Nicola Luisotti Concerts

San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances are pleased to present Music Director Nicola Luisotti and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in concert with cellist Amit Peled, in a delightful program that spans three centuries.

The afternoon starts with Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25, usually known by the nickname "Classical." This lighthearted work, completed in 1917 during a summer holiday, was heavily influenced by the delightful symphonies of Joseph Haydn, who created the model and set the standard for the symphonic form in the Classic Period. Next, to highlight Haydn's influences even further, the orchestra travels back to the late 1700s to perform his Cello Concerto in C major, with cellist Amit Peled. Professor of cello at the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University and frequent soloist with orchestras worldwide, Amit Peled is a sought-after guest artist at music festivals and is admired for his "simply gorgeous sound" (Baltimore Sun).

The final composition on the program is Luigi Cherubini's Symphony in D major, offering audiences a very special opportunity to hear this rarely heard symphonic masterwork. Considered by Beethoven his greatest contemporary, Cherubini is best known for his operas and sacred works, producing only one symphony in his prolific career. He writes expressively and captures the dramatic flair that fit so naturally to his operatic writing.

Behold "the brilliance of Luisotti's orchestral conducting" and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra's "thrillingly great playing" (San Francisco Chronicle) in an afternoon of glorious music.

"Under his baton, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra sparkles, shimmers, storms, and, most importantly, sings the music." –San Francisco Examiner

Tickets are just $25!

Nicola Luisotti Conducts Prokofiev, Haydn, Cherubini
Sunday, June 3, 2012, 3pm
All Tickets $25!

Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Cello: Amit Peled
San Francisco Opera Orchestra

Prokofiev: "Classical" Symphony
Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major
Cherubini: Symphony in D major


  • Fri 10/28/11 8:00pm

  • Sun 06/3/12 3:00pm


These concerts are made possible, in part, by the Amici di Nicola of Camerata.