Abu Dhabi festival

A deeply moving production in which Romeo Castellucci conjures up an excavation that is simultaneously macabre and contemplative, where, as if from a pit – that of the dead, that of the orchestra – Mahler's restless metaphysics, grippingly embodied, emerge. With Mahler’s full expressive fever, Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’, a vast existential and metaphysical poem, explores the question of finiteness and the hope of life after death. Borrowed from a poem by Klopstock (1724-1803), the term ‘Resurrection’ is the point on the horizon towards which the five movements converge, in a work that also draws from the melodic treasure of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (‘The Boy’s Magic Horn’). After an imposing funerary piece, quoting the famous Dies Irae, the memory of folk celebration relieves the tension, symbolizing the strength and endurance of vital instinct. But anxiety soon resurges in the form of an ironic, infernal ronde, streaked with desperate dissonances and culminating in a poignant melody, ‘Urlicht’ (‘Original light’), with the voice of the alto singing the distress of humankind. Powerful and driven by internal struggles, the vast Finale resounds until the murmur of the choir after an apocalyptic silence: ‘I will die to live.’

The Festival concludes in a rousing style with a performance by the China National Symphony Orchestra, established in 1996, which has captivated audiences throughout China, as well as in Japan, North Korea, Malaysia, and Spain. They have recorded Western classics and Chinese national music.