Date: 28 February (Fri) – 1 March 2025 (Sat)
Time: 8pm
Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Ticket Price: $880, $680, $500, $340, $200 (Student $440, $340, $250, $170, $100)
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Experience an exuberant Festival Opening concert steeped in the wonderous music of Rossini and Mendelssohn, and a complementary family friendly programme organised around Ravel’s charming Mother Goose Suite, brought to you by the exceptional Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Maestro Donato Renzetti, one of the most respected musical partnerships on the Italian peninsula.
Mesmerising melodies from a UNESCO City of Music by an elite Italian opera house orchestra and world-class conductor
The breathtaking and heavenly Festival Opening concert will focus on the operas of Rossini, whose brilliant melodies have long intoxicated audiences. Feel the invigorating power of the composer’s music as renowned Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Molinari and celebrated bass-baritone Simone Alberghini perform their signature repertoire of scintillating arias and duets from the composer’s magnificent seria and buffa operas. The programme will also feature Mendelssohn’s sunny “Italian” symphony, a work bustling with musical energy and excitement from the “Land of Music”.
In the second Family Choice performance, audience members can look at the world through the eyes of children in a delightful programme anchored in the music of Ravel. Ravel rejoiced in animals and children, while many of his works reflect his interest in fantasy, fables and the exotic. This concert features the composer’s celebrated “Mother Goose Suite”, a work evoking the poetry of childhood. The suite comprises five movements inspired by beloved fairytales including Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, and Beauty and the Beast. The concert will open with another popular work by Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte. These pieces showcase the composer’s gentle and captivating melodies which gradually bring listeners into a land of dreams. Excerpts from the fabulous opera buffa expressions of the bel canto masters Rossini, Puccini and Donizetti will also be featured during the night.
Pouring their hearts and souls into each and every note they play, maestro Donato Renzetti and the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna will leave you breathless with their refined artistry and extraordinary musicality.
The performance on 1 Mar is a family performance, suitable for children aged 6 and above and their families