A macabre visit to the house of the devil
“The centre of the earth opens up, belching flames. From this volcano emerge countless spectres and furies, who torment Don Juan and chain him up. In his despair, he is swallowed up along with all the monsters.” It was in these chilling terms that choreographer Gasparo Angiolini described the end of Gluck’s ballet Don Juan in 1761. Ten years later, Luigi Boccherini paraphrased this infernal scene in his Symphony Op. 12 No. 4, nicknamed ‘La Casa del Diavolo’. This macabre visit to the house of the devil resonates with the dark Sturm und Drang of Haydn’s Symphony No. 49 (‘La Passione’), while the string quartet …miserere… by Louis Andriessen conjures up the restrained ambiance of the Purgatorio. In the distance glitters Mozart’s angelic Symphony No. 33.
* Not in York
** Only in York