Celebrating the spirit of Romanticism, the RCO's Opening Night Gala Concert 2018 led by Thomas Hengelbrock features pianist extraordinaire Evgeny Kissin - returning to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for the first time since 1994. Kissin plays Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as the conductor creates a chamber music atmosphere allowing the soloist to enter a musical conversation with a clarinet, then two violins and then again with the orchestra. The program opens with Berlioz's concert overture Le Carnaval Romain with its beautiful English horn solo. Felix Mendelssohn's passionate 'Italian' Symphony is flanked by works from beloved Italian operas such as Gioachino Rossini's Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia and Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo from Act 3.

Composer: Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Gabriel Fauré, Felix Mendelssohn, Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini
Conductor: Thomas Hengelbrock
Venue: Concertgebouw Amsterdam
Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Cast/Soloist: Evgeny Kissin
Program: Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1, Berlioz overture Le Carnaval Romain, Mendelssohn 'Italian' Symphony, Rossini Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia, Puccini Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo from Act 3.
Genre: Concert