Thomas Hengelbrock and his three orchestras launch the new season
For Thomas Hengelbrock the new season was rung in on 9 September with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra’s opening night, which was presented under the motto of “Une affaire française”. This year is devoted entirely to the history of French music. On 9 September NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Thomas Hengelbrock are joined by countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and soprano Judith van Wanroij for a programme of works by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Marc-André Dalbavie, Jacques Ibert and Jacques Offenbach.
Thomas Hengelbrock’s second debut of the new season featured his Balthasar Neumann Choir. Together with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra they performed Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elijah” on the Gewandhaus stage on 22 and 23 September. The soloists were Camilla Tilling, Wiebke Lehmkuhl / Anne Bierwirth, Steve Davislim and Michael Nagy.
On 20 October Thomas Hengelbrock is appearing for the first time as the associate conductor of the Orchestre de Paris in a programme featuring Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Action ecclésiastique, which will be heard for the first time in its French adaptation. Framing it are Part One of Bach’s St John Passion and the Thomaskantor’s Cantata 60 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort. The vocal soloists are Anna Lucia Richter, Ann Hallenberg, Georg Nigl and Lothar Odinius. The spoken passages in Zimmermann’s work will be taken by two French actors, Micha Lescot and André Wilms.
