“Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an “open-air spectacle of superlatives” (Die Zeit about Aida) “A gigantic set with iconic qulities – a masterly achievment“ (Die Welt about Andrea Chénier) “David Pountney finds stunning answers to the everlasting questions surrounding ‘The Magic Flute’.” (Der Tagesspiegel about Die Zauberflöte) „A bit of Hollywood in Bregenz: Melodies for the millions, impressively staged grand opera.“(ZDF heute journal about Turandot) „… Kasper Holten’s production of Carmen on Es Devlin’s extraordinary set was a knockout. …“ (The Telegraph)
Andrea Chénier
Umberto Giordano’s verismo masterpiece Andrea Chénier is set against the background of the horrors of the French Revolution and tells the tragic tale of a doomed love affair involving the historical figure of the poet André Chénier, who initially champions the Revolution but later turns against its leaders, before ending up on the scaffold. A vast sculpture rising up out of Lake Constance depicts one of the leaders of the Revolution, Marat, lying dead in his bath, creating a spectacular set of a kind possible only on the lakeside stage in Bregenz. “A gigantic set with iconic qualities – a masterly achievement.” (Die Welt) “The Mexican tenor Héctor Sandoval was brilliant in the title role.” (ORF) “The
singing was magnificent, the effects hit home. Bregenz has done it again.” (RP Online)
Bregenz Festival 2011: Andrea Chénier
With his spectacular production of Umberto Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier”, director Keith Warner unites intellectual depth and exciting entertainment for the eyes and ears using every possible resource offered by Bregenz’s floating stage. The colossal set by David Fielding is inspired by Jacques- Louis David’s famous painting “Death of Marat”. The opera is both a moving love story and a historical thriller with a highly emotional score. Ulf Schirmer, the Wiener Symphoniker and the excellent soloists Hector Sandoval, Norma Fantini and Scott Henricks unleash the entire power of this Italian verismo work.
Capriccio
When the curtain fell at the Paris Opera premiere of Capriccio, the audiences rose to long and frenetic ovations. They unanimously applauded each singer in a cast of stars, but Renée Fleming was undoubtedly the leading light of this remarkable production. Every one of the performers in this production is outstanding and can be regarded as the best possible singer for the role – Opera fans from all over the world came to Paris to see this production.
This Capriccio also served as a role debut for American star soprano Renée Fleming who took on the role of the Gräfin. The critics celebrated her performance as “ideal” in all aspects: musically, dramatically and above all
vocally and she was cheered frenetically by the audience at the Palais Garnier of the Opéra National de Paris.
Dietrich Henschel had critics raving about his sensitively sung Graf, Anne Sofie von Otter won audiences over with her highly ironic interpretation of the singer Clairon. Rainer Trost presented himself both as a true actor and as a versatile tenor in the role of the composer Flamand, Gerald Finley gave a very convincing poet Olivier and Franz Hawlata was described by a critic as “a glowing” La Roche. Altogether a true ensemble of stars!
Klaus Florian Vogt at Neuschwanstein Castle
A wonderful concert in King Ludwig’s fairytale castle. The Munich Symphony Orchestra perform together with the star tenor and celebrated Wagner hero Klaus Florian Vogt. Together they present works by Wagner, Weber, Mozart and Strauss with full sound power and creative experimentation and guaranteed goosebumps.