Carmina Burana

Unique extraordinary date for the monumental symphonic and choral concert of Carmina Burana.

Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff between 1935 and 1936, and is based on 24 poems found in the medieval poetic texts of the same name, created by goliards and clerics vagantes. The full title is "Carmina burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris, comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis".
The composition was first performed on June 8, 1937 in Frankfurt am Main, while the Italian premiere took place on October 10, 1942 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. After the first performance in Frankfurt, Orff achieved great success, and the cantata was performed in other German cities and, despite being heavily obstructed by the Nazi regime due to the erotic tone of some songs, it became the most well-known musical work composed during the Nazi period.

The work does not follow a precise plot but part of the structure of the composition is based on the concept of the Wheel of Fortune: indeed, on the first page of the collection of poems, the wheel is represented with four phrases positioned around it.

The piece "O Fortuna" opens and closes the cycle and is perhaps the most famous piece of the composition: it is often presented in apocalyptic or powerfully dramatic situations.