Past Productions: Gift of the Beloved
Gift of the Beloved
Devised by Elizabeth Mansfield
In musical collaboration with The Peabody Trio
Gift of the Beloved is a unique, dramatic, musical performance, where Beethoven's two great Opus 70 Trios, No 1 in D Major 'Ghost' & No 2 in Eb Major, are interwoven with poetry from Goethe's West-Östlicher Divan - The Poems of West and East.
Goethe's great last poem, inspired by the Divan of Hafiz, the 14th century Persian poet and Sufi master, influenced Beethoven profoundly. The passages chosen were his favourites, 'underlined and tear-stained' according to Walter Knoll, his publisher friend, to whom Beethoven entrusted the collation of his personal library, after his death.
In Gift of the Beloved Elizabeth Mansfield, the Olivier Award nominated UK actress, brings these poems gloriously to life inspired by, and inspiring, the Peabody Trio.
The Peabody Trio
- Violin: Violaine Melançon
- Cello: Natasha Brofsky
- Piano: Seth Knopp
“Incandescent playing of great verve and sensitivity.”
Los Angeles Times
“An unforgettable experience, renewing my faith in the powers of live performance.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“A beautifully polished, lush sound...luminous.”
The New York Times
Visit the Peabody Trio website at: www.peabodytrio.org
Previous performances
- November 2007
- Peabody Institute, Baltimore USA
- May 2005
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- January 2004
- The Chamber Music America Conference, Westin New York at Times Square, NYC, USA
- September 2003
- Smithsonian Freer Gallery, Washington DC, USA
- June 2003
- St John's Smith Square, London, UK
- November 2002
- Boulder and Denver, Colorado, USA
- October 2002
- Baltimore, Maryland USA
