Carmina Burana together with the Great Broadcasting Choir

Rising star Bassem Akiki conducts the Netherlands Philharmonic in Orff's world-famous Carmina Burana. Before the orchestra and the Groot Omroepkoor blow you away with the spectacular Carmina, you can first enjoy works by Pärt and Wagner.

Bassem Akiki conducts Pärt and Wagner

Polish-Lebanese conductor Bassem Akiki made a great impression last year with his Animal Farm at De Nationale Opera. Now a guest with the Netherlands Philharmonic and the Groot Omroepkoor, he opens the concert with two distinctly contemplative pieces. The Credo was Pärt's very first religious work, grand and experimental with a hint of Bach as a contrast. Wagner's last opera Parsifal is a religious drama about guilt, penance and forgiveness, themes that are echoed in the overture.

Orff's Carmina Burana

Furthermore, the program is devoted to one of the most famous pieces of the twentieth century. A medieval manuscript full of poetry, songs and verses was the basis for Carl Orff's world-famous Carmina Burana. The result is a theatrical and breathtaking spectacle with as its central theme the fate with which man must live. The overwhelming opening chorus "O Fortuna" has become a real hit that has even made its way into pop music.