Strauss’ Four Last Songs

Overview Soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha brings her magnificent voice to Strauss’ exploration of what it means to be human The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is thrilled to present the Australian debut of Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha . Winner of the Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and the prestigious Salzburg Festival’s Herbert von Karajan prize, Rangwanasha is one of the most exciting sopranos singing today. Combining sumptuous tone and tenderness with sheer vocal power, she will perform with an expanded Australian Chamber Orchestra featuring winds, piano and percussion, directed by Richard Tognetti . Strauss ’ Four Last Songs is a wistful farewell, an intoxicating combination of beauty and darkness that comes together in transcendent lyricism. He wrote them at 84, looking back on the life that was, and forward to eternal rest. Dedicated with love to his wife of six decades, Strauss meditates on our inevitable mortality without ever giving in to