Harding, Mattei, Byström - Don Giovanni live from Swedish Radio Concert Hall
Having maintained weekly live broadcast concerts throughout the last months, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is now reunited with its Music Director Daniel Harding for his first concerts after ten weeks of quarantine and the culmination of the orchestra’s season. Joining them at home in Berwaldhallen is the Swedish Radio Choir and an elite cast of singers.
Peter Mattei, Daniel Harding and Malin Byström in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Swedish Radio Concert Hall, Berwaldhallen on June 13.
Daniel Harding conducts his first concert on Friday June 5 with a programme built around the four movements of Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony and Thomas Tranströmer’s poems of isolation. Ann Hallenberg sings Mahler and Bach, and the Swedish Radio Choir perform Purcell.
Harding says of this programme: "The music touches on the contrasting natures of being alone, of isolation and loneliness, the courage required to look life straight in the eyes (as Sibelius himself wrote) and to contemplate reality however unforgiving it may be."
On Saturday June 13, Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra are then joined by an elite cast of Swedish opera stars, including Peter Mattei, Malin Byström and Johanna Wallroth, for a unique, staged performance of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni at Berwaldhallen. It is directed by Andrew Staples, who also sings, with scenography by Bengt Gomér and Helle Carlsson, broadcast live for free on Berwaldhallen Play.
The theme of separation also features at the heart of Andrew Staples’ staging of Don Giovanni: "One of the things this situation has taught me is how much I rely on my electronic devices. In this staging we explore the darker side of a reliance on screens and remote images, allowing us to examine Don Giovanni’s need for intimacy and adapt that idea to our own current situation. We imagine a world similar to ours now, where the characters maintain a physical distance and satisfy their craving for validation through their proximity to screens. In this world Don Giovanni is less concerned with physical contact. Instead, he desires to capture and curate the moment of seduction."
Staffan Becker, Berwaldhallen General Manager, commented: "At a time when we need music more than ever, I am proud of what we have achieved in Berwaldhallen this Spring. The orchestra, choir and whole team adapted quickly to the situation and continued to bring live concerts to our audiences. To close our season with Don Giovanni, at a time when too many concert halls and opera houses remain dark, is a unique and extraordinary moment."
Friday, 5 June 2020 at 19.00 h CET
"SOLITUDE"
A programme built around the four movements of Sibelius' symphony
and Thomas Tranströmer’s poems
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 4 in A minor
MAHLER: "Der Einsame im Herbst" from Das Lied von der Erde
PURCELL: Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary
J.S. BACH: "Erbarme dich" from St Matthew Passion
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Swedish Radio Choir
Daniel Harding conductor
Ann Hallenberg mezzo soprano
Poems read by Krister Henriksson
Available to watch live for free and for a further 90 days on:
► https://www.berwaldhallen.se/play/◀︎
Available to listen live for free on:
► https://sverigesradio.se/p2 ◀︎
Saturday, 13 June 2020 at 19.00 h CET
MOZART: DON GIOVANNI
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Swedish Radio Choir
Daniel Harding conductor
Peter Mattei Don Giovanni
Johan Schinkler Il Commendatore
Mari Eriksmoen Donna Anna
Andrew Staples Don Ottavio
Malin Byström Donna Elvira
John Lundgen Leporello
Henning von Schulman Masetto
Johanna Wallroth Zerlina
Bengt Gomér, Helle Carlsson creative team
Andrew Staples director
Available to watch live for free and for a further 30 days on:
► https://www.berwaldhallen.se/play/ ◀︎
Available to listen live for free on:
► https://sverigesradio.se/p2 ◀︎
Berwaldhallen is the Swedish Radio Concert Hall and home to the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir. It is part of the Swedish Public Service company Sveriges Radio.
For more information, contact
Karl Thorson
Press- & PR-ansvarig / Press & PR Manager
Berwaldhallen | Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester | Radiokören
karl.thorson@sverigesradio.se
08-784 18 30 | 070-431 18 93
Sveriges Radios konserthus Berwaldhallen
SE-105 10 Stockholm, Sweden
Besök/Visiting address Dag Hammarskjöldsväg 3
berwaldhallen.se
