19 April 2010
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is proud to present a glittering evening with beloved opera star Dame Malvina Major, in her first NZSO tour for 12 years.
The Guinness Peat Group Tour features Dame Malvina performing the most cherished of the great arias from Puccini, Gounod and Bellini in Auckland and Wellington. Dame Malvina reprises many of the roles she has played in her distinguished career, including feisty Tosca, impassioned Lauretta and the tragic Madame Butterfly.
The Orchestra will also perform Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 - described by its first conductor Hans Richter as “the greatest symphony of modern times, written by the greatest composer”.
This soaring and dramatic operatic programme is a fitting showcase for a national musical icon like Dame Malvina, reunited with the NZSO. Dame Malvina says: “I used to call myself the daughter of the regiment. I have a long history with the NZSO, and the variety of music on this tour is richly interesting.”
In addition to Auckland and Wellington, the GPG Tour also offers audiences in Napier, Hamilton and Palmerston North the opportunity to hear Dame Malvina perform effervescent highlights from the light-as-air world of Viennese operetta, including Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow and Paganini.
Featuring the Orchestra performing Johann Strauss’ Thunder and Lightning Polka, this is a perfect evening for romantics in love with the Viennese waltz – a programme which brings back fond memories for Dame Malvina of Vienna, the city of dreams.
This tour also features the welcome return of meteoric young conductor Tecwyn Evans – one of the most successful New Zealand musicians of his generation. With a brilliant style described as “spine-tingling” and “electrifying”, Tecwyn made New Zealand classical music history with his 2009 appointment as conductor of Austria’s prestigious Graz Symphony Orchestra and Opera House.
Tecwyn was the first New Zealand conductor to appear at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, and began his association with opera at the famous Glyndebourne Opera.
Dame Malvina says of Tecwyn Evans: “I so admire him as a conductor. I’m delighted to be performing with him for the first time.”
The Guinness Peat Group Tour
Dame Malvina Major
Tecwyn Evans Conductor
Programme 1 Wellington & Auckland* Programme 2 Wellington, Palmerston North, Napier, Hamilton & Auckland*
RITCHIE French Overture VERDI I Vespri Siciliani Merce, dilette amichi GOUNOD Faust Ah! Je ris de me voir BELLINI Norma Casta Diva PUCCINI Tosca Vissi d’arte; Madama Butterfly Un bel di vedremo; Gianni Schicchi O mio babbino caro ELGAR Symphony No. 1 MOZART Symphony No. 41 Jupiter STRAUSS Die Fledermaus Overture; Czardas LEHAR Idiota Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss; Paganini Liebe, du Himmel auf Erden; The Merry Widow Vilja; Gold and Silver Waltz STRAUSS Thunder & Lightning Polka SIECZYNSKI: Wien, Wien, nur du Allein
Wellington Michael Fowler Centre / Fri 14 May / 6:30pm Wellington Michael Fowler Centre / Sat 15 May / 3pm
Auckland Auckland Town Hall / Fri 21 May / 6:30pm *For Auckland performances, book at THE EDGE. All other centres book at TICKETEK. Palmerston North Regent on Broadway / Tue 18 May / 7pm
Napier Napier Municipal Theatre / Wed 19 May / 8pm
Hamilton Founders Theatre / Thu 20 May / 8pm
Auckland Auckland Town Hall / Sat 22 May / 3pm