Benvenuto Cellini by Berlioz, Do. 29 Aug. 2019, Ab (2019/2019), Unter der Regie von Noa Naamat, Dirigat John Eliot Gardiner, Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, Deutschland

The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique’s five-year commitment to the music of Hector Berlioz – which has seen them showcase varied programmes of the composer’s works across Europe and the United States, and at the BBC Proms over the past four consecutive years – culminated in 2019 by marking the 150th anniversary of Berlioz’s death. In the summer, the ORR and the Monteverdi Choir performed a series of staged concerts of Berlioz’s first opera, in what were the first modern performances of the piece on period instruments. The series opened in Berlioz’s home town: La Côte-Saint-André, before heading to two of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals: the Berliner Festspiele and London’s BBC Proms. The tour then returned to France for a finale at the Opéra Royal, Versailles. Rarely performed today, Benvenuto Cellini received its premiere on 10 September 1838 at the Académie Royale de Musique. The libretto for this opera was inspired by the memoirs of the eponymous 16th-century Florentine sculptor, and was jointly written by Léon de Wailly, Auguste Barbier, and Alfred de Vigny. The score of the work exists in three main versions, and for the 2019 performances John Eliot Gardiner has selected parts of all three, incorporating part of Berlioz’s initial score before the rehearsals in 1838; the version with changes made during the first production; and the revised version created by Berlioz for the Weimar revival of 1852, conducted by Franz Liszt.