Based on a collection of 13 th century poetry found in a Benedictine monastery known as the Burana Codex, CARMINA BURANA embodies themes of love, lust and the lewd pleasures of drinking, eloquently camouflaged by Latin and old-German text.

In 1936, German composer Carl Orff set 24 of the medieval poems to music and the following year CARMINA BURANA received its world premiere as a staged production with the Frankfurt Opera. An immediate hit, CARMINA BURANA has kept its hold on audiences ever since and occupies a unique place in the world of classical music. Incorporating musical styles from simple chant to seemingly rock-inspired rhythms, its remarkable crossover ability has seen it appear worldwide in television commercials from Old Spice to Reebok and films from Natural Born Killers to Excalibur.

Its rival on the classical charts, Maurice Ravel’s staggeringly popular BOLERO was written in 1928. With its repetitive, hypnotic introduction (18 times to be exact), BOLERO is most recognized as the love theme for Dudley Moore and Bo Derek in the movie 10. Ravel originally composed the piece for the ballet, inspired by the mechanical sounds of a factory he had visited with his engineer father. By his own account, BOLERO was “a special and limited experiment”, and before its first performance he issued a warning to listeners to expect just one long, very gradual crescendo!

With more than 300 performers on stage including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, soprano Simona Saturova, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Hugh Russell, the opening night concert promises a thrilling evening and an equally exciting musical year ahead. -- www.tso.ca