Carmina Burana at Sydney Opera House

Carmina Burana is fated to be one of the most famous and recognised of all choral works on the strength of just one number. But that’s just the beginning of this uninhibited and flamboyant piece. The words might have been written down by mediæval monks but the themes are strangely modern and absolutely secular.

Oh Fortune, fickle like the moon… Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is fated to be one of the most famous and recognised of all choral works on the strength of just one number. But that’s just the beginning of this uninhibited and flamboyant piece. The words might have been written down by mediæval monks but the themes are strangely modern and absolutely secular.

To begin, Long Yu will introduce Sydney to Chen Qigang’s ‘Forgotten Enchantments’, described as Ravel with a Chinese accent – all beguiling harmonies and vivid orchestral colours.