Seoul Philharmonic Opens Regular Concert Series with Wagner's Masterpiece 'Walkure'

On February 1st at the Seoul Arts Center
Mozart Symphony No. 40 will also be performed
February 24th marks this year's first chamber music concert

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) will open its 2024 regular concert season with the second part of Richard Wagner's grand work, "Die Walk?re" from "Der Ring des Nibelungen."

On February 1 at 8 p.m., SPO announced on the 29th that it will perform Mozart's Symphony No. 40 and Act 1 of Wagner's Die Walk?re at the first regular concert of the year held at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center.

Die Walk?re corresponds to the second part of Wagner's grand opera "Der Ring des Nibelungen," which has a pure performance time of over 15 hours. Der Ring des Nibelungen is a four-part opera consisting of Das Rheingold, Die Walk?re, Siegfried, and G?tterd?mmerung, typically performed over four days. Wagner composed it over a span of 28 years. Among these, the second part, Die Walk?re, is the most frequently performed of the four operas in the Ring cycle, known for its exciting music and story. Act 1 of Die Walk?re is a work where one can feel both an intense explosion of emotions and lyrical romanticism simultaneously.

Yap van Zweden, music director of SPO, has previously received critical and public acclaim for performing the entire Ring cycle with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, raising expectations even higher.

Soprano Allison Oakes [Photo courtesy of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, (c) Fiona MacPherson]

Moreover, this performance will feature vocalists active in Europe specializing in Wagner roles.

British soprano Alison Oaks, who plays the role of Sieglinde, has been spotlighted in Berlin Deutsche Oper's "Tannh?user" and the Budapest Wagner Festival's "Tristan und Isolde," and received critical praise for her debut as Br?nnhilde in Braunschweig. Tenor Stewart Skelton, who plays Siegmund, took on the role of Siegmund in the recording of Die Walk?re with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (BR-Klassik). Bass-baritone Falk Struckmann, performing Hunding, has been active in the Wagner Ring cycles conducted by Daniel Barenboim at Berlin Deutsche Oper and Christian Thielemann at Dresden Semperoper.

Before the Die Walk?re performance, SPO will perform Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in the first part. Among the 41 symphonies Mozart left behind, it is one of the most frequently performed works. It is also one of the two minor key symphonies Mozart composed, along with Symphony No. 25. The symphony contains intense, romantic, and tragic emotions. It proceeds in the order of the first movement, which seems to alternate between sighs and indignation; the second movement, flowing with a lyrical and pastoral atmosphere; the third movement, an elegant dance with a solemn spirit; and the fourth movement, where passion storms like a tempest.

On February 2 at 7:30 p.m., SPO will perform the same program at Sejong Arts Center. SPO has signed a business agreement with the Sejong Cultural Tourism Foundation to expand cultural and artistic exchanges between regions, and on this occasion, will hold a special concert in Sejong, the administrative capital. Starting with this special concert and under the new music director van Zweden, SPO will take its first step toward domestic touring performances aimed at bridging regional cultural gaps and achieving mutual growth with local communities through cultural exchanges with provincial cities.

Tickets can be purchased through the SPO website and call center. Members of the SPO website can receive a 10% discount for up to four tickets per person, and members up to age 24 are eligible for a 40% discount for themselves.

On February 24, SPO will present its first chamber music regular concert of the year, "2024 SPO Chamber Music Series I: Romance and Innovation," at the Sejong Chamber Hall. SPO members will perform Richard Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel, Once Differently!", Hummel's Piano Quintet, and Dohn?nyi's Sextet.