Beethoven 9

MACA CLASSICS SERIES

Friday 3 & Saturday 4 May 2024, 7.30pm

Perth Concert Hall

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West Australian Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and Elders of Country throughout Western Australia, and the Whadjuk Noongar people on whose lands we work and share music.

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Beethoven 9

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN The Creatures of Prometheus: Overture (5 mins)

James LEDGER The Last Thing (World Premiere) (24 mins)

I. The Last Thing
II. Mother
III. Child Burial

Interval (25 mins)

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Symphony No.9 Choral (67 mins)

Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
Scherzo (Molto vivace – Presto)
Adagio molto e cantabile – Andante moderato
Presto – Allegro molto assai (Alla marcia) – Presto

Alpesh Chauhan conductor
Sara Macliver
soprano (The Last Thing)
Eleanor Lyons
soprano
Ashlyn Tymms
mezzo-soprano
Paul O’Neill
tenor
Samuel Dundas
bass
WASO Chorus

UWA Symphonic Chorus

Wesfarmers Arts Pre-concert Talk
Find out more about the music in the concert with this week’s speaker, Cecilia Sun. The Pre-concert Talk will take place at 6.45pm in the Terrace Level Foyer.

Listen to WASO
This performance is recorded for broadcast Saturday 15 June, 1pm (AWST) on ABC Classic. Date subject to change. For further details visit
abc.net.au/classic

Did you know?

In his entire career Beethoven composed only one ballet score, The Creatures of Prometheus.

2024 is the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's 9th Symphony!

Beethoven's 9th Symphony is considered one of the first examples of a choral symphony by a major composer.

The words in the final movement were taken from the “Ode to Joy” poem written by Friedrich von Schiller in 1785.

Don’t think Beethoven has any effect on your day-to-day life? Think again. When Philips started working on their new audio format known as a compact disc, they created a 12 cm diameter CD, so that it could contain a complete performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Beethoven was a compositional rebel, rejecting standard classical practices in order to write with emotion.

WASO On Stage

About the Artists

About the Artists

About the Artists

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Eleanor Lyons
Soprano

Australian soprano Eleanor Lyons is known for her versatility, deep musicality and fresh interpretations. An international success, Eleanor has garnered global attention for her beautiful voice and virtuosic performances. Also known for her versatility, Eleanor passionately shapes every detail of opera, orchestral concerts, chamber music and solo recitals. Her talent and approach have resulted in ongoing fruitful collaborations with various orchestras and conductors on a global level.

In addition to singing leading roles in operas across the globe, this season’s concert highlights include Beethoven’s 9th (QSO and WASO), Freia/Das Rheingold (SSO), Strauss’ Four Last Songs (Canberra Symphony), as well as Countess (The Marriage of Figaro) at Oper Ballet Vlaanderen. She will sing Verdi’s Requiem at the Adelaide Festival with the Antwerp Symphony, Mahler Symphony No. 2 with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Vienna Symphony at the Musikverein.

Eleanor won first prize at the International Obraztsova Singing Competition, studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers, St. Petersburg and was awarded the Michael Byrne Vienna State Opera Award.

About the Artists

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Ashlyn Tymms
Mezzo-Soprano

In 2024, Ashlyn Tymms sings Ježibaba in Rusalka and Dido in Dido and Aeneas for West Australian Opera and Fanny Price in Mansfield Park for New Zealand Opera; she takes the alto solos in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Mozart’s Requiem for West Australian Symphony, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Queensland Symphony and Bach’s St. John Passion with the Melbourne Symphony.

Ashlyn’s 2022 performances included Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Melbourne Symphony and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the West Australian Symphony. She also made her Sydney Opera House début in Handel’s Messiah.

For West Australian Opera, she has sung Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel) and Flora (La traviata); in 2023, Ashlyn returned to WAO as Emilia (Otello) and in the title role in Carmen.

International engagements include Rosimonda in Faramondo at the London Handel Festival and Judith in the world premiere of The Two Sisters with Tête à Tête Opera.

About the Artists

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Paul O’Neill
Tenor

Australian tenor Paul O’Neill has forged a compelling international career singing in opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe and Australasia. His 2021/2022 engagements included Alfredo (La traviata) for Opera Australia and Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana) and Canio (Pagliacci) for West Australian Opera. In 2022/23, he sang Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) for Opera Australia, Macduff (Macbeth) for State Opera South Australia and Don José, Cavaradossi, Alfredo, Rodolfo and Otello for West Australian Opera; he was tenor soloist in Britten’s War Requiem and Siegmund in Die Walküre (Act I) for West Australian Symphony Orchestra. He returns to WA Opera this year as The Prince in Rusalka.

Other recent engagements include Don José and Cavaradossi for West Australian Opera, Rodolfo, Narraboth (Salome) and Alfredo for Opera Australia and the title role in Faust for Theater Münster. He has sung Don José at the Glyndebourne Festival; Laca (Jenůfa) for Opéra de Lille; Rodolfo for Halle Opera; Elvino (La sonnambula) and Laca with Graz Opera.

About the Artists

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Samuel Dundas
Bass

Regularly appearing with the major Australian and New Zealand opera companies, Symphony orchestras and festivals, this year Samuel Dundas returns to the Perth and Brisbane Festivals and Victorian Opera as Cave (Eucalyptus), Opera Australia as Horatio (Hamlet), Opera Queensland as Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), Queensland and West Australian Symphony orchestras (Beethoven’s 9th symphony) and Tasmanian Symphony (Haydn’s Harmony Mass).

His recent major role debuts have included the title role in Galileo (Mills) and the Count (Capriccio) for Victorian Opera; Wolfram (Tannhäuser) for Opera Australia, and Donner (Das Rheingold) for Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Samuel’s operatic repertoire includes Aphron (The Golden Cockerel); Marcello (La Boheme), title role in Voss, Dancairo and Morales (Carmen) for State Opera South Australia; Papageno (The Magic Flute) for New Zealand Opera; Count Carl Magnus Malcolm (A Little Night Music) and Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) for Victorian Opera; Marcello, Guglielmo (Così Fan Tutte), Prosdocimo (The Turk in Italy), Papageno, Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Belcore (L’Elisir d’Amore) and Silvio (Pagliacci) for Opera Australia.

About the Artists

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WASO Chorus

The WASO Chorus was formed in 1988 and consists of around 100 volunteer choristers who represent the finest form of community music making, bringing together singers from all walks of life. They regularly feature in the WASO annual concert season and are directed by Andrew Foote.

The Chorus has built an international reputation for its high standards and diverse range of repertoire. While its main role is to perform with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra the Chorus also maintains a profile of solo concerts, tours and community engagements.

The Chorus sings with the finest conductors and soloists including Asher Fisch, Simone Young, Stephen Layton and Paul Daniel. Recent highlights have included Britten’s War Requiem and Verdi’s Requiem. In 2019 the Chorus performed at the Denmark Festival of Voice and in 2018 toured China with performances of Orff’s Carmina burana.

In 2020 they performed two Gala events on the Kalbarri Skywalk. In 2023 the chorus was invited to Hobart to perform Brahms’ German Requiem with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), the TSO chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and members of the public, conducted by Simon Halsey.

Andrew Foote
Chorus Director

Glenn Hogue

Répétiteur

WASO Chorus On Stage

SOPRANO
Lisa Barrett
Penelope Colgan
Clara Connor
Kathie Drake
Ceridwen Dumergue
Fay Edwards
Marion Funke
Lesley Goodwin
Ro Gorell
Deborah Jackson-Porteous
Joanna Killgore
Gillian King
Claire McGlew
Natasha Meyers
Kimberly Paton
Lucy Sheppard
Sarah Shneier
Kate Sugars
Rebecca Thorne
Carol Unkovich
Catherine Wade
Alicia Walter

ALTO
Marian Agombar
Llewela Benn
Helen Brown
Patsy Brown
Sheila Byfield
Sue Coleson
Catherine Dunn
Kaye Fairbairn
Susanna Fleck
Dianne Graves
Louise Hayes
Mathilda Joubert
Tina McDonald
Elysia Murphy
Lynne Naylor
Deborah Pearson
Deborah Piesse
Neb Ryland
Margo Warburton
Olga Ward
Jacquie Wright

TENOR
Nick Fielding
Allan Griffiths
Alan Harvey
Matthew Lester
John Murphy
Christopher Ryland
Sim Taylor
Arthur Tideswell
Stephen Turley
Brad Wake

BASS
Justin Audcent
Michael Berkeley-Hill
Charlie Bond
Paul Brayshaw
Tony Errington
Ken Gasmier
Brad Hilton
Francois Joubert
Francis Joseph
Benjamin Lee
Eric Lim
Tony Marrion
Geoff Massey
Peter Ormond
Andrew Wong
Mark Richardson
Stace Rogers
Steve Sherwood
Tim Strahan

About the Artists

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UWA Symphonic Chorus

The University of Western Australia’s Symphonic Chorus is the Conservatorium of Music’s largest choir, open to all students studying at UWA. Directed by Dr Andrew Foote (Chair of Vocal Studies and current Director of the WASO Chorus), members are drawn from the UWA Vocal Program, the wider Conservatorium student-body and a growing number of non-music majors, who participate as volunteers or as students enrolled in one the Conservatoriums Music Ensemble units.

The choir regularly collaborates with West Australian Opera, UWA Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, UWA Wind Orchestra, and WASO to perform a wide range of repertoire at venues across Perth, including the Perth Concert Hall, St Mary’s Cathedral and Winthrop Hall. Recent highlights include: Oratorio with West Australian Opera, Elijah with West Australian Opera, Handel’s Messiah with the UWA Chamber Orchestra, and the WA Premiere of Lili Boulanger’s Psalm 130: Du fond de l’abîme and Eumeralla with WASO.

UWA Symphonic Chorus On Stage

SOPRANO
Lizzie Bruk
Beck Jones
Sanya Jones
Ella Jurjevich
Saffron Kakulas
Keeva Kirwan
Janelle Lee
Joanna Lim
Karoline Magpily
Beth Musikanth
Peridot Poole
Em Robertshaw
Aimee Ryan
Phoebe Tait
Teddy
Tasker-Murphy
Victoria-Grace
Whiting
Matilda Wilson

ALTO
Samantha
Anderson-Mayes
Mairead Buchanan
Suraya Edwards
Brianna Ellis
Jasmine Gilbert
Rosalyn Haensel
Vivienne Hingston
Emily Hobday
Steohanie Hollick
Sarah Huang
Lili Huntly
Joscelyn Leahy
Katie Lines
Chanupa
Munasinghe
Shirley Ng
Emma Osling
Golbon Rezaei
Insiah Riaz
Isabel Torabi
Kiki Wang
Shenghao Xiong

TENOR
Jamie Holloway
Ciaran McChord

BASS
Xavier Anthony
Jared Ashley
Glen Bain
Travis Canny
Jacob Gordon
Felix Longworth-Baker
Kizito Mutoya
Ben Samuels
Ilario Sellitto
Sahil Sidhu
Connor Siekman
Harry Smith
Archibald Targett
Daniel van der Moezel
Wan Ariff Adlan Wan
Fadzil Adlan
Albert Wang
Jun Yap
Ka Ming Yu

About the Music

About the Music

Text & Translation

About the Music

Text & Translation

English

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About WASO

Your Concert Experience

Meet the Musician

Community Engagement

Philanthropy

Our Supporters

2024 Trusts and Foundations

Lead Partner of Crescendo

Crescendo / Hospital Orchestra Project

First Nations Creative Collaborations / Composition Project

Associate Conductor Program

About the Speaker

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