Patrick Fournillier, the Principal Guest Conductor at the Finnish National Opera, conducts the majority of opera classics in our repertoire. Now the maestro will showcase his style in an evening of French music, which will envelop the audience in sophisticated, mesmerising and rhythmically enticing sounds.
The concert brings together three French masterpieces, the first of which is Gabriel Fauré’s series Pelléas and Mélisande. This mysterious play has inspired many composers, including Jean Sibelius, but Fauré was the first to put it to music.
Next up is one of composer Albert Roussell’s most popular works, the colourful and cadenced Symphony No. 3. Though it counts among the most important French symphonies, it has rarely been performed in Finland.
The concert ends with Gloria for soprano, a mixed chorus and orchestra by Francis Poulenc, in which the composer impressively blends serious and light tones.