Term 2, 2003

Our August Concert - Mozart Familiar and Rare

The Sydney University Graduate Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Christopher Bowen, will perform works by Mozart - excerpts from his last opera, The Magic Flute, and the Incidental Music to the "Heroic Drama", Thamos, King in Egypt - in the Great Hall of the University on Sunday, 17 August 2003, at 3.00 pm.

Soloists will be Leslie Martin (Pamina and the Queen of the Night), Amanda Moxham (Papagena), Richard Anderson (Sarastro), Robert Boyd (Tamino), and Timothy Collins (Papageno).

The Magic Flute is one of Mozart's most popular works. By contrast, the incidental music to Thamos, King in Egypt, is one of his rarely heard masterpieces. Thought of very highly by Mozart, it is receiving its first performance in Sydney for many years.

Although separated by more than a decade of the composer's short life, the two works are strongly linked. Both have an Egyptian setting and both are powerfully influenced by the ideas of the eighteenth century Enlightenment and Freemasonry. Mozart himself was a Freemason.The Masonic community to which Mozart belonged was essentially one of liberal intellectuals, concerned with the enlightenment ideals of nature, reason and the brotherhood of man. It was not anti-religious, and membership was quite compatible with Mozart's devout Catholic faith

In a number of aspects, particularly its grand choruses, Thamos is a precursor of The Magic Flute and the two works make for a fascinating double bill.

The Egyptian Connection - Our Poster for the Concert

For a discussion of the Egyptian connection in these works, click here for Kevin Halpin's notes on the Golden Uraeus featured on our flyer or poster (click here to view). It was found in the young pharoah Tutankhamen's tomb.

Bookings

For bookings simply click on this link to be transferred directly to MCA Ticketing where you can purchase tickets through the internet 24 hours a day 7 days a week.You can also purchase tickets by phoning MCA Ticketing on 9645-1611 between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Tickets are $27 each plus a booking fee of $1.35 incl GST. On the day of the concert ( Sunday, 17 August 2003), tickets will need to purchased at the box office at the Great Hall, University of Sydney.