Verdi & Wagner: Operatic Choruses at Dijon Opera

Sobre o Evento

For the bicentennial of the births of Wagner and Verdi, treat yourself to these two composers’ “greatest hits”, interpreted by the Dijon Opera Choir.

The year 2013 is not just the bicentennial of the birth of Richard Wagner, it is also that of Verdi, since the two greatest opera composers of the 19th century were born the same year.

The two men, who never met, had little appreciation for the other’s creations, which admittedly derived from radically different, almost opposing aesthetics.

However, more broadly, the Italian bel canto, which the German appreciated in Bellini, is not foreign to Wagnerian lyricism, and a care for profound dramatic unity in all its theatrical and musical expressions is characteristic of the art of both Wagner and Verdi.

The Dijon Opera Choir, under the direction of its new conductor Mihály Zeke, reconciles the two giants by offering a collection of their most beautiful choral pages.

The Pilgrim’s Chorus from Tannhäuser and the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, the Gypsy Chorus from Il Trovatore, and the famous “Va pensiero” from Nabucco are on the program for this concert, which also dares take on a few lesser‐known pieces, such as this excerpt from Die Feen (The Fairies), the first opera from Wagner’s youth, or the prayer from Rienzi, to discover the Wagner before Wagner.