Star tenor and director Rolando Villazón has staged probably Verdi’s best known masterpiece in colourful, lively and emotion-packed form at the Festspielhaus in Baden Baden, so he made for “an enthusiastic reception for the premiere” (Stuttgarter Zeitung)! Villazón’s signature, both as singer and director, is unmistakable. He made his international breakthrough as Alfredo Germont and now, 10 years later, the Mexican-born singer has produced a Traviata full of energy, attention to detail and even a hint of melancholy. Villazón chooses an unusual approach by relocating the action of the great and tragic love affair between Alfredo and the courtesan Violetta to the colourful and noisy world of the circus. Olga Peretyatko as Violetta delivers “a fantastic portrait of the title role wavering between adolescent joie de vivre, mature insight and anguish” (Stuttgarter Zeitung). Her partner is the young Brazilian tenor Atalla Ayan as the jealous Alfredo, who delivers a “beguiling interpretation with a dark, warm timbre and rich top notes” (Stuttgarter Zeitung). Simone Piazzolla as Alfredo’s strict father Giorgio Germont adds fine vocal lines to provide a strong sense of “Italianità” on stage (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Directing the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble is the young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado.
La Traviata
Star tenor and director Rolando Villazón’s staging of La Traviata at the Festspielhaus in Baden Baden is “visually spectacular” (The Huffington Post) and made for “an enthusiastic reception for the premiere” (Stuttgarter Zeitung)! Villazón “proves again his excellent narrating skills on stage” (WDR Klassik). “The setting and opulence of the stage captivates the spectator, as do the stylized costumes designed by Thibault Vancraenenbroeck for circus artists” (Stuttgarter Zeitung). Olga Peretyatko as Violetta delivers “a fantastic portrait of the title role wavering between adolescent joie de vivre, mature insight and anguish” (Stuttgarter Zeitung). Her partner is the tenor Atalla Ayan as the jealous Alfredo, who delivers a “beguiling interpretation with a dark, warm timbre and rich top notes” (Stuttgarter Zeitung). Simone Piazzolla as Alfredo’s strict father Giorgio Germont adds fine vocal lines to provide a strong sense of “Italianità” on stage (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Conductor is Pablo Heras-Casado, “a great hope of a new generation of conductors” (WDR Klassik).
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2014
Elina Garanca, the star of this festal Advent concert, proves once more “that she has one of the loveliest and finest voices in the whole world”. In Georges Bizet’s “Agnus Dei”, in the “Regina Coeli” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, she lets her voice “shine and beam, bringing tears to many eyes”, the critics enthuse. Meanwhile Christiane Karg captivates us with her crystalclear soprano, winging its way straight to our hearts. The concert is conducted by maestro Pablo Heras-Casado, whose sensitive touch and style-conscious precision brings out to the full the particularly refined sound of the Staatskapelle. (Der neue Merker)
The Odeonsplatz Concert – “Spanish Night”
The ballet music “El sombrero de tres picos” by Spain’s Manuel de Falla, with its three dances that characterize three Spanish regions, opened the lively proceedings in the open air. It was complemented by the Iberian influences in the other works written by composers outside Spain, such as Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto (performed by star violinist Julia Fischer), that shows clear signs of Spanish influence in the rhythm and melody. The musicians rounded off this Spanish night in Munich with Claude Debussy’s homage to Spain, “Ibéria”, and Maurice Ravel’s “Alborada del gracioso”.
Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro della beata vergine
A piece of music as a ticket: his Vespers of Mary brought Claudio Monteverdi an engagement in Venice, where he made musical history as Kapellmeister of St Mark’s Cathedral. A one-way ticket, as it later turned out, but he remained loyal to this city and contributed to making it a magnet for composers and musicians from all over Europe. After his debut at Whitsun 2016, it was clear: Pablo Heras-Casado absolutely has to come back! Finally, the time has come: the star conductor once again took the podium of the Barocktage Residence Orchestra. Together with the Concentus Musicus Wien, a select cast of singers and the Ensemble Aedes he opened the International Baroque Days Stift Melk 2021 with Monteverdi’s gigantic work!
Pure Schumann! Robert Schumann – The Solo Concertos
Who would have thought to hear the Freiburger Barockorchester playing Schumann? At the end of a long journey from Baroque to Romanticism the FBO and Pablo Heras Casado perform the three great solo concertos by Robert Schumann and his rarely heared “Ouvertüre, Scherzo und Finale” op. 52. Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov. More than being exceptional soloists, Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov and Jean-Guihen Queyras all three are members of the same trio and this experience will not fail to give their interpretation homogeneity and absolutely unprecedented scale. A unique concert recording from Berlin Philharmonic Hall: Pure Schumann! Length: 99’ (17’ / 28’ / 26’ / 28’ ).
Bayreuth Festival 2023: Parsifal
Any new production of Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival – in the theatre for which Wagner conceived his “Bühnenweihfestspiel” – is a major operatic event. But US director Jay Scheib’s new staging for the 2023 Festival, which employs Augmented Reality, is likely to break new boundaries in terms of technological innovation – even for a theatre whose history is bound up with revolutionary theatrical ideas. Pablo Heras-Casado, making his Bayreuth debut, conducts a superb cast, with tenor Andreas Schager and mezzo Elina Garanca – also making a highly anticipated Bayreuth debut as Kundry – leading the line-up alongside Georg Zeppenfeld’s seasoned Gurnemanz.