Event
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Visiting Orchestras Series
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, Music Director Emeritus for Life
Tuesday Performance
Donizetti — Overture to Don Pasquale
Verdi — The Four Seasons from I vespri siciliani
Chabrier — España
Golijov — Megalopolis Suite
Falla — Suite No. 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat
Wednesday Performance
Bellini — Overture to Norma
Schubert — Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished”
Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 4
Experience the legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the veteran leadership of Music Director Emeritus for Life Riccardo Muti as the venerated ensemble makes a triumphant return to Naples for two consecutive nights of exquisite music.
The first evening’s program transports the audience to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean coast. The journey begins in Muti’s native Italy with a boisterous overture by Donizetti and lavish ballet music by Verdi, followed by a visit to the mountains of southern Spain with vivacious dance-inspired works by Falla and Chabrier. The tour takes a brief pause for Osvaldo Golijov’s Megalopolis Suite, which includes music from his score to the 2024 release of Francis Ford Coppola’s latest epic. Its world premiere debuts in Chicago just before the holidays, allowing Artis—Naples patrons to be among the first to experience this riveting music live.
The second evening opens with a work Riccardo Muti knows well: Bellini’s Overture to Norma. He previously recorded Norma, a prime example of the distinctly Italian bel canto genre, with musicians from the Florence-based Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The opera tells of the story of the conflicting loyalties of the High Priestess of the Druids, Norma, who is torn between her duty to her people and her love for the father of her two children, the leader of the Roman forces occupying her home of Gaul. In the evening’s middle segment, Muti and the orchestra take on Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony, nicknamed for its unique two-movement structure and often cited as the first Romantic symphony due to its emphasis on lyric impulse. One of Tchaikovsky’s best symphonies, his Fourth, with its recurring “fate” motive, closes out the evening as the orchestra takes listeners through a range of emotions, from gloom to sorrow before a slow recovery evolves into a celebration of life.
Music and Museum
All Visiting Orchestras tickets include same-day admission to the The Baker Museum. Special museum hours on day of the performance: Noon-7:30pm. In addition, the doors to Hayes Hall will open 60 minutes prior to this performance. Arrive early to enjoy the exhibitions and light fare available at Heidi's Place.
