Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest

For his return to Paris at the helm of the Rotterdam Orchestra to which he remains so loyal, he is treating us by inviting along the young Californian soprano Angel Blue for a particularly mouthwatering programme combining Strauss’ sombre work Four Last Songs and Bruckner’s rarely performed Symphony No. 3. Angel Blue put a potential career as a supermodel or journalist behind her and has been excelling as a soprano for several years. She works closely with Yannick Nézet-Séguin who has conducted her in several productions at the Met in New York (Carmen, Porgy and Bess, Fire shut up in my bone, by Terence Blanchard, the first African-American composer to be performed on the Met stage). Parisians recently saw her in Faust at the Paris Opera, where she shared the stage with Benjamin Bernheim. Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 has not been heard here under Maurice Denis’ painted ceiling for twenty years (the last time was in 2003 with Kurt Masur at the helm of the Orchestre National de France). She is also a devotee of Wagner and offers a supple, dense composition in which contrasting landscapes and climaxes are steeped in tangible lyricism. The Scherzo, with its infectious energy, is a true delight. Quite brilliant!

Production Théâtre des Champs-Elysées