CONCERT PROGRAMME
The most beautiful choral scenes from Verdi's operas “Nabucco”, “Il trovatore”, “Macbeth”, “Rigoletto”, “La forza del destino”, “Don Carlo”, “Aida”, Wagner's “Tannhäuser” and “Lohengrin”.
Many a lover of classical music has heard the most famous opera arias during concerts, and few have thought that the creators of the operas also left an inexhaustible treasure trove of choral works. Maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, together with Maestro Robertas Šervenikas, Artistic Director of the Kaunas State Choir, have come up with an exceptional programme of the most beautiful operatic choral scenes for the audience. On this evening, you will hear the most fascinating works for chorus from Giussepe Verdi's (1813-1901) incomparable masterpieces “Nabucco”, “Il Trovatore”, “Macbeth”, “Rigoletto”, “La forza del destino”, “Don Carlo”, “Aida” and the magnificent operas “Tannhäuser” and “Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). A century ago, Verdi and Wagner, the two giants of the 19th-century European opera, were born in the same year, and were often compared as opposites of each other: Italian-German, popular-serious, simple-sophisticated, conservative-radical. Today, however, the uniqueness, the unmistakable style and the thrilling genius of these two composers harmonise not only in the world of opera, but also in this evening's concert.