On Friday, March 14, at 8:45 PM, in the Sala Giotto at Padova Congress, OPV will perform Mahler's Symphony No. 2 as part of the second edition of the World Health Forum Veneto. Admission is free, but reservation is required on Eventbrite. Joining OPV, conducted by Marco Angius, will be soprano Yuliya Pogrebnyak, contralto Alessandra Visentin, and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Choir, directed by Maestro Cristiano dell’Oste.
As part of the second edition of the World Health Forum Veneto—an event created to analyze the present and explore the future of medical sciences and technologies that can improve life—the Chamber of Commerce of Padua, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo, Venicepromex, Fondazione Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, together with the WHFV Organizing Committee, are presenting a special concert titled Resurrection to commemorate the five years since the COVID-19 Pandemic and the efforts of the Veneto healthcare system to protect public health.
As part of the three-day program of events and meetings, on Friday, March 14, 2025, starting at 8:45 PM in Sala Giotto at Padova Congress, OPV will perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 for soloists, choir, and orchestra, the composer’s most grand and evocative symphony, in the version for orchestra by Gilbert Kaplan and Rob Mates.
Accompanying the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, conducted by Marco Angius, on stage at Padova Congress will be two of the most renowned voices in today’s vocal scene: soprano Yuliya Pogrebnyak and contralto Alessandra Visentin. Completing the ensemble is the Friuli Venezia Giulia Choir, directed by Maestro Cristiano dell’Oste.
The World Health Forum Veneto is designed, managed, and coordinated by Regione del Veneto, Comune di Padova, Camera di Commercio Padova, Fondazione Cariparo, Università di Padova, Venicepromex, Fondazione SSP, Agenda Digitale del Veneto, Teatro Stabile del Veneto, and Fondazione Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto.
Mahler composed his Second Symphony between 1887 and 1894, while he was director of the Opera Theater of Budapest and Hamburg. After an initial partial performance, Mahler premiered the complete work in Berlin on December 13, 1896. The three original purely orchestral movements were expanded with two additional movements featuring vocal parts: the Lied Urlicht (Primordial Light), whose text comes from the famous poetic collection by Arnim and Brentano Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn), and a fifth and final movement, featuring a choir, soprano, and contralto soloists, set to an Ode by Klopstock, Die Auferstehung (Resurrection). With this Finale, through the concept of resurrection, Mahler believed he was offering an answer to the problems and anxieties that tormented him. In fact, the composer continued throughout his life to question the meaning of pain, suffering, and death. He translated this search into music, passing away without finding a solution, but leaving behind a musical monument, one of the truest expressions of the dramatic historical moment that we are experiencing today even more than in the past.
INFORMATION
Free admission with mandatory reservation until seats are fully booked on Eventbrite. More information at www.opvorchestra.it.
📞 Tel: +39 049 656848 / 656626
Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto
Founded in October 1966, the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto has established itself as one of Italy’s leading orchestras. It performs around 120 concerts and opera productions each year, including its own season in Padua, concerts throughout the Veneto region, and performances for major concert societies and festivals in Italy and abroad.
The orchestra’s artistic and musical direction has been entrusted to C. Scimone (from its founding until 1983), P. Maag, B. Giuranna, G. Turchi, M. Brunello, and Filippo Juvarra. In September 2015, Marco Angius took on the role of musical and artistic director.
OPV has collaborated with some of the greatest names in international concert music, including M. Argerich, V. Ashkenazy, R. Chailly, R. Goebel, S. Isserlis, L. Kavakos, T. Koopman, R. Lupu, Sir N. Marriner, O. Mustonen, A. S. Mutter, M. Perahia, I. Perlman, and M. Rostropovich.
The orchestra has been featured in numerous television broadcasts for Rai5 and has an extensive discography of over 60 recordings for major labels, culminating in the Abbiati Prize 2023.
In January 2024, conducted by Marco Angius, OPV performed Luigi Nono’s Prometeo at San Lorenzo Church (now Ocean Space) in Venice, the original venue of its historic 1984 premiere.
The orchestra is supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Veneto Region, the Province of Padua, and the Municipality of Padua.
The World Health Forum Veneto is born with a specific purpose: to analyze the present and delve into the future of medical sciences and technologies that can improve life.
