Les Siècles (01/10)

Les Siècles Pierre Bleuse conductorRachel Willis-Sørensen sopranoJudith Pisar, Leah Pisar narratorsPhilharmonia Chorus Maîtrise de Radio France An evening under the banner of "America" blending two major works by Bernstein and Dvořák to honour memory and exile.

Elise Arancio Hommage au soleil (winner of the Pisar Prize 2026, world premiere)Bernstein Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish", for orchestra, mixed choir, children's choir, narrator(s) and soprano (1963), based on the text A Dialogue with God by Samuel Pisar (2003) Dvořák Symphony No.

9 "From the New World" in Aramaic and English, surtitled in French In a few words The "Kaddish" symphony was premiered in 1963 in Boston with a text composed of excerpts from the Hebrew Kaddish prayer (the prayer for the dead) and parts written by Bernstein himself.

Dissatisfied with the result, Bernstein, in the twilight of his life, asked his friend Samuel Pisar, an Auschwitz survivor and a great defender of human rights and memory, to conceive a new text a few years later.

It is this version that we will hear tonight, where the American diplomat and writer, with incredible force, evokes both his intimate memory and his premonitions of a worrying future. A text that still resonates with today's world events.

It will be read in English by the author's wife and youngest daughter. As a preamble, the premiere of the new piece by young American Elise Arancio, 4th laureate of the Pisar Prize 2026, will be given.

In the second part, another great page of exile, Dvořák's "From the New World" symphony, whose melodious and contrasting themes and a richly varied orchestration have made it so powerful and popular. Co-production Théâtre des Champs-Élysées | Les Siècles