Appropriately for the Wagner anniversary year the new era of the Salzburg Easter Festival under the Artistic Direction of Christian Thielemann begins with a new production of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal with the Staatskapelle Dresden as new orchestra in residence. It will be staged by the German director Michael Schulz. The title role in Richard Wagner’s Parsifal has been cast at the highest level with Johan Botha. At the special request of Christian Thielemann, Wolfgang Koch, one of the outstanding Wagner baritones of our times, takes on two roles: Amfortas and Klingsor. The celebrated mezzo-soprano Michaela Schuster will interpret the role of Kundry. The leading Danish bass and Wagner specialist Stephen Milling will appear as Gurnemanz and the young Bulgarian bass Milcho Borovinov in the role of Titurel.
Elektra
Richard Strauss’s “Elektra” is an Expressionist masterpiece that shakes the listener to the core with its powerfully expressive chords, spooky waltzes and mad dance of triumph. The orchestra is so rich that only the finest orchestras can do full justice to this work, such as the Münchner Philharmoniker here under Christian Thielemann, in a production by Herbert Wernicke recorded at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Topping the superb cast are Linda Watson in the title role, Jane Henschel, Manuela Uhl, Albert Dohmen and René Kollo.
Die Frau ohne Schatten
“A shining hour”, trumpeted Vienna’s Kurier after the premiere of Richard Strauss’ “Die Frau ohne Schatten” at the Salzburg Festival, which was also the premiere of Christian Thielemann as opera conductor there. True to the Festival’s tradition, this production features a line-up of great Strauss singers, such as Anne Schwanewilms, Stephen Gould, Wolfgang Koch, Michaela Schuster and Evelyn Herlitzius. Christof Loy’s production is set in the mid 1950s in the Sofiensäle, a celebrated Viennese recording studio at the time. The singers portray singers from the Wiener Staatsoper recording “Die Frau ohne Schatten”.
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Wagner’s ‘Meistersinger’ is a festive opera in its own right, but at the reprise of the work at the Vienna State Opera in January 2008, the festive spirit literally leapt out into the audience as well. Vienna’s dailies exploded with praise such as ‘A feast of singers’ (Der Standard), ‘A feast … grandiose’ (Die Presse) and ‘Nearly six hours of pure enjoyment’ (Kurier). The plaudits applied to all the singers, from Hans Sachs to the night watchman, as well as to the chorus and orchestra. Among the vocal surprises of this live recording is Adrian Eröd as Beckmesser, a fully fleshed-out character whose every gesture and every note reflects a well-rounded concept of the usually unsympathetic role of the critic. As Walther von Stolzing, Johan Botha is pure tenor gold, whose impressive reserves of strength allow him to sing brilliantly and effortlessly throughout the work.
The Vatican Concert 2005 – In Honor of Pope Benedikt XVI
Recorded live in the presence of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City, this profoundly moving and inspiring concert is a true musical landmark. While the music ranges from the grand to the sublime, the atmosphere retains the warmth and intimacy of a “family reunion”: both the Munich Philharmonic and the boys’ chorus “Regensburger Domspatzen” are world-renowned institutions from the Pope’s native Germany and from cities closely connected with the former Cardinal Ratzinger. Among the works performed is a Sanctus from a mass written by Georg Ratzinger, the Pope’s brother and one-time director of the “Regensburger Domspatzen”. Under the direction of its distinguished young principal conductor Christian Thielemann, the Munich Philharmonic is joined by the boys’ chorus (which also sings a cappella works led by Georg Büchner) in music by Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Palestrina, Pfitzner, Verdi, Wagner and Georg Ratzinger. The musical event is rounded off with an address to the listeners and performers by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
Bayreuth Festival 2015: Tristan und Isolde
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Tristan & Isolde this production was premiered on 25 July 2015 and marked the high-point of the Bayreuth Festival. An important and highly-anticipated new production of Wagner’s take on this ultimate, immortal tale of love and longing by the composer’s great-granddaughter Katharina Wagner. Enjoy some of today’s most prominent vocalists and Christian Thielemann, arguably the most important Wagner conductor of our day and age. “… a sensationally good musical realisation.” BBC Music
Bayreuth Festival 2018: Lohengrin
From the 2018 Bayreuth Festival, the acclaimed new production by American director Yuval Sharon, “one of the most interesting arrivals on the musical landscape” (Opernwelt). The New York Times praised “the outstanding Piotr Beczala” as Lohengrin, “Anja Harteros [making] her impressive Bayreuth debut” as Elsa, and Ortrud “played with dominant presence by the incomparable Waltraud Meier”. The distinguished artists Neo Rauch and Rosa Loy created “breathtaking visuals”, and the whole performance was guided with “enthralling musicality” by conductor Christian Thielemann.