Laurence Equilbey conducts Weber and Mendelssohn — With Alexei Volodin, Sheva Tehoval, and Anna Reinhold

The inimitable Laurence Equilbey leads the Insula orchestra in this fairytale 2018 program from Paris's Seine Musicale! The orchestra kicks off the festivities with two works by Weber, seasoned veteran of theatrical music: first the Oberon overture, then—in the company of piano virtuoso Alexei Volodin—the Konzertstück in F Minor, a time-honored favorite that traces the odyssey of a Crusader and his wife who anxiously awaits his return.

To close out the evening, the ensemble joins the accentus choir with stupendous soloists Sheva Tehoval and Anna Reinhold for a magical interpretation of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream. The composer was just 17 when he wrote the overture, initially without plans for a full suite—but that was before the King of Prussia heard and loved it! In 1842, sixteen years after the overture's composition, Mendelssohn acquiesced to the monarch's request for more incidental music to accompany his favorite stage plays. The result is one of the uncontested gems of the repertoire, a vivid evocation of the fairytale world of Shakespeare's beloved comedy, performed with great gusto by Equilbey and her ensembles.