Carmina Burana at National Arts Centre

Often featured in pop culture, Orff’s riveting modern masterpiece for chorus and orchestra illuminates the sensuality and satire in these 13th century poems celebrating everything from cruel fate to the joys of tavern life. An NAC Conductors Program alumni, young Venezuelan conductor Diego Matheuz makes his NAC Orchestra main series debut, leading an all-star cast of Canadian soloists and combined Ottawa choruses for this spellbinding work, alongside nationalistic works by Hungary’s Kodály and Mexico’s Márquez. While the nations are geographically distant, the two works come together to celebrate the universal language of dance.