Melbourne Chamber Orchestra Will Perform OVERGROWN PATHS

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) will continue its 2026 season with Overgrown Paths, a richly evocative program led by Artistic Director Sophie Rowell, who directs from the violin and is featured as soloist in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Blending music and poetry, the program offers a concert experience of lyricism, reflection, and emotional depth.

Touring to Melbourne, Yackandandah and Mornington from 7–10 May, the program invites audiences across Victoria to encounter one of classical music's most enduring works in a striking new light.

At the heart of the program is Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, brought vividly to life through the inclusion of the composer's original sonnets, delivered by acclaimed Australian actor Helen Morse, one of the country's most distinguished stage performers. Her performance threads spoken word throughout the music, illuminating the imagery, drama, and storytelling at the core of Vivaldi's celebrated work, reflecting a career spanning major theatre companies, festivals, and recital collaborations across Australia and internationally.

Artistic Director Sophie Rowell said: “I've always been drawn to the way different art forms speak to and shape one another. Music is influenced by art, architecture, literature, and dance, and in turn, it feeds back into those worlds. Alongside that is my fascination with music as a form of conversation both between performers, and between performers and audience.

In that context, bringing poetry into a concert feels completely natural. It adds another layer to that exchange by giving voice to something that is often felt but unspoken, enhancing what is otherwise a purely musical dialogue.

To have an actor of Helen Morse's calibre give voice to these words adds an entirely new dimension. Her distinctive characterisation will draw out the imagery and drama woven into the music, and in so doing will deepen the impact of these much-loved works. My hope is that it will allow audiences to experience them in a more immediate and meaningful way.”

Morse's role extends beyond The Four Seasons, with her narration also shaping Libby Croad's Portraits for string orchestra. Each movement is paired with poetry by Eleanor Percy, creating an interplay between text and sound that deepens the emotional and narrative resonance of the music.

The program opens with the warmth and charm of Hugo Wolf's Italian Serenade, before moving into Croad's Portraits and selections from Leoš Janáček's On an Overgrown Path, arranged for string orchestra.

Presented across multiple performances, Overgrown Paths offers a particularly meaningful way to celebrate Mother's Day, with the Melbourne performance on Sunday 10 May providing a natural centrepiece to the weekend. Anchored by the enduring beauty of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and enriched by poetry and narration, the program creates an atmosphere of reflection and connection, inviting audiences to share in a cultural experience that is both intimate and emotionally resonant.