CANCELLED: Philharmonischer Chor München

The title in itself is ambiguous: »solennelle« means solemn and earnest as well as theatrical and affected. Rossini, who wrote nearly 40 operas, declared with a hint of irony: »I was born to write opera buffa«. As a sincere religious work by a man of the stage, the mass reflects this contradiction: the score is full of colour, pathos and intensity.

Please note: This event replaces the cancelled concert from 13 April 2020. Tickets purchased for the postponed concert are valid for this event.

»Petite«, on the other hand, is not entirely appropriate. Rossini originally wrote the work for the consecration of a private chapel, it’s true, – but in form and layout, it takes its cue from the festive Missa solemnis. The composer feared that his score might end up being orchestrated by someone else, so that he wrote his own large-scale orchestral version a few years later. But the »little mass« remained his avowed favourite. Together with the piano duo Genova & Dimitrov and a line-up of top-drawer soloists, Andreas Herrmann and the Philharmonische Chor München (Munich Philharmonic Choir) perform the »Petite Messe solennelle« in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall.