program
Robert Spano, Music Director
Donald Runnicles, Principal Guest Conductor
Delta Classical Series Concerts
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 10, 11 and 12, 2010, at 8 p.m.
Robert Spano, Conductor
Kelley O’Connor, Mezzo-soprano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (1788)
I. Molto allegro
II. Andante
III. Menuetto: Allegretto
IV. Finale: Allegro assai
Peter Lieberson (b. 1946)
Neruda Songs (2005)
I. “Si no furera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna…”
(Sultry, languid)
II. “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo…” (Light, brilliant)
III. “No estés lejos de mí un solo dia…” (Largo)
IV. “Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño.” (Passionately)
V. “Amor mío, su muero y tú no mueres…” (Sustained, peaceful)
Kelley O’Connor, Mezzo-soprano
INTERMISSION
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (“Jupiter”) (1788)
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante cantabile
III. Menuetto: Allegretto
IV. Finale: Molto allegro
“Inside the Music” preview of the concert, Thursday at 7 p.m.,
presented by Ken Meltzer, ASO Insider and Program Annotator.
The use of cameras or recording devices during the concert
is strictly prohibited.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is a founding member of the Robert
W. Woodruff Arts Center.
Atlanta’s Performing Arts Publication 19
sponsors
The law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP has a long and distinguished history of public
service. Our attorneys and staff provide civic leadership and pro bono legal representation to
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is proud to sponsor the Delta Classical Series of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Delta’s commitment to the communities we serve began the day our first flight took off.
After almost 80 years, Delta’s community spirit worldwide continues to be a cornerstone
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live and work. It includes not only valuing individual differences of race, religion, gender,
nationality and lifestyle, but also managing and valuing the diversity of work teams,
intracompany teams and business partnerships.
Major funding for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is provided by the
Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the
Fulton County Arts Council.
Solo pianos used by the Orchestra are gifts of the Atlanta Steinway Society and in memory of David
Goldwasser. The Hamburg Steinway piano is a gift received by the ASO in honor of Rosi Fiedotin.
The Yamaha custom six-quarter tuba is a gift received by the ASO in honor
of Principal Tuba player Michael Moore from The Antinori Foundation.
This performance is being recorded for broadcast at a later time. The Orchestra’s
concert broadcasts are heard each week on Atlanta’s WABE FM-90.1 and Georgia Public
Broadcasting’s statewide network.
The Atlanta Symphony records for Telarc. Other Orchestra recordings are available on the Argo,
Deutsche Grammophon, New World, Nonesuch, Philips and Sony Classical labels.
Media sponsors: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB 750 AM.
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program
Notes on the Program
By Ken Meltzer
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (1788)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27,
1756, and died in Vienna, Austria, on December 5, 1791. The Symphony No. 40
is scored for flute, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, and strings.
Approximate performance time is twenty-five minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: November 30, 1947, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: February 3, 4 and 5, 2000, Roger Norrington, Conductor.
Mozart’s Final Three Symphonies
M
ozart completed his final three Symphonies — No. 39 in E-flat Major, K.
543, No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, and No. 40 in C Major (“Jupiter”) K. 551
— over the remarkably brief span between June 26 and August 10, 1788. Even
more remarkable is the fact that these glorious Symphonies, among Mozart’s
crowning achievements, were the product of a particularly distressing period in
the composer’s life.
Mozart’s career in Vienna as a composer, teacher, virtuoso pianist and impresario reached
its apex in the mid-1780s. However, the exhilaration of those triumphant years soon yielded
to profound frustration and unhappiness. Mozart experienced a precipitate decline in the
demands for his services in Vienna. In April of 1787, Mozart and his wife, Constanze, were
forced to move from their elegant Vienna apartment to far more humble lodgings on the
outskirts of the city.
Mozart was soon reduced to begging for money from acquaintances — principally, Michael
Puchberg, a fellow Mason and ardent music lover. Several of Mozart’s letters to Puchberg have
survived, and they graphically depict the composer’s dire circumstances. For example, in July
of 1788, the same month Mozart composed his G-minor Symphony, he wrote to Puchberg:
Dearest Friend, and Brother in the Order,
Amid my toils and anxieties I have brought my affairs to such a pass
that I must needs raise a little money on these two pawnbroker’s
tickets. I implore you by our friendship to do me this favour, but it
must be done instantly. Forgive my importunity, but you know my
circumstances. Ah, had you but done as I asked you! If you do it even
now, all will go as I wish ...
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Mozart completed his G-minor Symphony, K. 550 (often referred to as the “Great” to
distinguish it from the 1773 “Little” G-minor Symphony, K. 183) on July 25, 1788.
There exists no specific documentation that the G-minor (or for that matter, any of
the final three Symphonies) was performed during Mozart’s lifetime. This fact has led
some to hypothesize that Mozart composed these Symphonies not for monetary gain,
but out of an overwhelming need to express himself through music. In this context, the
G-minor Symphony is a manifestation of the kind of despair revealed in the MozartPuchberg correspondence.
Early Performances?
Such a theory, of course, fails to explain what autobiographical elements are expressed in
the high spirits of the E-flat Symphony, or the heroic grandeur of the “Jupiter” (see, below).
Further, Mozart almost always composed large-scale works — such as piano concertos and
symphonies — for specific, upcoming concerts. In June of 1788, Mozart notified Puchberg
that his subscription concerts (known as “academies”) were due to begin the following week.
In a subsequent June 17 letter, Mozart informed Puchberg that he was extending the concert
dates, “by a few months.” It is quite possible that Mozart intended his final three Symphonies
to be performed at these academies, perhaps along with some piano trios composed at
roughly the same time (a theory advanced by Mozart biographer Maynard Solomon).
It is not certain whether these academies ever took place. However, there is documentation
of concerts conducted by Mozart in Germany in 1789 and 1790. The concert programs
included symphonies by Mozart. While the specific symphonies are not designated in the
programs, it is reasonable to assume that they would have included his most recent efforts;
i.e., one or more of the final trilogy. A further clue is found in the fact that Mozart’s
autograph of the score for the G-minor Symphony contains modifications of the original
version’s Andante, as well as a revised version of the entire work, adding clarinets to the
orchestration. Such modifications most certainly would not have been made without the
existence of previous performances and the promise of new ones. In fact, it is likely that
the version of the G-minor that included clarinets was performed at the April 16 and 17,
1791 annual benefit concerts by the Vienna “Society of Musicians.” The concerts, directed
by Antonio Salieri, featured “a grand symphony by Mozart.” Members of the orchestra
included clarinetists Johann and Anton Stadler.
Of much greater importance, of course, is the music itself. As with any masterpiece of
such eloquence, Mozart’s G-minor Symphony has inspired glowing, but often disparate,
responses. Robert Schumann praised the work’s “impassive beauty,” while Hector Berlioz
characterized the G-minor Symphony as a “model of delicacy and naïveté.” On the other
hand, pianist and historian Charles Rosen found “passion, violence and grief.” Mozart
biographer Alfred Einstein termed the work a “fatalistic piece of chamber music,” in which
he encountered “plunges into the abyss of the soul, symbolized in modulations so bold to
Mozart’s contemporaries they must have seemed to lose their way entirely, and so distant
that only Mozart himself could find the path back from them into the light of day.”
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program
Musical Analysis
I. Molto allegro — A churning viola figure provides the accompaniment to the violins’
introduction of the yearning, principal theme. After a one-measure pause, the strings, in
dialogue with the winds, present the more peaceful subsidiary theme. The development section,
based upon the opening theme, anticipates Beethoven with its concise, dramatic manipulation
of the briefest rhythmic motifs. The drama is further heightened in the recapitulation, featuring
a contrapuntal setting of the opening theme and a minor-key variant of the second.
II. Andante — The slow movement is in A—B—A form. The storm and stress of the middle
section is perhaps to be expected, but the elegant, lyrical outer sections also feature sudden
dissonance and sharp dynamic contrasts, reinforcing the foreboding and turmoil found
throughout much of the Symphony.
III. Menuetto: Allegretto — The principal section of the third movement, with its minor key
and powerful rhythmic underpinning, proves to be far more imposing than the traditional
Minuet, a courtly dance in 3/4 time. However, the intervening G-Major Trio radiates
elegance and repose at every turn.
IV. Allegro assai — The initial theme juxtaposes a piano, ascending phrase by the first
violins with the orchestra’s emphatic forte response. The strings, followed by the winds,
introduce the contrasting subsidiary theme. In many ways, the Symphony’s finale mirrors
the opening Allegro. Cast in sonata form, it features a development section based upon a
stormy, concentrated manipulation of the opening theme. During the recapitulation, the
subsidiary theme is transformed from the major to the minor key. And, as in the opening
movement, the music relentlessly propels to an emphatic conclusion.
Neruda Songs (2005)
Peter Lieberson was born in New York on October 25, 1946. The first performance
of Neruda Songs took place at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California,
on May 20, 2005, with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as soloist, and Esa-Pekka Salonen
conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition to the solo mezzo-soprano, the
Neruda Songs are scored for piccolo, two flutes, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, bass
clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, vibraphone, glockenspiel, crotales, high
suspended cymbal, maracas, low tom-tom or surdo (with bass drum or other large beater),
harp, piano and strings. Approximate performance time is thirty minutes.
T
he Neruda Songs, American composer Peter Lieberson’s setting of poetry
by the Chilean writer Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), was a co-commission
by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr.
Lieberson composed the Neruda Songs for his wife, mezzo-soprano Lorraine
Hunt Lieberson (1954-2006). The two first met in 1997, when Lorraine Hunt
Lieberson performed in the world premiere at Santa Fe of Mr. Lieberson’s opera,
Ashoka’s Dream. Two years later, they married.
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Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was an incredibly versatile singer, with a repertoire that spanned
the baroque to the contemporary, encompassing the operatic, oratorio, song and symphonic
literature. A remarkable and unique artist, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s radiantly beautiful
voice, impeccable musicianship, keen dramatic insight and riveting stage presence made
every performance a treasure.
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was the soloist in the May 20, 2005 Los Angeles world premiere
of the Neruda Songs. Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted the Los Angeles
Philharmonic. The Boston premiere took place that November, with James Levine conducting
the Boston Symphony. A recording of the Boston performances is available on Nonesuch
records (Nonesuch 79954-2). On July 3, 2006, a little over a year after the world premiere of
the Neruda Songs, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson died after a long illness, at the age of 52.
The composer provided the following commentary on his Neruda Songs:
I discovered the love poems of Pablo Neruda by chance in the
Albuquerque airport. The book had a pink cover and drew me in. As I
glanced through the poems I immediately thought that I must set some of
these for Lorraine. Years later the opportunity came when the Los Angeles
Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra co-commissioned this
piece from me, to be written specifically for Lorraine.
Each of the five poems that I set to music seemed to me to reflect a
different face in love’s mirror. The first poem, “If your eyes were not
the color of the moon,” is pure appreciation of the beloved. The second,
“Love, love, the clouds went up the tower of the sky like triumphant
washerwomen,” is joyful and also mysterious in its evocation of nature’s
elements: fire, water, wind, and luminous space. The third poem, “Don’t
go far off, not even for a day,” reflects the anguish of love, the fear and
pain of separation. The fourth poem, “And now you’re mine. Rest
with your dream in my dream,” is complex in its emotional tone. First
there is the exultance of passion. Then, gentle, soothing words lead the
beloved into the world of rest, sleep and dream. Finally, the fifth poem,
“My love, if I die and you don’t,” is very sad and peaceful at the same
time. There is the recognition that no matter how blessed one is with
love, there will be a time when we must part from those whom we
cherish so much. Still, Neruda reminds one that love has not ended. In
truth there is no real death to love nor even a birth: “It is like a long
river, only changing lands, and changing lips.”
I am so grateful for Neruda’s beautiful poetry, for although these poems
were written to another, when I set them I was speaking directly to my
own beloved, Lorraine.
— Peter Lieberson
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program
I. “Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna…” (Sultry, languid)
Si no fuera porque tus ojos tienen color de luna,
de día con arcilla, con trabajo, con fuego,
y aprisionada tienes la agilidad del aire,
si no fuera porque eres una semana de ámbar,
If your eyes were not the color of the moon,
of a day full of clay, and work, and fire,
if even held-in you did not move in agile grace like the air,
if you were not an amber week,
si no fuera porque eres el momento Amarillo
en que el otoño sube por las enredaderas
y eres aún el pan que la luna fragante
elabora paseando su harina par el cielo,
not the yellow moment
when autumn climbs up through the vines;
if you were not that bread the fragrant moon
kneads, sprinkling its flour across the sky,
oh, bienamada, yo no te amaria!
En tu abrazo yo abrazo lo que existe,
la arena, el tiempo, el árbol de la lluvia,
oh, my dearest, I could not love you so!
But when I hold you I hold everything that is –
sand, time, the tree of the rain,
y todo vive para que yo viva:
sin ir tan lejos puedo verlo todo:
veo en tu vida todo lo viviente.
everything is alive so that I can be alive:
without moving I can see it all:
in your life I see everything that lives.
II. “Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo…” (Light, brilliant)
Amor, amor, las nubes a la torre del cielo
subieron como triunfantes lavanderas,
y todo ardió en azul, todo fue estrella:
el mar, la nave, el diá se desterraron juntos.
Love, love, the clouds went up the tower of the sky
like triumphant washerwomen, and it all
glowed in blue, all like a single star,
the sea, the ship, the day were all exiled together.
Ven a ver los cerezos del agua constelada
y la clave redonda del rápido universo,
ven a tocar el fuego del azul instantáneo,
ven antes de que sus pétalos se consuman.
Come see the cherries of the water in the weather,
the round key to the universe, which is so quick:
come touch the fire of this momentary blue,
before its petals wither.
No hay aquí sino luz, cantidades, racimos,
espacio abierto por las virtudes del viento
hasta entregar los últimos secretos de la espuma.
There’s nothing here but light, quantities, clusters,
space opened by the graces of the wind
till it gives up the final secret of the foam.
Y entre tantos azules celestes, sumergidos,
se pierden nuestros ojos adivinando apenas
los poderes del aire, las llaves submarinas.
Among so many blues - heavenly blues, sunken blues –
our eyes are a little confused: they can hardly divine
the powers of the air, the keys to the secrets in the sea.
III. “No estés lejos de mí un solo dia…” (Largo)
No estés lejos de mí un solo dia, porque cómo,
porque, no sé decirlo, es largo el día,
y te estaré esperando como en las estaciones
cuando en alguna parte se durmieron los trenes.
Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because because - I don’t know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.
No te vayas par una hora porque entonces
en esa hora se juntan las gotas del desvelo
y tal vez todo el humo que anda buscando casa
venga a matar aún mi corazón perdido.
Don’t leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.
Ay que no se quebrante tu silueta en la arena,
ay que no vuelen tus párpados en la ausencia:
no te vayas por un minuto, bienamada,
Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.
Don’t leave me for a second, my dearest,
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porque en ese minuto te habrás ido tan lejos
que yo cruzaré toda la tierra preguntando
si volverás o si me dejarás muriendo.
because in that moment you’ll have gone so far
I’ll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?
IV. “Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño.” (Passionately)
Ya eres mía. Reposa con tu sueño en mi sueño.
Amor, dolor, trabajos, deben dormir ahora.
Gira la noche sobre sus invisibles ruedas
y junto a mí eres pura como el ámbar dormido.
And now you’re mine. Rest with your dream in my
dream.
Love and pain and work should all sleep, now.
The night turns on its invisible wheels,
and you are pure beside me as a sleeping amber.
Ninguna más, amor, dormirá con mis sueños.
Iras, iremos juntos par las aguas del tiempo.
Ninguna viajará par la sombra conmigo,
solo tu, siempreviva, siempre sol, siempre luna.
No one else, Love, will sleep in my dreams. You will go,
we will go together, over the waters of time.
No one else will travel through the shadows with me,
only you, evergreen, ever sun, ever moon.
Ya tus manos abrieron los puños delicados
y dejaron caer suaves signos sin rumbo,
tus ojos se cerraron como dos alas grises,
Your hands have already opened their delicate fists
and let their soft drifting signs drop away;
your eyes closed like two gray wings, and I move
mientras yo sigo el agua que llevas y me lleva:
la noche, el mundo, el viento devanan su destino,
y ya no soy sin ti sino sólo tu sueño.
after, following the folding water you carry, that carries
me away. The night, the world, the wind spin out
their destiny.
Without you, I am your dream, only that, and that is all.
V. “Amor mío, si muero y tú no mueres…” (Sustained, peaceful)
Amor mio, si muero y tú no mueres,
amor mía, si mueres y no muero,
no demos al dolor más territorio:
no hay extensión como la que vivimos.
My love, if I die and you don’t –,
My love, if you die and I don’t –,
Let’s not give grief an even greater field.
No expanse is greater than where we live.
Polva en el trigo, arena en las arenas
el tiempo, el agua errante, el viento vago
nos lIevó como grana navegante.
Pudimos no encontrarnos en el tiempo.
Dust in the wheat, sand in the deserts,
time, wandering water, the vague wind
swept us on like sailing seeds.
We might not have found one another in time.
Esta pradera en que nos encontramos,
oh pequeno infinito! devolvemos.
Pero este amor, amor, no ha terminado,
This meadow where we find ourselves,
O little infinity! we give it back.
But Love, this love has not ended:
y así como no tuvo nacimiento
no tiene muerte, es como un largo río,
sólo cambia de tierras y de labios.
just as it never had a birth, it has
no death: it is like a long river,
only changing lands, and changing lips.
Poems from Cien sonetos de amor by Pablo Neruda. © Fundación Pablo Neruda, 2010.
Reprinted by permission of Agencia Literaria Carmen Barcells S.A.
English translation by Stephen Tapscott. © 1986 by the University of Texas Press. By permission
of the University of Texas Press.
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program
Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, “Jupiter” (1788)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756,
and died in Vienna, Austria, on December 5. 1791. The Symphony No. 41 is scored for
flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. Approximate
performance time is thirty-three minutes.
First ASO Classical Subscription Performance: January 26, 1947, Henry Sopkin, Conductor.
Most Recent ASO Classical Subscription Performances: October 26 and 28, 2006, Bernard
Labadie, Conductor.
T
he “Jupiter” is the last of the great final trilogy of Symphonies Mozart composed
between June 26 and August 10, 1788 (see, Symphony No. 40, above).
Mozart did not coin the C-Major Symphony’s familiar nickname. In August of 1829, the
composer’s son told publisher Vincent Novello and his wife, Mary, that it was the German
violinist and impresario, Johann Peter Salomon (the same individual who arranged for
Franz Joseph Haydn’s London visits), who “christened” the Symphony as the “Jupiter.”
It is doubtful Mozart intended the “Jupiter” to be his final Symphony. The composer was
only thirty-two at the time he completed the work. Illness prematurely cut short his life just
three years later. Still, like his final Piano Concerto, K. 591 (1791), the “Jupiter” Symphony
represents a fitting summation of Mozart’s achievements in the symphonic repertoire. It
is a resplendent work of extraordinary power, majesty and eloquence, culminating in a
breathtaking virtuoso Finale.
Musical Analysis
I. Allegro vivace — The Symphony opens with a bold orchestral tutti, to which the strings
offer a subdued reply. The extended presentation of the opening theme highlights the
contrast between its heroic and more docile elements. The violins present a lyrical second
theme that also confronts moments of storm and stress. The strings’ playful, final theme is
derived from the aria “Un bacio di mano” (“A kiss on the hand”), K. 541 (1788), composed
by Mozart for Pasquale Anfossi’s comic opera, Le gelosie fortunate. In the aria, the melody
accompanies this text:
“Voi siete un po’ tondo, mio caro Pompeo,
l’usanze del mondo andate a studiar.”
“You are a bit naive, my dear Pompey,
Go out and study the ways of the world.”
This opera buffa tune soon becomes the basis of an intense, contrapuntal development
section. A recapitulation of the principal themes yields to a brief, but forceful, coda.
II. Andante cantabile—The poignant slow movement employs muted violins and violas,
while excluding trumpets and timpani. The violins, with brief woodwind interjections,
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introduce the tranquil, principal theme. A foreboding second theme is followed by a return
to the peaceful mood of the opening. A brief, and sometimes tempestuous development
leads to a varied recapitulation. The lovely final measures prominently feature the horns in
conversation with the strings and winds.
III. Menuetto: Allegretto — The third movement opens with the first violins’ descending,
theme, whose chromatic progression is prominent throughout the Minuet. The Trio begins
with a charming dialogue between one group (comprising the flute, bassoons and horns),
and another, featuring the oboe and strings. A fiery orchestral pronouncement offers
contrast. The movement concludes with a reprise of the Minuet.
IV. Finale: Molto allegro — The Finale, in sonata form, begins with the first violins’
introduction of a four-note motif that provides the cornerstone for the movement’s
numerous themes. Mozart introduces no fewer than five motifs, often treated in brilliant
contrapuntal fashion. In fact, the miraculous coda features a simultaneous presentation of
all five! It is a testament to Mozart’s genius that the passage emerges not as an academic
exercise, but rather, as a thrilling musical experience. After this stunning achievement,
Mozart concludes his “Jupiter” Symphony with a series of elemental C-Major chords.
kelley o’connOr, Mezzo-soprano
P
ossessing a voice of uncommon allure, musical
sophistication far beyond her years and intuitive
and innate dramatic artistry, the Grammy Award-winning
mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor has quickly emerged as one
of the most compelling performers of her generation.
During the 2009-10 season, the California native’s impressive
calendar includes a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for
Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs under the baton of Gustavo Kelley O’Connor
Dudamel; she also will be reunited with Bernard Haitink for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Ms. O’Connor makes her debuts with the Saint
Paul Chamber Orchestra in Weill’s SiebenTodsünden, and with the Netherlands Radio
Philharmonic in Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. She reprises Neruda Songs with
the Atlanta Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the Canton Symphony and the Alabama
Symphony, and takes on Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky at the Festival of the Arts Boca.
The American mezzo also performs Beethoven’s Ninth with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at
Carnegie Hall under Sir Roger Norrington, as well as with the Pittsburgh Symphony and
Manfred Höneck, the San Diego Symphony, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and on tour
with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer. She joins Edo de Waart for Mahler’s
Third Symphony with both the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Milwaukee Symphony,
sings Bach’s St. John Passion with the Calgary Philharmonic, and appears in a gala concert
for the New York City Opera.
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program
Ms. O’Connor’s performances during the 2008-09 season included Bernstein’s Symphony
No. 1, Jeremiah, with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the world
premiere of Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony
Orchestra, John Adams’s El Niño with David Robertson and the Saint Louis Symphony
Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Elias with Ingo Metzmacher and the Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with James Conlon and the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival. She returned to the New York Philharmonic
for performances of L’Enfant et les sortilèges under the baton of Lorin Maazel and to the
stage of Carnegie Hall for a concert performance of Ainadamar with the Orchestra of St.
Luke’s conducted by Robert Spano. Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs highlighted the artist’s
prominence as one of the world’s leading concert artists in two significant European debuts:
performances with David Zinman and the Berliner Philharmoniker as well as with the
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. On the opera stage, Ms. O’Connor made her Cincinnati Opera
debut in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar in a realization of the work by director Jose Maria
Condemi and her Canadian Opera Company debut as Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer
Night’s Dream in a production by Neil Armfield.
Ms. O’Connor has received unanimous international critical acclaim for her numerous
performances as Federico García Lorca in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar. Ms. O’Connor
created the role for the world premiere at Tanglewood under the baton of Robert Spano
and subsequently has joined Miguel Harth-Bedoya for performances with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall. She reprised her portrayal of Federico García
Lorca in the world premiere of the revised edition of Ainadamar at the Santa Fe Opera in
a new staging by Peter Sellars during the 2005 season, which also was presented at Lincoln
Center. For her debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, in Ainadamar, she joined
Robert Spano for performances and a Deutsche Grammophon recording: she rejoined
Spano and Atlanta in summer 2006 for further performances of Ainadamar, including
her debuts at the Ojai and Ravinia festivals. In past seasons, she has bowed as Lorca in
performances of Ainadamar at Opera Boston, the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the Barbican
Centre and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Recognized by Opera Now on its annual “Young Artists: Who’s Hot?” list of 2006, Ms.
O’Connor has a bachelor of music degree from USC and received her master’s degree
from UCLA.
Atlanta’s Performing Arts Publication 29