Orchestra Wellington - POUNAMU

Programme:

Beethoven: Leonore Overture No 2, Op 72a Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death Warren Maxwell and John Psathas: Pounamu

Jonathan Lemalu, baritone Warren Maxwell, vocals and guitars Marc Taddei, conductor Orchestra Wellington

The long gestation of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio resulted in four overtures. The first, known as the Leonore overture No 2, is a glorious 15 minutes of music filled with dramatic emotion. As an overture it almost overshadowed the opera; as a stand-alone concert piece it works brilliantly.

Pounamu grew from a 2011 collaboration between John Psathas and legendary New Zealand musician Warren Maxwell, of Trinity Roots, Little Bushman and Fat Freddy’s Drop. Maxwell will reprise his performance as soloist on vocals, acoustic and bass guitars in a folk-roots concerto that takes as its subject ‘invisible people’: the homeless, the elderly, the impoverished.

In Songs and Dances of Death, Mussorgsky’s richly-scored song cycle paints four unforgettable vignettes. Death is a compelling spirit whose serenades are in turns consoling, seductive and fierce.

To perform them we have Grammy-award winning bass baritone Jonathan Lemalu, globally acclaimed as an opera singer, concert performer, recitalist and recording artist. Dunedin-born Lemalu’s career includes performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Glyndebourne and Salzburg Festivals. He has worked with conductors Valery Gergiev, Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Colin Davis among others.