National Symphony Orchestra Opera Gala with Tara Erraught

An unmissable event as NCH Artist-in-Residence and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught ventures into repertoire which showcases another side of her remarkable voice and artistry.

A gala recital of arias full of emotion and lit up by coloratura splendour from operatic heroines by Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini.

Bristling, bright Overtures add brilliant ballast with Clelia Cafiero, ‘a model of precision and attention given to singers’ (Forum Opéra), on the podium.

Programme

Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Overture

Mozart ‘Come scoglio’ (Così fan tutte)

Mozart ‘Giunse alfin il momento... Deh, vieni, non tardar’ (Le nozze di Figaro)

Donizetti Maria Stuarda Overture

Donizetti ‘O nube! che lieve per l’aria’ (Maria Stuarda)

Puccini I crisantemi

Puccini ‘O mio babbino caro’ (Gianni Schicchi)

Bellini Norma Overture

Bellini ‘Casta Diva’ (Norma)

Rossini The Barber of Seville Overture

Rossini 'Ah se è ver che in tal momento’ (Il barbiere di Siviglia)

Rossini The Thieving Magpie Overture

Rossini ‘Tanti affetti’ (La donna del lago)

Did you know?

Mozart’s 22 works for the theatre spanned his all too short life and transformed opera, notably his acclaimed trio with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte.

Donizetti’s 75 operas, several of them bel canto masterpieces, dominated Italian opera in the era before Verdi.

Of Puccini’s dozen operas, seven are still regularly performed today.

Though he wrote only nine operas, Bellini stands alongside Donizetti as a master of bel canto.

Rossini wrote 39 operas and claimed to have composed Il barbiere di Siviglia in just 12 days. Such was his standing, some called him ‘the Italian Mozart’.

Listen out for…

The sheer beauty of Mozart’s ‘Giunse alfin il momento…’, one of his most lyrical and lovely creations for the soprano voice.

The sweet innocence and yearning sincerity of Puccini’s ‘O mio babbino caro’ mirrored by music of luxurious simplicity.

How Bellini's graceful, melodic style perfectly suits the prayer-like invocation of ‘Casta Diva’.

The infectious sense of fun concocted by fluttering snare drums, bristling brass, piping woodwinds and scurrying strings in Rossini’s Thieving Magpie Overture.

Concessions available via phone or in-person at the box office