Epiphany weekend concert

This year, the popular Epiphany weekend concert will be dedicated entirely to the exquisite and bittersweet music of Tchaikovsky. After a whirling dance from Tchaikovsky’s ballet favourite, The Snow Maiden, we will move on to The Queen of Spades, the sorrowful opera about a man who puts all of his faith in the magic of the cards, yet finds luck in neither the game nor in love with the young, unfortunate Lisa.

Eugene Onegin has many parallels to Tchaikovsky’s life. Around the same time that he composed Tatyana’s passionate love letter to the cool Onegin, he had received a letter in which a young student declared her love for him. But their marriage was a mistake that led to both divorce and depression.

The letter scene, in which Tatyana goes through every possible mood swing, is considered by many to be a highlight of Tchaikovsky’s opera compositions. Tatyana is portrayed here by one of our latest international soprano stars, Malin Byström, who has given sensational performances at the Royal Opera House in London, the Metropolitan in New York, the Salzburg Festival and more.

Mika Eichenholz won the Swedish Conductor’s Prize in 1989 and his career has taken him to concert halls and opera houses throughout Europe, South America and South Africa. Together with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, he will conclude the evening’s programme with Trepak, a dance in the traditional Ukrainian folk tradition from The Nutcracker, and music from Swan Lake.

Dancing accompanied by big band music to follow in the Grünewald Hall