Russian stage director Kirill Serebrennikov’s fearlessness, which one can almost physically feel in his productions, fascinates some as much as it confuses others. His radical reading of Wagner’s last magnificent opera at Wiener Staatsoper considers Parsifal as an opera of liberation, namely as a liberation from oneself through the realisation that the path to freedom can only be tackled by oneself. One central idea of this production is the doubled Parsifal, who drags his old ego of the past around with himself in order to leave it behind at the end. Opposite the wavering Parsifal figures stands a powerful Kundry. The whole cast excels, especially the central pairing of Jonas Kaufmann as Parsifal and Elina Garanca in her role debut as Kundry: two icons in prime vocal form and immersed in their roles to a degree that transcends the hype that surrounds them. Philippe Jordan conducting the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper opts for a bright, fast Wagner. “A luxury cast for Wagner’s wonder sounds” Salzburger Nachrichten / “Serebrennikov conjures up worlds of images that never let you go.” FAZ
Tristan und Isolde
If there is one work that has been crucial to Barenboim’s conducting career, it has to Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. From Bayreuth to Berlin through Milan and New-York, the Argentinian conductor has been working on piercing its secrets for more than 35 years, going as far as to author a book on the subject. In the pit of the newly renovated Staatsoper and at the head of the Staatskapelle Berlin, he once again makes magic happen. Dmitri Tcherniakov, no stranger to the work for having already staged it at the Mariinsky in 2005, delves into the psychological aspects of the drama and works to make the mythical lovers as relatable to as possible. He thus gives a new realistic depth to this opus, probably the most fascinating and odd among the wagnerian corpus. The Act III, which sees the tragic end of Tristan und Isolde’s doomed love affair, is striking by ist powerful simplicity, and the famous Liebestod, where Isolde bids farewell to her dead lover, reaches unparalleled levels of emotionality and intensity. Thanks to his demanding direction of the cast, but also to the precise light work by Gleb Filshtinsky, Tcherniakov once again manages to craft intense images which effectively resonate with the rapturous and voluptuous enchantments of the score. To complete this high-level artistic crew, the Staatsoper called upon some of the finest Wagner experts: Andreas Schager, already a superb Parsifal and a regular guest at the Bayreuth Festival, is Tristan, Anja Kampe is an unforgettable Isolde, and Ekaterina Gubanova thrills as Brangäne.
Tristan und Isolde
Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is one of Bernstein’s finest opera recordings and still considered exemplary. Leonard Bernstein’s way of conducting this opera is unique and he makes orchestra and singers perform at their very best. The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks was the only German orchestra with which Leonard Bernstein regularly collaborated for many years and it has numbered among the top ten orchestras in the world. A star cast of singers with Peter Hofmann and Hildegard Behrens in the title roles, completes this exceptional semi-staged production. Bernstein’s 1981 recording of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is still considered an outstanding interpretation and has set the bar until this day. When he heard this performance Karl Böhm said, “Bernstein has conducted Tristan und Isolde the way that Wagner intended it to be conducted”.
Lohengrin
This most anticipated premiere features Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala in their first ever Wagnerian roles as Elsa and Lohengrin under the baton of Christian Thielemann, doubtlessly today’s foremost conductor of this repertoire. Outstanding Wagnerians Evelyn Herlitzius and Tomasz Konieczny are starring as the opponents Ortrud and Friedrich von Telramund and Georg Zeppenfeld is Heinrich der Vogler at the prestigious Semperoper Dresden, with the Staatskapelle Dresden in the pit. The production with its psychologic depth, timeless setting and stunning costumes is staged after the original production by Christine Mielitz, the internationally acclaimed director, who is affiliated with the Semperoper since her beginnings alongside Harry Kupfer. “Netrebko and Beczala are Wagner Stars (New York Times)”; “Pure bliss! Never ending applause! (FAZ)”
Tannhäuser
“A real feast of music! Where to begin, where to end with praise for this Tannhäuser at the Berlin Staatsoper in the Schillertheater? It sounds the way one has always dreamt of it
but all too rarely heard it”, reported the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung with considerable enthusiasm. This was due above all to Barenboim’s musical magic: “It is with nuance and fine balance that Richard Wagner’s music now rises from the orchestra pit” (FAZ), borne aloft by brilliant singers. Peter Seiffert in particular as Tannhäuser celebrates a true “triumph”, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Staged by choreographer Sasha Waltz on a fantastic stage by Pia Maier Schriever with a circular tunnel of light in the manner
of Hieronymus Bosch, the Berlin Tannhäuser deserves to be described as “world-class” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
Tannhäuser
This exciting and compelling modern-day adaptation of Richard Wagner’s fable of love and redemption features one of the great Wagner singers of our time in the lead role, Peter Seiffert. As a nimble, youthful-voiced Tannhäuser, he plays alongside Petra Maria Schnitzer as Elisabeth. As the goddess of love, Elisabeth’s counterpart Venus is portrayed by the stunning Béatrice Uria-Monzon. Displaying particular vigor and dynamism is Günther Groissböck as Hermann, here in the guise of an art dealer. Sebastian Weigle, the Liceu’s principal conductor, gives a performance that is ‘full of vitality and visibly inspired’, as the Spanish daily ABC wrote.
Parsifal
It was in Zurich that Richard Wagner, as he himself noted, obtained the inspiration for ‘Parsifal’ in 1857. And it was the Zurich Opera which, in 1913, was the first opera house outside of Bayreuth that was allowed to perform the work. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Wagner’s ‘stroke of genius’, we can once again experience ‘the purest Wagner bliss’, as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung put it, thanks to Hans Hollmann’s production and Bernard Haitink’s inspired conducting of the Zurich Opernorchester.
Lohengrin
With Jonas Kaufmann’s long-awaited role debut as Lohengrin and Anja Harteros as Elsa, Wagner’s epic of love and loss was not only the opening premiere of the Munich Opera Festival, but its uncontested highlight as well. Which is why the performance was followed not only by a longsold- out house, but also by tens of thousands of spectators at a live public viewing event in Munich and Vienna.
Tannhäuser
From the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich 1995 Recorded under studio conditions from the stage of the National Theatre in Munich, David Alden’s challenging production of Tannhäuser is a desolate ‘endgame’, far-removed from traditional, representational stagings. One of the most iconoclastic interpreters of classical opera, Alden stirs up the visionary, erotic and archetypal elements in Wagner’s work. The Bavarian State Opera fields a top-flight cast of Wagnerian singers includes René Kollo in the title role, Waltraud Meier, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Claes-Håkon Ahnsjö, Bernd Weikl and Nadine Secunde. Zubin Mehta conducts a musically outstanding performance. (Sung in German)