James Gaffigan and the OCV sell out all tickets for Mahler's colossal 'Resurrection'

• Mahler's 'Symphony No. 2' features singers Sydney Mancasola and Jamie Barton, and the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana (Choir of the Valencian Government).
• The concert will take place on February 10th at the Auditori de les Arts and on February 11th at the Auditori de Castelló.

Valencia (February 3, 2023). The musical director of Les Arts, James Gaffigan, reunites with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana (OCV) and the Cor de la Generalitat to conduct Gustav Mahler's 'Symphony No. 2', popularly known as the 'Resurrection'.

The public will be able to enjoy the monumental score of the Austrian composer next Friday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Les Arts, where it has sold out all tickets, and also on Saturday the 11th at the Auditori de Castelló.

The American maestro deepens his commitment to the opera house's symphonic programming with this evening dedicated to one of the most representative works of the post-Romantic period. Mahler's 'Second Symphony' is the last of the three symphonic concerts that Gaffigan will offer this 2022-2023 season at Les Arts.

Gaffigan is a renowned Mahlerian who has conducted almost all of his symphonies in the past, including the 'Resurrection'. His conducting of this work with the French National Orchestra and the Radio France Choir at the Saint-Denis Festival in 2014 earned him praise from media outlets such as 'Le Monde', which highlighted his charisma and energy in a performance that "has remained in the public's memory".

On this occasion, it will feature the acclaimed American singers, Jamie Barton and Sydney Mancasola, who will make their long-awaited debut at Les Arts with this concert, where they will lend their voices to the fourth and fifth movements of the choral symphony.

After her performance in 'Aida' at the Teatro Real, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton returns to Spain to sing a contralto role in this opera. The 2017 Beverly Sills Artist Award winner has sung under the baton of conductors such as Marin Alsop, Andrew Davis, Daniel Oren, and Antonio Pappano.

Sydney Mancasola, described by critics as a “enchanting, radiant, and brilliant” singer, is a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Californian soprano also enjoys a remarkable career in Europe, with engagements in Paris, London, and Berlin, among other cities.

Barton will lend her voice to the lied 'Urlicht', which is part of the fourth movement and, subsequently, in the fifth movement, the mezzo, together with Sydney Mancasola and the mixed choir, will perform the hopeful poem 'Die Auferstehung' ('The Resurrection') by the poet Klopstock, which has ended up giving that nickname to the symphony.

The 'Resurrection'

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was a man with a great interest in topics such as death, spirituality and religion, a fact that was influenced by the multiple losses he suffered throughout his life, such as the death of several of his brothers at an early age or even that of his own daughter.

At the same time, his experience as a Jew during a period of rising antisemitism across Europe affected the composer and, consequently, his worldview and his works. A particularly poignant example is the episode in which he was offered the directorship of the Vienna Opera on the condition that he convert to Catholicism, a clause he ultimately accepted.

These concerns and worries are reflected in the 'Symphony No. 2', where he reflects on life, death and resurrection, which are expressed musically with intense contrasts throughout the piece, going from funeral and solemn marches to passages of remarkable tenderness.

The 'Resurrection' is not only considered a work of colossal proportions due to its length, as it is one of the composer's longest, at almost an hour and a half, but also because it requires a large orchestra to achieve the grandiose sound that the score demands.