Dvořák Stabat MaterHong Kong Arts FestivalThe 45th Hong Kong Arts Festival

Life-affirming Dvořák
Beautiful musical catharsis

The Stabat Mater is a 13th century poem that describes the imagined sufferings of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross. Over centuries it has attracted many composers, including Palestrina, Verdi and Rossini.

Completed in 1877, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater is thought to be the composer’s response to the death of three of his children in infancy. Despite the pain of this loss, the moving cantata in ten parts is a statement of faith and belief expressed in ravishing beautiful music. Its combination of human voice and rich orchestral colour forms a majestic, expressive arc, stretching from initial despair to a final, affirmative catharsis. Premiered in 1880, the work was subsequently performed in April 1882 in Brno where it was conducted by Janáček.

This Dvořák masterpiece will be performed under the baton of Brno-born conductor Jaroslav Kyzlink, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of National Theatre Brno between 2001 and 2003, and the newly appointed Music Director of the National Theatre in Prague.

Latecomers will not be admitted