Weber. Wagner. Mahler

The penultimate concert of the season transports us into the world of 19th-century German vocal music. Prague's Rudolfinum will first resound with Weber's overture to his most famous opera Der Freischütz, considered the first German Romantic opera in history and a cornerstone of Romantic music itself.

Under Emmanuel Villaume's baton, we welcome special guest American bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee, who has recently garnered acclaim for his portrayal of Wagner's Wotan. Together with the orchestra, he will immerse the eighth evening's audience in the beauty of Mahler's songs.

We'll hear selections from the extensive collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn, rightfully considered a jewel of the song literature. Gustav Mahler was not only a brilliant composer but also an excellent conductor, earning recognition particularly for his precise interpretations of Wagner's operas.

What better way to complete this evening's program than with Richard Wagner's Symphony in C major! This is his only completed symphony, which premiered in Prague in 1832 and is imbued with strong Beethovenian inspiration.

Wagner wrote it just a few years after the death of this legendary figure in music history.

Besides Beethoven, Wagner also followed the orchestration principles of early Romantic opera giant Carl Maria von Weber.