Continuo Connect — Concert // Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment: Mozart: Love is in the air

Tonight’s concert showcases Mozart’s lifelong love of the soprano voice. Featuring concert arias from the 1780s and from Così fan tutte (1790) and Le nozze di Figaro (1786) we hear the full wizardry of his vocal writing unleashed in works which require a singer of great versatility. His first and final comic collaborations with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte are both satirical love stories which tell the story of the increasingly stylish artistry of the latter years of Mozart’s career. Plus we’ll have not just one but two overtures, packed with smash-hit tunes.

For the grand finale, the Paris Symphony, we trace our way backwards to an earlier period in Mozart’s life. The years leading up to the Paris Symphony (1778), were a time of uncertainty as he struggled to establish himself as a composer. Taking a fresh approach with his largest scale orchestral piece to date, Mozart knew exactly how to capture the Parisian audience. He adopted the quintessential Parisian technique of ‘coup d’archet’ in the grand opening and kept his punters on the edge of their seats with surprising twists.