its true authorship wasn’t confirmed until 1995. 

Written for Pinocchio in 1940, When You Wish Upon A Star is used in the opening credits of every Disney film and Disney Cruise Line ships use the first seven notes as their signal horns.  

In Germany, nutcrackers are believed to bring good luck and are often given to children as Christmas presents. 

Estimated duration including interval: 103 minutes

Presented by NCH