BACH ST MATTHEW PASSION

J.S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion is simply, one of the greatest works of art of any age. A profound meditation on the final days of Christ’s life, as related in the Gospel of St Matthew, the Passion is a masterful harmonisation of the theatrical and the intimate, the epic and the human.

Saturday 15 April, 1pm
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

PROGRAM
JS BACH St Matthew Passion BWV 244

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Robert Macfarlane Evangelist
Christopher Richardson Christus
Celeste Lazarenko soprano
Sally-Anne Russell mezzo soprano
Jonathan Abernethy tenor
David Greco baritone
Symphony Chorus
Chamber Singers
VOX
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

ROSSINI STABAT MATER

Experience the celestial power of the voice as soloists and choir perform highlights from the operas of the Italian masters which find characters addressing heaven, from Moses leading his people in prayer to a glorious Easter Hymn in an Italian village..

Saturday 6 May, 6pm
Sunday 7 May, 2pm
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

PROGRAM
VERDI Giovanna d’Arco – Overture
ROSSINI Mose in Egitto – Act III: Preghiera “Dal tuo stellate soglio”
DONIZETTI Maria Stuarda – Act III: “Deh! Tu di un’umile preghiera”
VERDI Don Carlos – Act II: “E lui!… desso… i’infante!
BELLINI Norma — “Casta Diva, che inargenti”
MASCAGNI Cavalleria Rusticana – “Regina coeli laetare”
ROSSINI Stabat Mater

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Taryn Fiebig soprano
Jacqueline Dark mezzo soprano
Jaewoo Kim tenor
Warwick Fyfe baritone
Festival Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

CHORUSOZ – ELIJAH

Felix Mendelssohn’s grand oratorio Elijah was inspired by two composers whose spirits hover over this season: Bach and Handel. Like his two heroes, Mendelssohn crafts biblical stories into compelling theatre — in this case episodes from the life of the Old Testament prophet Elijah.

Sunday 11 June, 5pm
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

PROGRAM
MENDELSSOHN Elijah Op.70

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Penelope Mills soprano
Sian Pendry mezzo soprano
John Longmuir tenor
Michael Honeyman baritone
ChorusOz Choir
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

TUDOR PORTRAITS

Music transports us to other times and places. Journey to the Elizabethan era with our Symphony Chorus and works inspired by a golden age of English art. Thomas Tallis and Thomas Tomkins created a unique style of choral music: expressive, dramatic and intimate. Ralph Vaughan Williams paid tribute to his forebears in his Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis and invoked the spirit of Shakespeare in his gorgeous Serenade to Music, but it is the Five Tudor Portraits that are Vaughan Williams’ most extended love letter to Merrie Olde England.

Thursday 24 August, 7.30pm
Sunday 27 August, 2pm 
City Recital Hall

PROGRAM
TALLIS Why fumeth in sight
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
TOMKINS O Praise the Lord, All Ye Heathen
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Serenade to Music
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Five Tudor Portraits

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Morgan Balfour soprano
Bronwyn Douglass mezzo soprano
Symphony Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

NORDIC SONGS

As bracing as the arctic air and luminous as the aurora, music from Northern Europe has become central to the 21st Century choral repertoire. Eminences such as Arvo Pärt and Pēteris Vasks have inspired younger generations of composers to create work of intense beauty, both sacred and secular that realise the exquisite possibilities of the contemporary choir.

Saturday 23 September, 8pm
Sunday 24 September, 2pm 
St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt

PROGRAM
PRAULINŠ Missa Rigensis
SANDSTRÖM Gloria
VASKS Pater noster
PÄRT Morning Star
PÄRT Bogoróditse Djévo
PÄRT Da pacem
EŠENVALDS Stars
MIŠKINIS Pater noster
GJEILO The Spheres
GJEILO Northern Lights

ARTISTS
Elizabeth Scott conductor
VOX

ELGAR THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

At the end of the score of The Dream of Gerontius, Elgar wrote: “This is the best of me.” This monumental work embodies Elgar’s spiritual and artistic ideals – it is as stirringly Romantic and grand as you’d expect, but it is also Elgar’s most personal utterance.

Thursday 19 October, 8pm
Saturday 21 October, 2pm
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

PROGRAM
ELGAR The Dream of Gerontius Op.38

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Jacqueline Dark mezzo soprano
Andrew Goodwin tenor
José Carbo baritone
Festival Chorus
The Sydney Youth Orchestra

SONGS OF FAREWELL

On the 11th of November we recall the sacrifice made by men and women in protecting us, a time for contemplation of the grandest themes of life and death. Music has always played a role in occasions of shared sorrow, both as a means of expressing it, and as a consolation. Choral music is an especially powerful vehicle for the music of remembrance, a collective singing on behalf of humankind. Our Chamber Singers mark Remembrance Day with works that confront tragedy and offer hope.

Saturday 11 November, 11am
Sunday 12 November, 2pm
Paddington Uniting Church

PROGRAM
PURCELL Hear my prayer
BUTTERLEY The True Samaritan
HOWELLS Requiem
HARRIS Bring us O Lord
PARRY Songs of Farewell

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Chamber Singers

HANDEL MESSIAH

Hallelujah! Handel poured his heart and soul into this work: visitors found him shaken by the emotional labour of composing it. Something of this power remains in the piece – the profound sadness, the transporting joy, and the mystery of Christ’s birth and resurrection. With its musical richness, dramatic power and spiritual intensity, there is something in Messiah for people of all faiths.

Thursday 14 December, 8pm
Friday 15 December, 8pm
Saturday 16 December, 1pm
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

PROGRAM
HANDEL Messiah HWV 56

ARTISTS
Elizabeth Scott conductor
Miriam Allan soprano
Helen Sherman mezzo soprano
Andrew Goodwin tenor
David Greco baritone
Symphony Chorus
VOX
Christmas Choir
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra