Work
The Emperor and the Nightingale
for narrator and orchestra
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About
Commissioned in 1985 by the Wellington Regional Orchestra (now the Vector Wellington Orchestra) for a family concert under Sir William Southgate, as part of the 1986 New Zealand International Festival of the Arts in Wellington, The Emperor and the Nightingale has subsequently been performed by a number of New Zealand regional and youth orchestras.
Commissioned note
Commissioned by the Wellington Regional Orchestra with the assistance of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and the New Zealand composers' Foundation
Text note
Text adapted by Jenny McLeod from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Nightingale", using the English version from "The Yellow Fairy Book" (1894) edited by Andrew Lang (1844-1912) and translated by Leonora Blanche Alleyne Lang (1851-1933)
Performance history
12 Oct 2008: Family Concert
29 Jul 2010: Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with conductor Uwe Grodd at Michael Fowler Centre, in Wellington
09 Mar 2012: Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with conductor Hamish McKeich at Michael Fowler Centre, in Wellington.
08 Oct 2022: Opus Orchestra | Storytime (Tauranga)
09 Oct 2022: Opus Orchestra | Storytime (Rotorua)
First performed at the International Festival of the Arts in Wellington, in 1986