The Valkyrie

The first act from Richard Wagner’s The Valkyrie – a long love scene which is performed in concert here with international soloists. Siegmund is fleeing and ends up in the home of Hunding and Sieglinde. As Siegmund and Sieglinde fall in love, every dimension of emotion is portrayed in this evocative music. Soon it is revealed that Siegmund and Sieglinde are twins: their love becomes a symbol of the perfected symbiosis between two people, and brings an infusion of hope and confidence. 

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led by American Karina Canellakis, who has appeared with the orchestra on several occasions, most recently as conductor of the Nobel Prize Concert 2018.

The concert will begin with Beethoven, who jumped at the chance to compose music for Goethe’s tragedy of Lamoraal Egmont, in which the action revolves around the battle for freedom. The beginning of the overture resonates ominously, but soon the tempo shifts and the music transitions from doubt to triumph.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has also been a powerful source of inspiration for composers. The love scene from Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette symphony is a tribute to his two role models, Shakespeare and Beethoven. This music is charged with musical romance and a greeting to his great love, the actress Harriet Smithson. Berlioz saw her perform in a staging of Romeo and Juliet and was enchanted.