The Orchestra of Welsh National Opera has shown that they can dominate the concert hall as well as the theatre with rapturously acclaimed performances in the International Concert Series.

Under their inspirational Music Director, Lothar Koenigs, the Orchestra has challenged the traditional concert format to cast new light on great works and introduce less familiar masterpieces. The Orchestra are re-defining and challenging the possibilities of Orchestral concerts.

Each programme is personally selected by Lothar, linking very different sounding pieces which share a common theme (for example the Napoleonic era) or are stylistically connected, to create a deeply satisfying concert experience. Join Lothar and the Orchestral of Welsh National Opera on a fascinating journey as part of the International Concert Series at St David’s Hall.

Conductor Lothar Koenigs
Chorus of Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera Community Choir

Narrator David Soar
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture 15'
Schoenberg Ode to Napoleon 16'
Beethoven Symphony No 3, Eroica 50'

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Hero or tyrant? Beethoven thought Napoleon, seduced by power, had become a tyrant, angrily striking out the dedication to him at the head of his Eroica Symphony. Schoenberg's intense Ode, composed at the height of the Second World War, uses Byron's poem as a metaphor for Hitler's invasion of Europe. And is there a better-known tribute to the Russian victory over Napoleon than Tchaikovsky's rousing 1812 Overture.