Music Director Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony open a new season on September 17 with a spectacular opening night program of old world elegance and new world vivacity. The evening’s program joins the soaring beauty of the world of opera and the familiar favorites from the great American songbook performed by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the most in-demand singers in the world today. Handel’s Overture to Music for the Royal Fireworks and Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon will open the evening’s program, followed by Giovanni Pacini’s “Ove t’aggiri o barbaro” fromStella di Napoli, Handel’s “Ombra mai fu” from Xerxes and Rossini’s “Tanti affetti” from La donna del lago featuring Joyce DiDonato. DiDonato returns throughout the second half of the program, which includes Irish folksong “Danny Boy,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel, Overture to West Side Storyand “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story, “Embraceable You” from Girl Crazy, and William Bolcom’s Ragomania A Classic Festival-Overture. The Opening Night Concert will be broadcast live on Classical KING FM 98.1.
The 2016–2017 Opening Night Gala following the concert, co-chaired by Renée Brisbois, Nader Kabbani and Betty Tong, will honor William Gates Sr. and Mimi Gardner Gates for their significant contributions to the Symphony and the Seattle community, and highlight the Symphony’s Community Connections programs.
