“If I was threatened with the destruction of all my works but one, I would save the Requiem,” wrote Berlioz shortly before his death. Berlioz composed it in 1837, a few years after what has surely remained his most popular work ever since its successful premiere, the Symphonie fantastique. Under Gustavo Dudamel’s direction, it was revealed as “a Requiem of the highest calibre” (El Pais). Both orchestras – “his” Simon Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France that supplemented it – and the two choirs “set the vault and columns of Notre-Dame de Paris vibrating” (Toute la Culture).
Macelaru conducts La Damnation de Faust
90 years of the Orchestre National de France – that’s something to celebrate! To mark this special occasion, chief conductor Cristian Macelaru has decided to perform a work by the great Hector Berlioz. And what could be more suitable for this anniversary concert than La Damnation de Faust?
Berlioz himself described the work at the interface between symphony and opera as a “dramatic legend”. It achieved great popularity, not least due to the famous Rákóczi March, and enjoys cult status among many music lovers.
To present Berlioz’s work in all its glory, the Orchestre National de Fe is supported by the Chœur de Radio France as well as tenor John Irvin (Faust), mezzo-soprano Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Margarethe) and the two basses Paul Gay (Mephisto) and Frédéric Caton (Brander). The performance is further enhanced by the magnificent Art Deco décor of the Théâtre des Champs Elysées.