Theatre without Words
Durham University Orchestral Society chamber orchestra performs music written to accompany staged performance. A concert arrangement of the Prelude and Liebestod (Love Death) from Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner gives a condensed portrayal of the opera’s tragic love story. A number of early twentieth century composers were drawn to Maurice Maeterlinck’s stage play Pelléas et Mélisande, based on another tragic medieval love story – DUOS perform Jean Sibelius’s version, telling the tale in nine movements ending with the heart-aching ‘Death of Melisande’. On a happier note, the concert ends with the suite from Petr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Sleeping Beauty with music depicting the Lilac Fairy, Puss-in-Boots and the White Cat, as well as the famous ‘Rose’ Adagio and Waltz.
Tickets £14, concessions £10