One of today’s leading interpreters of the music of Giuseppe Verdi, Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Italian opera favorites on this composite program. Opening with selections from his 2007 residency—his first concerts with the Orchestra in over thirty years—Muti leads the Overture to La forza del destino along with soprano Barbara Frittoli in arias by Verdi and Puccini. Two Rossini overtures, William Tell and La scala di sieta, follow, along with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s Nabucco, featuring the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Rounding out the program are releases from the CSO Resound label, including Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana plus Verdi’s Overture to I vespri siciliani and the first act of Otello.
Special Thanks to riccardomutimusic.com for their partnership in the presentation of the Maestro’s Choice CSO Radio series.