Conductor George Jackson on Firebird’s upcoming Oxford debut
In this video, conductor George Jackson highlights some of the exciting features in the forthcoming London Firebird Orchestra debut in Oxford on 12 February.
George explains why he is particularly excited at working with Suzanne Fisher on the two Mozart Arias…
“These are really important arias in the development of both these operas giving a great insight into two of Mozart’s most interesting female characters. With the Countess. when we first meet her in The Marriage of Figaro we hear Porgi Amor. The same character appeared in The Barber of Seville, but this Countess couldn’t be more different from the young, attractive, beautiful sexy young soprano we find in Rossini’s opera. In The Marriage of Figaro she is depressed and upset at the way her relationship with the Duke is slowly falling apart.
With Come Scoglio we also see a lot of change from a slight naive young girl at the beginning of the opera to this point where she is a strong independent minded woman singing this aria.
I think Suzy is a perfect match for both of these roles simply because they require a variety of different talents not only great vocal dexterity but also a sense of the youthfulness in both of these characters.”
George is also looking forwards to hearing Ben Baker play the Mendelssohn violin concerto, and conducting Haydn’s Symphony no 103 – the ‘Drum Roll’…
“I think that of all the violin concertos played in the repertoire today, this is the most operatic and vocal and therefore perfect for being paired with two Mozart Arias.
Many people forget that Haydn’s 12 so-called ‘London Symphonies’ were actually composed after the death of Mozart. We tend to think of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, incredible as the height of the 18th century symphony, but these later symphonies by Haydn set the scene for Beethoven’s symphonic writing and the nine symphonies he is going to be writing at the start of the 19th century.
What’s also interesting – particularly with Haydn’s Symphony No 103, the Drum Roll – is that there’s definitely this strong relationship with Solomon who was the impresario responsible for these famous London concerts at the King’s Theatre on the Haymarket. I think Solomon was a kind of Marc Corbett-Weaver of late 18th Century London!”
From London to Vienna
Sunday 12 February 6pm
St John the Evangelist
109A Iffley Road, Oxford, OX4 1EH
This concert is generously sponsored by the Morris-Venables Charitable Foundation
Mozart
Overture to Cosí fan Tutte, K. 588
Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mozart
“Come Scoglio” (from Cosí fan Tutte) & “Porgi Amor” (from Le Nozze di Figaro)
Haydn
Symphony no. 103 in E flat, H. 1/103 (‘The Drum Roll’)
