Freitagskonzert № 2

In the organizer's words:

Opera and drama are rarely the focus of Thuringia's largest concert orchestra, which makes the program combining two stage works all the more remarkable. Gabriel Fauré's incidental music to "Pelléas et Mélisande" opens the program with impressionistic soundscapes that bring the tenderness and tragedy of Maeterlinck's symbolic drama to life. At the center of the evening is Béla Bartók's opera "Bluebeard's Castle": an intense drama of the soul in which Judith opens the closed doors of the castle and at the same time reveals the secrets of her husband. Between hope for light and the inevitability of darkness, Bartók's expressive sound cosmos gains its full force. Margarita Vilsone (Judith) and Derrick Ballard (Bluebeard) take on the roles, Marcus Merkel conducts the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra. A rare opera experience in the concert hall.

Program

Gabriel Fauré:
"Pelléas et Mélisande", suite from the music to the play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck op. 80

Béla Bartók:
"A kékszakállú herceg vára" ("Bluebeard's Castle"), opera op. 11
(Concert performance in German language)

Performers

Margarita Vilsone, soprano (Judith)
Derrick Ballard, baritone (Bluebeard)
Jena Philharmonic Orchestra
Marcus Merkel, conductor