Messiaen: Saint Francois d'Assise (De Nederlandse Opera)

Messiaen's breathtakingly intense opera on the life of St Francis of Assisi stars Rod Gilfry as the charismatic visionary, beguiled by the glory of creation, yet fearful of both its imperfections and its transience. Pierre Audi's thoroughly engaging production for The Netherlands Opera brings out the naive imagery, the grandeur, and above all the vast tenderness of the resplendent score, revealed as a grandiose ritual with the meaning and purpose of life as its central theme. But the real drama of the work takes place in the orchestra. Elevated to stupendous heights by the sublimely inspired Ingo Metzmacher, The Hague Philharmonic and the Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera combine forces with a brilliant cast to produce the finest possible musical pilgrimage.

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• ''Opus
• Arte''
• ''Messiaen''
• ''Saint
• Francois
• d'Assise''
• Camilla Tilling
• Rod Gilfry
• Hubert Delamboye
• Henk Neven
• Tom Randle
• Donald Kaasch
• Armand Arapian
• De Nederlandse Opera
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Pierre Audi
• Messiaen

[clairejeans]

meditation for the soul.

[tgilfry]

martello79 let's see you sing for 5 1/2 hours and hardly any break on stage!

[thesp467]

I heard him a few months ago at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica and he was fantastic.

[Renfeildette]

when was this?

[jamesaellis]

he had tonselitus. pardon spelling. well this is one of the hardest role to play ever in classical music!

[martello79]

Sorry but, STARS Rod Gilfry? Mr Gilfry merely cracked his way through the performance. A great singer in the past, but not anymore.

[jamesaellis]

a production i will never forget. best opera ever written!