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By Matthew Westphal
31 Aug 2007
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Even as Milan's Teatro alla Scala continues to fascinate the opera world with its spectacles, triumphs and scandals, the opera house's pit orchestra has had a considerable reputation of its own as a concert ensemble ever since conductor Claudio Abbado established it as the Filarmonica della Scala in 1982.
To mark its 25th anniversary as a concert orchestra, the Filarmonica is making its debut tour of North America this fall, with visits to metro Detroit and Washington, Chicago, Urbana (Illinois), Toronto, Philadelphia and New York City from October 6 through 14.
Riccardo Chailly will conduct the orchestra in repertoire from the opera house, concert stage and even silver screen: Rossini's William Tell Overture, Respighi's Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome and a suite from Nino Rota's score to the Fellini film La Strada. For five of the eight concerts, tenor Ben Heppner will be on hand to sing Wagner's Wesendonk-Lieder and "Siegmund heiss ich" from Die Walküre.
The Filarmonica's gala concert at Carnegie Hall on October 13 will be a benefit, hosted by fashion legend Giorgio Armani, to benefit Friends of FAI, an American foundation which provides resources for the Fondo per l'Ambiente, a privately-run not-for-profit foundation dedicated to the preservation and restoration of some of Italy's most cherished works of art and architecture.
The tour's final concert, a program of orchestral excerpts from classic operas and Respighi's Pines on October 14, will be in the Winter Garden at New York's World Financial Center, very near Ground Zero. Milan mayor Letizia Moratti proposed the event as a way to show solidarity with the people of New York. Admission is free.
The schedule for the Filarmonica della Scala's North American tour is below (with the concerts featuring Heppner marked with an H).
- October 6 - Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI (H)
- October 7 - Orchestra Hall, Chicago, IL
- October 8 - Krannert Center, Urbana, IL (H)
- October 9 - Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON (H)
- October 10 - Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, MD
- October 12 - Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA (H)
- October 13 - Carnegie Hall, New York, NY (H)
- October 14 - Winter Garden, World Financial Center, New York, NY
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