The Opéra de Monte-Carlo will close its season with a special Ravel centenary celebration at the end of March, but first, the Monaco Cathedral will host a concert featuring Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Blessed Virgin and a world premiere by Bruno Mantovani.
Before the season finale later in the month, the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-Immaculée on the Rock of Monaco will set the stage for a special concert on 14th March.
Featuring Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Blessed Virgin alongside the world premiere of Venezianischer Morgen, a choral work by Bruno Mantovani, the concert is the fruit of a collaboration between the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and the Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo festival. It will be conducted by Gianluca Capuano, with Les Musiciens du Prince set to perform alongside the vocal ensemble Il Canto Di Orfeo, led by Jacopo Facchini.
Mantovani’s Venezianischer Morgen, written for a cappella choir, was composed to suit the acoustics of the iconic cathedral.
“I divided the choir into two symmetrical groups to create an antiphonal effect,” he explained in a recent interview with the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
Inspired by a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke, the piece was commissioned following discussions between Mantovani, the Artistic Director of the Printemps des Arts, and Cecilia Bartoli, who heads the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
“The idea was to perform Monteverdi’s Vespers, and we considered adding a contemporary work as a complement,” said Mantovani. “Cecilia Bartoli then proposed that I compose a short introductory piece. One cannot control or predict how an audience will receive a work. In the end, composition is a solitary act—I write for the audience that I am. But I am always pleased when others connect with my music.”
The 2024/25 season finale
21st March marks a milestone for the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, as it will be 100 years since the world premiere of Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges on its stage.
To celebrate this centenary, the opera house will be presenting a special Ravel double-bill featuring L’Heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, staged by Jean-Louis Grinda and conducted by Kazuki Yamada, Artistic and Musical Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, over four nights at the end of March in the Salle Garnier.
A gala performance will kick things off on 21st March, followed by a matinee show on 23rd March and two evening performances on 25th and 27th March. The final performance will be broadcast live at 8pm on Mezzo and medici.tv. For more information, click here.
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Photo source: Opera de Monte-Carlo