Silence & Rapture
18 August 2024
A mesmerising collaboration with Sydney Dance Company featuring countertenor Iestyn Davies and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Arvo Pärt.
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Date |
Time |
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Sunday 18 August 2024 |
2pm |
In English
Wheelchair accessible
No language barrier
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House
Duration
This event will run for approximately 2 hours.
Silence & Rapture
Composing three centuries apart, Johann Sebastian Bach and Arvo Pärt’s timeless music speaks to the human soul. From rockstars and writers to artists and filmmakers, these composers are revered by music lovers across genres and generations. The last time the ACO performed their music together, it was a sell-out.
Richard Tognetti directs this mesmerising collaboration between the ACO and Sydney Dance Company that brings together music, movement and evocative lighting to create something truly extraordinary.
Expressing the luminous longing at the heart of this music is choreography from Rafael Bonachela, Artistic Director Sydney Dance Company, while Gramophone Award-winning countertenor Iestyn Davies, whose performances have been described as “a pleasure that verges on the sublime” (The Guardian) makes his Australian debut, bringing these stirring melodies to life.
Bach and Pärt’s music is rooted in human experience while reaching towards the divine. This program traces a profound journey through three Gardens at the heart of the Biblical narrative they both hold so close: from the hope and temptation of the Garden of Eden to the tragedy and passion of the Garden of Gethsemane, ascending into the Garden of Heaven and, at last, the meditation of silence. Featuring Part’s Fratres and selections from Bach’s most loved cantatas, orchestral and solo music, this promises to be a season highlight and a deeply affirming experience.
Presented by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Program
Prelude
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Kanon zu acht Stimmen, BWV1072
ARVO PÄRT Collage über B-A-C-H: I. Toccata
Garden of Eden
BACH Cantata “Wiederstehe doch des Sunde”, BWV54: Aria “Wer Sünde tut, der ist vom Teufel”
BACH Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in A major: I. Dolce
BACH Cantata “Ich bin ein guter Hirt”, BWV85: Aria “Jesus ist ein guter Hirt”
PÄRT Fratres
Garden of Gethsemane
BACH Sonata for Solo Violin No.2 in A minor: III. Andante
BACH St Matthew Passion: “Erbarme Dich”
PÄRT Für Lennart in memoriam
PÄRT My Heart’s in the Highlands
Garden of Heaven
BACH Cantata “Der Herr denket an uns”, BWV196: Sinfonia
PÄRT Vater unser
BACH Cello Suite No.3 in C major: I. Prelude
BACH Magnificat: “Et exultavit”
Into Silence
PÄRT Pari intervallo
BACH The Art of Fugue: Fuga a 3 Soggetti (unfinished)
PAUL HINDEMITH Trauermusik: IV. Sehr langsam
Artists
Richard Tognetti
Director & Violin
Iestyn Davies
Countertenor
Rafael Bonachela
Choreographer & Artistic Director, Sydney Dance Company
Stefanie Farrands
Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve
Cello
Chad Kelly
Organ & Harpsichord
Artists from Sydney Dance Company
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Throughout 2024 the ACO travels across genres and artforms, traversing centuries of music from the celebrated classics to the sounds of tomorrow as only it can. And the spark at the heart of it all: the Orchestra, leading the way and igniting this season of extraordinary music for you.
Other information
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars. Please remember to maintain physical distancing whilst consuming drinks in our foyers.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see their website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel and COVID-19 safety measures. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six min walk to the Opera House.
Covid-safe information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage you to wear a mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained, and please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of everyone on site, and we are closely following NSW Health guidelines and advice. The Sydney Opera House is registered as a COVID Safe business with the NSW Government. For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you when visiting, please see our plan your visit page.
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
As you move around the Opera House, practise physical distancing (1.5 metres whenever possible) and follow the guidance provided by our staff and signage.
Within venues, always take your allocated seat.
For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you, please see our plan your visit page.
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
Contact information is required when making a booking with us and upon arrival at the Opera House, as set out in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events and our Customer Privacy Statement.
As the ticket purchaser, you are responsible for recording the contact details of your guests. Contact information will only be used for the purposes of contact tracing, if required, and will be deleted at least 28 days after your event.
Frequently asked questions
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. RESALE RESTRICTION APPLIES. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend. If you can no longer attend because you are unwell, or have been in contact with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you.
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available for you to enjoy.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House will become a smoke-free site from Saturday 1 January 2022.
By becoming a smoke-free site, the Opera House seeks to reduce exposure to harmful second-hand smoke, as well as minimise the impact of smoking on the environment, including litter and pollution of the surrounding marine environment.
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