Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, January 25, at 10am, online only.
Sinfonia da Camera presents an evening of evocative musical imagery inspired by English painters, poets, and playwrights. A depiction of Thomas Rowlandson’s painting of the same name, Walton’s Portsmouth Point Overture portrays the seaside bustle of the busy port town in southern England as ships prepare for departure. The title of Frank Bridge’s There is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook is drawn from Shakespeare’s Hamlet in which Queen Gertrude describes the tragic circumstances in which the drowned Ophelia was discovered. Sinfonia then welcomes Maestro Ian Hobson to the piano and composer Richard Prior to the podium to perform the world premiere of Prior's Piano Concerto, No. 2. Prior describes his composition as, “champion[ing] both the piano and orchestra in often equal roles as the vibrant cinematic drama unfolds.” Finally, as part of a continuing collaboration with Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, the evening concludes with a lightly staged production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. A comic opera depicting a “breach of marriage” trial, this farcical production ultimately concludes in an unexpected new marriage and “joy unbounded!”
Walton: Portsmouth Point Overture
Bridge: There is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook
Prior: Piano Concerto No. 2 (world premiere)
Gilbert and Sullivan: Trial by Jury