NSOI Summer Lunchtime

Tess Jackson, conductor
​​​​​​​National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Maria Matthews, soprano
Presented by Liz Nolan, RTÉ lyric fm

Rossini William Tell Overture
Bellini ‘Qui la voce’ (I puritani)
Bellini ‘Casta Diva' (Norma)
Bizet Carmen Suite No. 1
Johann Strauss II Czardas from Die Fledermaus

The up and coming Irish soprano, Maria Matthews, and Classic FM Rising Star conductor Tess Jackson launch National Symphony Orchestra Ireland’s Summer Season in style with heart-wrenching arias and dazzling orchestral music from opera.

Bellini provides his bel canto masterpiece, ‘Casta Diva' from Norma, a serene prayer to the goddess of the Moon, and one of opera’s most ecstatic mad scenes in the soaring lyricism of I puritani’s ‘Qui la voce’.

Rossini’s rip-roaring William Tell Overture with its fanfare trumpet calls (familiar as the theme to television’s The Lone Ranger) and galloping finale provides excitement aplenty. Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 offers seasonal Spanish heat and passion in a thrilling reprise of some of its most memorable moments, including the sultry Habanera, lusty Seguidilla and fizzing bolero.

And from Johann Strauss the younger, the feisty cod-Hungarian Czardas from Die Fledermaus, building from blissful nostalgia to fiery virtuosity.

Presented by NCH