Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra and of Opéra National de Lyon, Daniele Rustioni returns to the Hallé having been named “Best Conductor of the Year” at the 2022 International Opera Awards.

Wagner’s Prelude to Act One of Die Meistersinger climaxes with a compositional tour-de-force as he effortlessly combines five of its main themes. Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto has been described as ‘the dearest, the heart’s jewel’ of the 19th-century German concertos for the instrument. It’s performed by Francesca Dego, also a returning guest, whose playing has been lauded for its ‘crystalline precision’ (The Scotsman). Liszt’s symphonic poem Les préludes plumbs the mystery of life and what lies beyond it, and Richard Strauss’s suite from Der Rosenkavalier encapsulates the opera with its sparkling waltzes, sumptuous orchestration and ravishing love music.