In 2013 the Hong Kong Arts Festival celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). His legacy of great music, which has contributed to some of the most popular operas performed on the world’s stages, is replete with well-loved melodies and evocative dramatic expression. In Viva Verdi, European rising star Michele Mariotti leads the San Carlo Orchestra and Chorus to revisit the maestro’s majestic music. San Carlo Theatre is an important cradle of Western opera and a champion of Italian opera. The programme includes the powerful Hebrew slave chorus Va pensiero from Verdi’s early opera Nabucco, the Scottish refugee chorus Patria oppressa from Macbeth, as well as his profound last works Te Deum and Stabat Mater. Conductor MICHELE MARIOTTI Choral Director SALVATORE CAPUTO with the SAN CARLO ORCHESTRA and CHORUS For further information: http://www.hk.artsfestival.org/en