Hugo Wolf’s
Italian Songbook

Venue 1, The Brunton, Musselburgh

Sun 12 Sept 3pm

Duration: approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Baritone
Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Tenor
Tenor

Directors
Piano

Half-price tickets for people in full time education. Student ID will be required on admittance

Hugo Wolfs Italian Songbook

Photo credit: Clockwise Rowan Pierce (photo: Gerard Collett ); Robert Murray ( photo: Gerard Collett ); Kathryn Rudge (photo: Sussie Ahlberg); James Way (photo: Ben McKee); centre, Roderick Williams (photo: Benjamin Ealovega)

The smallest things can give the greatest pleasure
The smallest things can be the best of all

For his final masterpiece, Hugo Wolf looked south – to Italy – and produced a collection of tiny jewel-like songs that paint a kaleidoscopic portrait of village life.

The men and women of his Italian Songbook fall in and out of love, with squabbles and petty jealousies heard alongside serenades and love songs of great beauty.  Darker undercurrents also occasionally emerge in a songbook that Wolf filled with humour and charm, sarcasm and tenderness, delight and despair.

Like Mozart, Wolf creates characters that are astonishingly precise, vivid and detailed, but also somehow universal. Taking inspiration from the world of Cosi fan tutte, this vibrant village community is recreated by four singers – friends and rivals in love and life – presided over by someone who has ‘seen it all’ but maybe has still much to learn…

Little things, though, mean a lot. And Wolf’s tiny scenes from village life paint a bigger picture – a whole world of human frailty, passion and pain.

Download concert programme

An utterly and unexpectedly disarming performance. The deft, simple staging was very touching and very credible… Williams is a superb communicator.

The Times

Brunton Theatre

The Brunton Hall, as it was originally known, was designed by Rowand Anderson, Kininmonth and Paul and opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, in 1971.

It is named after John D Brunton, who left a bequest of £700,000 to the people of Musselburgh on his death in 1951, specifying that it must be used to build a public hall for the community.

As well as the concert hall, the building also contains a 296-seat theatre.

The large stained glass windows, depicting themes from the sea, were designed by Glasgow-based artist Deborah Campbell and commissioned by the Brunton Theatre Trust.

Brunton Theatre

Address

Brunton Theatre
EH21 6AA

Getting there by bus

There are regular bus services through Musselburgh with a stop outside the venue.
Travel time from the centre of Edinburgh is about 30 minutes.
Lothian Buses: 15, 26, 30, 40, 44 (0131 555 6363)
First Bus: 108 (0871 200 2233)
East Lothian Buses: 113 (0131 555 6363)
Eve Coaches: 129 (01368 865 500)

Getting there by train

Musselburgh station is about 15 minutes walk away or you can catch the No. 30 bus from the station.

Getting there by car

Musselburgh is just off Edinburgh City Bypass, not far from Fort Kinnaird Retail Park and Asda.

Accessibility

Parking:

Free car park at rear of venue plus on street parking including 6 Disabled Parking bays 20m from the entrance plus 2 more in car park. We are unable to book these as they are public.

Terrain:

Paved

Induction Loop:
Yes

Toilets:
There are accessible toilets on the ground floor in the main foyer and off the upstairs bar of Venue 1.

Wheelchair Access:

Ramps at Ladywell Way and North High Street entrances. Box Office has a lowered counter. Lift access to concert hall. Hall has flat area at front for wheelchairs.

Please advise our box office staff when booking tickets of any specific assistance you require and if you would like to use the loop system.

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Contact Address

Lammermuir Festival
Poldrate
Haddington
East Lothian
EH41 4DA



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