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Gianluca Marcianò launches the Al Bustan Festival
Orchestra for the 2016 festival in Lebanon marking
Shakespeare’s 400th Anniversary
16 February – 20 March 2016
Al Bustan Hotel, Beyt Meri, Lebanon
http://albustanfestival.com/whatson/festival-programme/
Artistic Director Gianluca Marcianò has founded
The Al Bustan Festival Orchestra to play in the 2016
festival in Lebanon, opening on Tuesday 16
February.
Faced with several international
orchestras pulling out of the 2016 Al Bustan Festival
due to the unrest in the Levant, Marcianò decided to
create a new orchestra from scratch through his
Facebook network.
He put out a call to his
colleagues across the globe and within 48 hours he
had created a new Orchestra with 70 musicians.
Marcianò was overwhelmed by the response from his
colleagues who were determined to see classical
music continue to flourish in Lebanon and
volunteered to come to Beirut for the inauguration of
the new Orchestra.
The Al Bustan Festival Orchestra will assemble three days in advance to
the inauguration in order to prepare for the opening concert of A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. They continue the Shakespeare theme with
performances of Otello vs Otello and Romeo and Juliet.
Ernesto
Miramontes Alvarez who is travelling from Mexico to join the orchestra put
fears aside stating that “it’s all about the music”. The orchestra is
made up of musicians from all over the world, including Egypt, Tunisia,
Armenia, Moscow, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Spain, Lebanon, the UK and
Mexico. The creation of the Orchestra was inspired by the 24/04 Orchestra
which was made up of musicians from across the world to perform in a
concert to park the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.
As Marciano explains: “Finally my dream to form our own orchestra
came true thanks to many wonderful friends who
accepted my invitation.
It was a call from
musician to musician to share the beautiful
feeling of making music together”
Artistic Director Gianluca Marcianò and President Myrna Bustani have
devised the 2016 Al Bustan Festival on the theme of Shakespeare’s
400th anniversary running from 16 February to 20 March. Located at
the Al Bustan Hotel in the tranquil hills above Beirut, the Festival was
founded 22 years ago to introduce Lebanese audiences to classical music
through the world’s leading artists. The Festival has hosted the Middle
Eastern premieres of several operas and other works, including the first
Wagner opera production and last year a moving performance of Bellini’s
Norma conducted by Marcianò.
Maya Jaggi wrote in The Guardian:
“His conviction that music has a role in the aftermath of war
gained credence from a powerfully cathartic performance of
Norma.
Many were in tears…but the emotive crux was the
priestess [Carmen Giannattasio] who pulls back from the brink,
realizing that that the pursuit of vendetta is a crime against the
innocent.”
As Gianluca Marcianò explains:
“I have worked in many countries which have been blighted by
conflict and in these places music can be a unifying force
especially when there are difficult relations with neighbours and
different religions living together – and normal people respect
that.”
Following a visit from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in January to Lebanon,
the 2016 Festival focuses on
Shakespeare’s legacy to music, with
operatic extracts and orchestral
works
by
Beethoven,
Verdi,
Berlioz,
Gounod,
Bellini,
Tchaikovsky
and
Prokofiev
including lesser-known works by
Rossini, Korngold, Elgar, Medtner
and Smetana. Extracts from Verdi’s
rendition of Otello is juxtaposed
alongside Rossini’s rarely performed
opera in Marciano’s programme Otello versus Otello. Marcianò leads the
new Al Bustan Festival Orchestra, which is formed by 65 musicians from
over 24 different countries on the occasion of this year’s festival, in
further performances of Mendelssohn’s full incidental music to A
Midsummer Night’s Dream alongside Smetana’s symphonic poem Richard
III. Mezzo-soprano Sophie Goldrick will join Marcianò as a soloist both in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Otello versus Otello, alongside HyeYoun Lee, Fiona Hymns, Ji Min Park, Sergey Romanovsky, Valerai
Sepe, Kristian Benedikt, Nikoloz Lagvilava, Irina Makarova,
Gianluca Buratto and homegrown Lebanese tenor Bechara Moufarej.
Following their stunning performance of Norma in last year’s festival, The
State Youth Orchestra of Armenia return for more Shakespeare-inspired
rarities including Elgar’s Falstaff and Berlioz’ Overture to King Lear. Alexei
Volodin presents a piano recital programme including Medtner’s Four Tales
based on King Lear.
There will be a Japanese Noh theatre production - Do you Noh
Shakespeare? King Lear Dreaming - with Naohiko Umewaka, an
acclaimed Noh master who has performed for the Pope. With Andy
Sheppard and friends, there will also be a jazz reinterpretation of songs
from Shakespeare’s plays, as well as more traditional performances
including Beethoven’s Tempest Piano Sonata and music from Purcell’s
The Fairy Queen.
Further highlights include concerts with a wide range of outstanding
soloists including cellist Giovanni Sollima in a programme ranging from
Marais to his own works, violinist Alexandra Soumm, pianist Gloria
Campaner and violinist Renaud Capucon.
Mario Pietrodarchi on
bandoneon presents a programme of music by Vivaldi, Piazzola and
Lebanese film composer Khaled Mouzanar and the Georgian
Philharmonic with Jury Revich perform Vivaldi’s Four Seasons alongside
Piazzola’s, appealing programmes to draw in new audiences to classical
music.
Set in a quiet suburb on a
picturesque
hillside
overlooking
Lebanon’s
vibrant capital, the Al Bustan
Festival presents an annual
programme of world-class
music, dance and theatre –
the most innovative and
high-profile music festival in the Levant. Enterprising Myrna Bustani,
Lebanon’s first female Member of Parliament, founded the Festival in
February 1994 as the Middle East’s most high-profile platform for
international classical virtuosi, symphony orchestras and opera
companies. Bustani received an IAMA Award in 2014 for her valuable
work and dedication to promoting music in the Middle East through the Al
Bustan Festival for the last two decades. The festival takes place in the
Emile Bustani Auditorium and the Crystal Garden conservatory at the Al
Bustan Hotel in Beyt Meri and at some of Lebanon’s historic churches. A
few minutes walk from the hotel, there is an ancient archaeological site
with Roman ruins, thermal baths and Byzantine mosaics.
The Al Bustan Festival has enjoyed 22 years of the highest quality music
making. Over the years, the Festival has invited artists such as Maria
Ewing, Angelika Kirschlager, Evelyn Glennie, Helikon Opera, the
Jacques Loussier Trio, Irek Mukhamedov, June Anderson, the
Labeque sisters, Sumi Jo, Gautier Capuçon, Emmanuel Pahud,
Anna Tifu, Boris Berezovsky, Antonio Meneses, Vadim Repin, Gidon
Kremer, Antoni Wit and the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford. The Festival has a history of commissioning contemporary
composers
Panufnik.
such
as
John
Taverner,
Naji
Hakim
and
Roxanna
Presenting around 30 performances each year spanning opera, dance,
orchestral and chamber music over five weeks, with additional workshop
and educational programmes for the Lebanese National Conservatoire, it
provides a further draw to visit Lebanon’s capital in a country already
brimming with historic sites from the Assyrians to Ancient Romans, to the
glories of Baalbek.
“In spite of decades of unrest, Beirut remains a fascinating city to
visit and the Al Bustan Festival has presented itself as a beacon of
hope and a sign of cultural continuity”
Opera Now
“Al Bustal remains an accessible classical music event for
Lebanese and visitors alike”
Royal Wings Beirut
2016 Al Bustan Festival Programme
Tuesday 16 & Thursday 18 February
MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Smetana Richard III, Symphonic Poem op. 11
Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream Fiona Hymns soprano Sophie Goldrick mezzo-soprano Antonine University Women’s Choir
Al Bustan Festival Orchestra
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Friday 19 February
REFINED SONATAS
Dvořák In Nature’s Realm. Op.91
Nino Rota Suite: La Strada, Il Padrino, Amarcord, Il clown, Otto e mezzo
Roberto Molinelli Heart of Spring, Stormy Winter
Dvořák New World Symphony No.9 op.95
Alissa Margulis violin
Lily Maisky piano
Sunday 21 February and Tuesday 23
OTELLO VERSUS OTELLO
Rossini Otello
Hye-Youn Lee Desdemona
Sophie Goldrick Emilia
Ji Min Park Otello
Sergey Romanovsky Roderigo
Bechara Moufarej Iago
Verdi Otello
Valeria Sepe Desdemona
Sophie Goldrick Emilia
Kristian Benedikt Otello
Nikoloz Lagvilava Iago
The Al Bustan Festival Orchestra
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Monday 22 February
MO-ZULU-ART
Assembly Hall, A.U.B.
Uthando based on Sonate D Dur , W.A. Mozart, KV 311
Zungikhumbule based on Sonate A Dur , W.A. Mozart, KV 331
Bheka Kimi based on Rondo D Dur , W.A. Mozart, KV 485
Inzima L´endlela Gospel traditional arranged by MoZuluArt
Acappella Song Tba
Hard Times based on Menuett F Dur, J. Haydn, Hob VII:F1
Akungitshele words & music by B.Z.N. Nkomo
Masiyeni based on Fantasie D Moll, W.A. Mozart, KV 397
Emakhaya words & music by B.Z.N. Nkomo
Igquiha Xhosa traditional arranged by MoZuluArt
Thula Sizwe Gospel traditional arranged by MoZuluArt
Phakathi based on “In diesen heil`gen Hallen”, KV 620, Die Zauberflöte
Ramadu vocals and percussion
Vasu Mkhaya Ndlovu, Blessings Nqo Nkomo, Dumisani Moyo vocals
Balaz Schwartz, Katharina Henriquez violin
Michael Buchmann viola
Roland Guggenbichler piano
Tuesday 23 February
OTELLO VERSUS OTELLO (as above)
Thursday 25 February
ROMEO AND JULIET
Saint Joseph’s Church
Gounod Roméo et Juliette, ballet music
‘Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle?’
‘Ah! Leve-toi, soleil!’
Berlioz Roméo et Juliette
Prokofiev ‘Montagues and Capulets’ from Romeo and Juliet Suite
no. 2
Irina Makarova mezzo-soprano
Sergey Romanovsky tenor
Gianluca Buratto bass
Antonine University Choir
Al Bustan Festival Orchestra
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Monday 29 February
DO YOU NOH SHAKESPEARE: KING LEAR DREAMING
Naohiko Umewaka director and actor
Soraya Umewaka, Naotomo Umewaka actor
Eric Ferrand-N’Kaoua piano
Anne Marie Salame narrator
Tuesday 1 March
CELLO AND VIOLIN ROMANCE
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in D minor
Haydn Cello Concerto
Vivaldi Double Concerto
Purcell Orchestral Suite from The Fairy Queen
Alexandra Soumm violin
Victor-Julien-Laferrière cello
Georgian Philharmonic Strings
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Wednesday 2 March
SHAKESPEARE SONGS TRIO (jazz)
Crystal Garden
Andy Sheppard saxophone
Guillaume de Chassy piano
Christophe Marguet drums
Delphine Lanson narrator
Thursday 3 March
SURPRISE CONCERT
Ennio Morricone Three Themes (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Mission, C’era
una volta il west)
Vivaldi Concert for Guitar and Orchestra in D major
Piazzolla “Hommage to Liege” for Bandoneon, Guitar and Orchestra
Joaquin Rodrigo Adagio of the Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra
Roberto Di Marino Myrna (1 esecution in the world)
Khaled Mouzanar The seventh day “Maserati”
Roberto Di Marino Double Concerto for Bandoneon, Guitar and
Orchestra
Mario Pietrodarchi bandoneon
Luca Lucini guitar
Rony Barrak percussion
Georgian Philharmonic Strings
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Friday 4 March
ARTEMANDOLINE
Sursock Museum
Brescianello Sinfonia n. 5 Allegro- Adagio- Allegro
Scarlatti Sonata K90 Grave- Allegro- Siciliana- Allegro
Matteis Ciaccona
Vivaldi Concerto in re minore RV 541
Evaristo Felice dall’Abaco Concerto a più instrumenti op.5
Paolucci Sonata VI per due mandolini e basso
Leone Sonata VI, book 2
Vivaldi Concerto in sol maggiore RV532
Juan Carlos Munoz, Mari Fe Pavón, Alla Tolkacheva baroque
mandolin
Manuel Munoz baroque guitar
Jean-Daniel Haro viola da gamba
Jean-Christophe Leclère harpsichord
Saturday 5 March
THE VIOLIN STAR
Bach Violin Concerto Nos. 1 & 2
Renaud Capuçon violin/conductor
Georgian Philharmonic Strings
Sunday 6 March
THE POWER OF A VOICE
Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 17 in D minor, ‘The Tempest’
Songs of Rachmaninov, Duparc, Faure, De Falla and Takrakishvili
Anita Rachvelishvili mezzo-soprano
David Aladashvili piano
Monday 7 March
ANITA AND FRIENDS
Massenet Dulcinèe’s Aria from Don Quichotte
Bizet extract from Carmen
Astor Piazzolla Rinascerò, Oblivion, Maria de Buenos Aires
Kancheli Don’t call me and Yellow Leaves from movie Mimino, Land of
Flowers
Gershwin Summertime, I loves you Porgy from Porgy and Bess
Sondheim Ladies who lunch form musical Company, Everybody says
Don’t from musical “anyone can whistle ”
Tsabadze the wheel of destiny from Musica “the melodies of Vera
District”
Anita Rachvelishvili mezzo-soprano
Mario Stephano Pietrodarchi bandoneon
David Shamanauri trumpet
Georgian Philharmonic Strings
Nikoloz Rochveli piano/conductor
Wednesday 9 March
Vivaldi The Four Seasons
Piazzolla The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Yury Revich violin/conductor
Georgian Philharmonic Strings
Thursday 10 March
Mar Sassine Church, Beyt Meri
Marais Suite in D minor from Pieces de violes, Deuxieme livre
Debussy Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune
Vinko Jelic Ricercar Tertio
Giovanni Sollima The Interpretation of Dreams, The wood, Madre, Figlio,
Natura, Acheronte, movevo, aqua (il sogno di Leonardo), Virginia Woolf, il
flusso di coscienza, The dangerous prevalence of imagination, Du Bist Wie
Eine Blume (Robert e Clara Shumann), Frida’s dream?, Calamity Jane
Giovanni Sollima & Monica Leskovar cello
Sunday 13 March
CARTOONS CONCERT
Music from Tom and Jerry, Madagascar, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Toy
Story, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Kung Fu Panda, The Pink Panther, Cinderella,
How to Train the Dragon, Anastasia, Monsters, The Prince of Egypt, Happy
Feet 2, Lion King, The Emperor’s New Groove
State Youth Orchestra of Armenia
Sergey Smbatyan conductor
Tuesday 15 March
AN ELECTRIFYING CONCERT
Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante
Mussorgsky (orch. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition
Edgar Moreau cello
State Youth Orchestra of Armenia
Sergey Smbatyan conductor
Wednesday 16 March
PIANO RECITAL
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet: Ten Pieces for Piano, Op.75
Mendelssohn (arr Sergei Rachmaninov) Scherzo from A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Medtner From Four Tales, Op.35: No. 4 in C-sharp minor: Based on King
Lear: “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks”
Rachmaninov Sonata for Piano No. 1, Op. 28
Alexei Volodin piano
Thursday 17 March
THE SOUND OF GUARNERI
Berlioz Overture to ‘King Lear’
Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2
Elgar Falstaff, Symphonic Study in C minor op. 68
Leticia Moreno violin
State Youth Orchestra of Armenia
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Saturday 19 March
ONLY BEETHOVEN
Beethoven Coriolanus Overture
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat, ‘Emperor’
Symphony no. 5 in C minor
Gloria Campaner piano
State Youth Orchestra of Armenia
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Sunday 20 March
GRAND FINALE
Bellini Overture to ‘I Capuleti e Montecchi’
Bellini Eccomi in lieta vesta from ‘I Capuleti e Montecchi’
Gounod Ballet Music from ‘Romeo et Juliette’
Gounod Je veux vivre from ‘Romeo et Juliette’
Verdi Macbeth Letter scene
Tchaikovsky Hamlet Fantasy
Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
Korngold Much ado about nothing
Anna Kasyan soprano
State Youth Orchestra of Armenia
Gianluca Marciano conductor
Gianluca Marciano – Artistic Director
Energetic Italian conductor Gianluca Marcianò is Principal
Guest Conductor of the Armenian State Opera in Yerevan
as well as Artistic Director of the Al Bustan Festival in
Beirut. With a clear sense for diplomacy having studied
politics, he has managed to bring music to the most
varied corners of the world. Previous posts have included
the Tbilisi State Opera & Ballet Theatre in Georgia where
he conducted La Forza del Destino, Cavalleria Rusticana,
Nabucco,
Attila,
Il
Trovatore,
Mitridate,
Re
di
Ponto and Aida, as well as concerts with Andrea Bocelli in
Georgia.
Recent highlights within the 2015/16 season include a return to the Opera de
Oviedo in October to conduct a new production of Nabucco by director Emilio
Sagi, touring to Pamplona as well. In December Marcianò conducted Verdi’s
Ernani at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre before travelling to
Pisa to conduct Aida at the Teatro Verdi in January 2016. He made his debut
appearance with the Tokyo New City Orchestra for their New Year’s concert.
Much of Marcianò’s operatic work in the UK has centred around ENO, Grange Park
Opera and Longborough Festival. He has returned to Grange Park each year for
the past 5 years conducting Eugene Onegin, Samson et Dalila, Madama Butterfly,
Tosca, I Puritani and La traviata as well as a gala concert with Simon Keenlyside
and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. At ENO, Marcianò has conducted
revivals of Jonathan Miller’s production of La bohème and of Anthony Minghella’s
Madame Butterfly. He has also conducted at Longborough Festival Opera (Die
Zauberflöte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte and La traviata) and
the Chelsea Opera Group (Manon Lescaut, La traviata, La Favorite and Alzira).
Marcianò also has strong ties with the opera houses in Zagreb, Minsk, Sassari and
Prague. During his time in Zagreb as the main conductor, he conducted Nabucco,
La traviata, Turandot, Carmen, La Cenerentola and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In
Minsk, he has performed Il Barbiere di Siviglia and La traviata, and at the Teatro
Verdi in Sassari, La Pietra del Paragone, Poulenc's Les mamelles de Tirésias and
the Italian premiere of Debussy's La Damoiselle Elue. In 2011 he conducted La
traviata at the Prague State Opera.
On the concert platform, Marcianò has worked with instrumentalists such as
Gautier Capuçon, Steven Isserlis, Khatia Buniatishvili, Sergei Krylov, Nina Kotova
and Denis Kozhukin. His recent work includes concerts with the George Enescu
Philharmonic and the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he performed
Mahler's Symphony No.1 in 2011. He has a close relationship with the English
Chamber Orchestra, opening their 2011/12 London season in a programme
including Mozart’s Symphony No.39 and Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No.2 at the
Cadogan Hall. Other notable orchestras which Marcianò has conducted include the
Moscow City Russian Philharmonic, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra, the English National Opera, the Oviedo Filarmonia, the
Sarajevo Philarmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the State
Youth Orchestra of Armenia, The World Orchestra, the Macau Orchestra and
Beijing Symphony Orchestra.
http://www.gianlucamarciano.com
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