Soprano and flute mingle and dance in this program of French salon music.
The first concert in our Chamber Series in 2027 transports us to fin de siècle Paris when Australian soprano Cathy-Di Zhang, described by The Conversation as ‘a commanding vocal and physical presence’, joins CSO’s own Principal Flute Kiri Sollis. The program takes wing with Delibes’ coloratura art song Le Rossignol (the nightingale), in Dutch flautist Ary van Leeuwen’s arrangement in which voice duets with improvisatory, bird-like flute lines.
Saint-Saëns’ Une flûte invisible (an invisible flute) for voice, flute and piano, sets pastoral poetry by Victor Hugo, while Ibert originally wrote his Aria (Vocalise–Étude) as a wordless exercise for voice and piano, but the melody proved so popular he made several arrangements, including for flute. The flute also plays a role in Ravel’s song cycle Shéhérazade, which sets poetry by Tristan Klingsor, inspired by the stories of the One Thousand and One Nights. The central movement, 'La flûte enchantée' (the magic flute), depicts a girl who hears her lover play a flute outside her window. The program dances to a close with Chaminade’s waltzing love song, Portrait (Valse chantée), setting poetry by Pierre Reyniel.
PROGRAM
Léo Delibes
Le Rossignol (The Nightingale)
Camille Saint-Saëns
Une Flûte invisible (An Invisible Flute)
Jacques Ibert
Aria (Vocalise–Étude)
Maurice Ravel
Shéhérazade
Cécile Chaminade
Portrait – Valse chantée
ARTISTS
Cathy-Di Zhang: soprano
Kiri Sollis: flute
Edward Neeman / Sue Powell: piano
CSO Chamber Ensemble
When
Duration
Ticket prices
| Type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | $58 - 65 |
| Concession (means-tested pensioner, full time students) | $51 - 57 |
| Student rush | $16 |
| Under 35 | $35 |