Marin Alsop Leads BSO in World Premiere of Symphonic Play: 'Wagner: A Composer Fit for a King' 4/19 & 20

Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a special Off the Cuff performance of the world premiere of Didi Balle's symphonic play A Composer Fit For A King: Wagner & Ludwig II on Friday, April 19 at 8:15 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore and Saturday, April 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The symphonic play will feature selections from Wagner's The Ring Cycle illuminated through performances by actors Richard Poe, Pomme Koch and Tony Tsendeas. Please see below for complete program details.

A Composer Fit for a King: Wagner & Ludwig II was commissioned by Maestra Alsop and the BSO to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the polarizing German composer Richard Wagner.

"He really changed the course of classical music history through his composing. ...On a purely musical basis, his music is absolutely stunning. The way he was able to expand the opera so every motive represents a character or emotion was a whole new idea. And The Ring cycle is not to be matched," said Marin Alsop in an interview with Overture magazine. "But I didn't want to skate through the controversial issues, either."

Alsop contacted Dide Balle to create this new symphonic play, which explores the backstage drama behind the making of The Ring. The play examines Wagner's relationship with the fanatical patron, 18-year-old King Ludwig, who rescued the composer from financial ruin and helped bring his masterpieces to the stage. The performance will feature excerpts from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Siegfried's Idyll. The play marks Alsop's fourth collaboration with Balle and the BSO's third.