The Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s 2025 Season Opening Gala featuring The Rite of Spring was a truly electrifying experience, marking the perfect blend of bold, audacious music and breathtaking physical performance. Conducted by the immensely talented Umberto Clerici, the program offered a stirring journey through some of the most influential works of the 20th century.
The night began with Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, an impressionistic masterpiece that transported the audience into a dreamlike world, where myth and nature collide in a delicate yet profound sonic landscape. The orchestra's lush, fluid textures perfectly captured Debussy's evocation of a faun lost in an afternoon’s reverie. The piece set a serene yet anticipatory tone for the intensity that was to follow.
Ottorino Respighi's Concerto Gregoriano provided a striking contrast, drawing inspiration from Gregorian chants and evoking a sense of nostalgia through its Baroque revival. Violinist Kristian Winther, performing as the 2025 Artist in Residence, brought extraordinary depth and emotive nuance to the solo parts.
Then came Igor Stravinsky'sThe Rite of Spring, the pièce de résistance of the evening. There is something visceral about this work - it is a primal, unrelenting force of nature that still carries the raw intensity that scandalized Parisian audiences at its 1913 premiere. The orchestra's execution was thrilling, with Clerici drawing out Stravinsky’s revolutionary use of rhythm, dissonance, and orchestration. The strings, in particular, created an ominous tension, while the brass section delivered their shrieks with terrifying ferocity, ensuring that the audience was gripped in a constant state of alert. This was not merely a performance of a piece; it was an experience of its wild, untamed spirit.
The Rite of Spring would not have been nearly as impactful without the astonishing collaboration with Circa, whose performance added an extraordinary physical element to the music. Under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz, Circa pushed the boundaries of contemporary circus, seamlessly intertwining physicality, movement, and theatre with the musical narrative. The circus artists’ breathtaking aerial feats and acrobatics elevated the ritualistic energy of Stravinsky's composition, transforming the orchestra’s soundscape into a fully immersive, sensory experience.
The dancers' strength and grace accentuated the primal and sacrificial themes of the ballet, providing a striking visual representation of the chaos and urgency conveyed through the music. The marriage of Circa's intense physicality with the raw emotion of Stravinsky's score was nothing short of electrifying.
Circa’s contribution was not simply an adjunct to the performance—it was integral to the very spirit of the piece. The company's fearless, boundary-pushing approach to circus art complemented Stravinsky's vision of ritualistic, atavistic power and added a layer of urgency and immediacy to the performance. The synergy between the orchestra and Circa was a true triumph, making this more than just a concert; it was an evocative theatrical event that demanded full engagement from the audience. It was art in its purest form—bold, unpredictable, and alive. When the music rose to its final thundering climax the lights literally went out and after a brief silence the lights came on to thunderous applause and one of the longest-standing ovations your reviewer can remember at QPAC.
Overall, the 2025 Season Opening Gala was an outstanding celebration of the audacity and innovation that defines both the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Circa. The performances of The Rite of Spring - both musical and physical - were an unforgettable testament to the way art can transcend boundaries, create new experiences, and challenge our perceptions of what is possible.
It was a thrilling night that reminded us how the power of invention and collaboration can create something truly revolutionary.