Christmas with the Brothers Grimm

Christmas with the Brothers Grimm


Ciconia Consort – The Hague String Orchestra
Dick van Gasteren, conductor
Maria Pedano, soprano
Talitha van der Spek, mezzo-soprano

Concerts

Sunday 10 December 2023 – 3:00 p.m.
 Theater ‘t Voorhuys, Emmeloord
TICKETS

Saturday 16 December 2023 – 3:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
Nieuwe Kerk, Den Haag
extra: diner Pavlov + €28
TICKETS
concert with educational childcare (4-10 years) subscribe via info@ciconiaconsort.nl

Sunday 17 December 2023 – 3:00 p.m.
Grote Kerk, Naarden
TICKETS
concert with educational childcare (4-10 years) subscribe via info@ciconiaconsort.nl

Wednesday 20 December 2023 – 8:00 p.m.
Theater Hanzehof, Zutphen
TICKETS
concert with educational childcare (4-10 years) subscribe via info@ciconiaconsort.nl

Friday 22 December 2023 – 8:15 p.m.
Theater Dakota, Den Haag
TICKETS

Saturday 23 December 2023 – 8:15 p.m.
De Lievekamp, Oss
TICKETS

Programme

Max Reger – Lyrisches Andante ‘Liebestraum’                    
Robert Volkmann – Serenade No. 2 in F Major
Sigrid Karg-Elert – Noel in E, opus 142 nr 10        
Arnold Schönberg – Weihnachtsmusik
Carl Reinecke – Weihnachtslied
Engelbert Humperdinck – Highlights from the opera Hänsel und Gretel   

Nowadays we watch ‘Harry Potter’ en masse, but in earlier Christmas times ‘fantasy’ lived in the form of classic fairy tales, like the fairy tales of the brothers Grimm. Hansel and Gretel contains all the elements of a real Christmas tale: two poor woodcutter’s children, driven by hunger, get lost in the woods and finally return home safely through a haunted gingerbread house. Isn’t it? Or should we see it differently?

In Germany, the opera Hänsel und Gretel is a popular Christmas outing for the whole family. With a compilation of Humperdinck’s famous opera, the Ciconia Consort joins this wonderful Christmas tradition. Talitha van der Spek and Maria Pedano guarantee the necessary vocal and visual spectacle. The concert ‘Christmas with the Brothers Grimm’ is a program for the whole family, in which conductor Van Gasteren first takes you along typical German Christmas traditions, from ‘Christkind’ to ‘Frankish Lebkuchen’, and in which surprisingly beautiful Christmas music by Karg-Elert, Schönberg and Reinecke can be heard.

Talitha van der Spek mezzo-sopraan
The lyrical mezzo-soprano Talitha van der Spek studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Margreet Honig. She performs oratorio, opera and song repertoire. With her wide range she sings both the low alto parts of Bach’s Passions and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, as well as the mezzo repertoire such as Bizet’s Carmen and Lully’s Armide. Talitha loves to tell stories and that is the drive behind every piece of music she performs.She has performed with various baroque ensembles such as Les Eléments, Le donne di Ferrara with Claron McFadden, and baroque ensemble Eik&Linde. She also sang in The Netherlands and abroad in many passions and oratorios with conductors such as Jos van Veldhoven, Jos Vermunt, Alfredo Bernardini and Nico van der Meel. Talitha specialized in opera and music theatre. She performed the title role from Carmen (Bizet) at Dutch National Opera (open day), several productions at the Nationale Reisopera (Dritte Dame-Zauberflöte and Vendredi in Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoe) and at Holland Opera. She often collaborates with the dance company LeineRoebana and the gamelan ensemble Kyai Fatahillah with modern music by Iwan Gunawan (Light). She also danced in these performances. In the song repertoire she forms a permanent duo with pianist Harimada Kusuma.

Maria Pedano soprano
https://mariapedano.com/about/