The opening concert was as Italian as you can get, and impressive it was. Italy's national symphony orchestra, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, under their conductor since 2005 Sir Antonio Pappano (also of Royal Opera), concentrated the first half on Shakespeare-inspired works set in Italy and, for the second half, a liturgical sequence for Our Lady of Sorrows, Stabat Mater.
Edinburgh's civic dignitaries having taken their seats, the concert began with the overture Rossini wrote when he was 24 for the opera based on Shakespeare's Otello. We heard Bellini's overture for Capulets and Montagues before moving to the ballet with Verdi's Ballabile from Macbeth.
The ten movements of Rossini's Stabat Mater depicted the grief of Jesus's Mother at the Cross sung at times by each of the impressive soloists, as a quartet and with the mighty Edinburgh Festival Chorus. It was a dignified and moving performance. An inspired choice to begin this year's Festival.
Performance: Saturday 6th August 2016 at 8pm