NSO: Puccini 100

National Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Rizzi conductor 
Gwyn Hughes Jones tenor
Simon Shibambu bass-baritone
National Symphony Chorus
David Young choral director
 
Fanny Mendelssohn Overture in C 
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, Italian
Puccini Messa di Gloria

In the centenary year of Puccini’s death, a rare chance to hear his Messa di Gloria, a sacred choral work of immense power showcasing the National Symphony Chorus and soloists led by Gwyn Hughes Jones – ‘a voice of adamantine brilliance’ (Seen and Heard International) – and Simon Shibambu, a singer with ‘a huge, resonant tone’ (The Guardian) and a finalist in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition. Mendelssohn’s vivacious Italian Symphony is a colourful picture postcard celebrating a joyful holiday visit.

Did you know?

Fanny Mendelssohn’s music was often attributed to her famous brother, Felix, before she decided to publish her compositions under her own name.

Felix was a child prodigy, producing four operas and 12 string symphonies by the age of 12.

He was one of the first conductors to use a baton when leading an orchestra.

Puccini composed his Messa di Gloria aged 22 as a graduation exercise in 1880.

Puccini was said to be worth $200 million at his death in 1924 – equivalent to $3.5 billion today.

Listen out for…

String melodies as witty as they are luxurious and a soaring trumpet fanfare appearing out of the blue in the Overture in C.

The airy woodwinds in the Italian Symphony’s first movement that prompted the composer to describe it as like ‘blue sky in A major’.

The sound of an infectious peasant dance in the finale – the symphony’s only genuinely Italian music, borrowed from a Neapolitan saltarello, a lively dance named for its distinctive jumping steps.

Two contrasting opening instrumental themes in Puccini’s opening movement  that usher in each of the voice parts.

The sheer scale of the ‘Gloria’, its intricate variations of style and mood, and the volcanic eruption of ‘Laudamus te’ pointing to Puccini’s operatic future.

The noble melody supporting ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’ passed between individual chorus sections.

The finale’s slow-waltz rhythm beneath tenor and bass solos and the evaporating chorus voices as this lion of a Mass lies down with the lamb.