Grieg: Esa-Pekka Salonen/Philharmonia ***
Royal Festival Hall, 26th November 2015
“You’re not an emperor, you’re an onion!” muses Peer Gynt, looking back on his life. He peels back the layers of an onion, recounting his many different guises… a rogue who realises too late that it’s the love of a faithful woman that means the most to him. Movements from Grieg’s incidental music to Ibsen’s play are familiar classics – “Morning”, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” – but we rarely get the opportunity to hear them in any context. This Philharmonia concert allowed us to get beneath Peer’s skin a little, even if there wasn’t time to dig too deeply.
Sam Bond (Peer Gynt) and Lisa Ellis (Woman in Green)
© Philharmonia | Marina Vidor
Read the full review on Bachtrack.