Inviting Hallé

Verdi Simon Boccanegra: Act I 60'
Verdi Falstaff: Act II, Scene 1 30'
Verdi Otello: Act III 45'

Sir Mark Elder conductor

The cast includes Maria Luigia Borsi, Peter Auty, Scott Hendricks and David Stout | Hallé Choirs

In the bicentenary year of the composer’s birth Sir Mark presents a special event telling the story of one of the most creative partnerships in music. With the help of the composer and man of letters, Arrigo Boito, Verdi revised his beloved but troubled opera Simon Boccanegra, realizing all the drama of this shadowy and beautiful portrayal of intrigue and revenge in 14th-century Genoa. 

The great First Act is followed by substantial scenes from Verdi’s last and greatest Shakespearian operas Falstaff and Otello. These works, owing their existence as much to Boito’s persistence as to Verdi’s genius, could hardly be more contrasting: the
former is a work of sparkling wit; the latter an anatomy of evil so profound that at times it even threatens to upstage the original. What unites them is some of the most glorious music ever written for the opera house.

Handel Messiah 135'

Robert Howarth conductor
A cast of international soloists | Hallé Choir

Not so much a choral work as an institution, for many of us Handel’s great oratorio Messiah has become an essential part of the build-up to Christmas. First performed in Dublin in 1742, Handel’s masterly balance of religious and dramatic elements has ensured its timeless appeal. Though it was once customary to present the work with gigantic vocal and orchestral forces, emerging star of the early music scene Robert Howarth will ensure a performance closer to Handel’s original intentions (and one no less commanding).

After rehearsals with outstanding Choral Director, Madeleine Venner, the Hallé Choir are sure to be in magnificent voice. From the gentle beauty of ‘Comfort Ye’ to the grandeur of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’, Messiah never fails to touch, uplift and inspire.

Elgar Introduction and Allegro for Strings 15'
Delius Brigg Fair 16'
Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony 63'

Sir Mark Elder conductor
Katherine Broderick soprano
Roderick Williams baritone
Hallé Choir

Sir Mark is a masterly interpreter of English repertoire and in this concert he, the Hallé and the Hallé Choir are joined by two of Britain’s best vocal talents in Vaughan Williams’s magnificent Sea Symphony. This grand symphonic setting of poems by Walt Whitman graphically evokes the sea itself while treating it as a metaphor of man’s voyage into eternity. 

The concert opens with Elgar’s richly melodic Introduction and Allegro, a heartfelt tribute to the ‘sweet borderland’ of Herefordshire where the composer was living at the time.

£3 student tickets 

Are you 26 or under? 
PwC and the Hallé have teamed up to create the PwC Hallé Under 26 ticket. A limited number of stalls seats, usually worth up to £26, are being offered at half price.