In the first installment of his Da Ponte cycle at the Vienna State Opera, director Barrie Kosky does what he does best. He focuses the action completely on the characters. “I think characters like Don Giovanni are like mirrors in which we see ourselves. Sometimes like distorting mirrors, sometimes like broken mirrors. Sometimes the image we see is unappetizing”. Indeed, Kosky’s character direction is “impressive” (Klassikpunk), as he uncovers new facets and puts great faith in the singers to deliver his vision. Kyle Ketelsen as Don Giovanni (“vibrant” – Der Standard) and Philippe Sly as Leporello “took centre stage (…) and dared to satirise the burden of tradition” (ORF). Hanna-Elisabeth Müller is “convincing” as Donna Anna and the young Patricia Nolz gives an excellent role debut as Zerlina alongside the “virtuosic” Peter Keller as Masetto. Conductor Philippe Jordan “plays the recitatives delicately and subtly on the fortepiano” and “achieves transparency, tangibility and poetry on the basis of historical accuracy” (Der Standard).
Così fan tutte
“The execution is vibrant, the individual voices outstanding, and the ensemble homogeneity even more so.” (Frankfurter Rundschau) To conclude his Da Ponte cycle at the Vienna State Opera, Barrie Kosky turns Don Alfonso into a theatre director rehearsing a stage play with the two young couples at the center of the story: “He presents the Da Ponte opera as a coherent, sophisticated game within a game: a director uses method acting to release feelings that can no longer be controlled” (News). As is typical for a Kosky-lead production, there is constant action, which the ensemble executes with exuberance. Philippe Jordan leads the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera from the pianoforte, managing to “strike a balance between classical beauty and vibrancy, without resorting to tricks and mannerisms to make things exciting” (Kleine Zeitung).
Le nozze di Figaro
Barrie Kosky, one of the most innovative opera directors of our time, creates a new interpretation of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (which he believed should be renamed Susanna) at the Vienna State Opera with a very young ensemble: Andrè Schuen and Hanna-Elisabeth Müller in the roles of Count and Countess Almaviva, Peter Kellner as Figaro, Patricia Nolz as Cherubino and Ying Fang as well as Eva Nazarova as Susanna. Ying Fang is acting on stage with a perfect lip sync to Eva Nazarova singing from the orchestra pit, as she could not sing herself due to a vocal cord haemorrhage. Philippe Jordan conducts the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper and together they “deliver an ideal mixture of elegant lyricism and concentrated expression – each and every one” (Wiener Zeitung). “Beauty and pointedness are combined in the noblest way.” (Der Standard)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Hotel Metamorphosis
A panopticon of human emotions”: Barrie Kosky combines episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses with music by Antonio Vivaldi for the Salzburg Festival, reflecting the full spectrum of Ovid’s narrative art and Vivaldi’s musical work. Cecilia Bartoli has assembled a “world-class” (Kleine Zeitung) cast, and Gianluca Capuano and Les Musiciens du Prince deliver a “highly precise, colourful and exciting performance” (APA). “What a brilliant evening of theatre” (BR Klassik)
Salzburg Festival 2022: Káta Kabanová
Janácek’s opera Káta Kabanová is set in a small Russian town and is based on the play The Storm by Aleksandr Ostrov– sky. The story revolves around the central character, Káta – sung by “the phenomenal Corinne Winters” (Neue Musikzeitung) – who is trapped in a loveless marriage to an abusive man named Boris. Despite her unhappiness, she is bound by the strict societal norms of her time and is unable to escape the situation. However, when she meets and falls in love with a young man named Vána Kudrjáš, she finally experiences happiness and passion. But their relationship is short-lived, as Boris finds out and forces Káta to confess her infidelity in front of the entire town. Overwhelmed by the shame and guilt, she drowns herself in the nearby river. The opera explores themes of social conformity, oppression, and the consequences of forbidden love. Janácek’s use of musical leitmotifs and repetitive themes reflect the characters’ emotions and psychological states, adding depth and nuance to the story. Stage director Barrie Kosky managed to create an intimate but impressive setting in the magnificent Felsenreitschule. “The young Czech conductor Jakub Hruša, highly esteemed by the Wiener Philharmoniker, leads the orchestra with a feeling for the great moments as well as the fine lyricism of the grandiose score. Corinne Winters is thrilling in the title role” (Kronenzeitung)
Salzburg Festival 2019: Orphée aux enfers
Operetta enthusiast Barrie Kosky has landed a gigantic success with Offenbach’s subversive and hilarious reversion of the Orpheus myth at the Salzburg Festival. Kosky created a magically precise staging in a glittering opulent scenery and a literally devilish choreography. The dialogues are performed by the brilliant German actor Max Hopp as John Styx. Under Enrique Mazzola’s precise conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker provide “a sparkling orchestral sound” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung): “A frantic and fabulous show” (New York Times).
Bayreuth Festival 2017: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
The high-point of the 2017 Bayreuth Festival, Barrie Kosky’s “astonishingly entertaining and convincing” (Der Spiegel) new Meistersinger is “a triumph” (Berliner Morgenpost): “a production of enormous insight and great quality … that plumbs the depths of both the opera and its composer” (Opera News). The “exquisite cast” (Die Zeit) is headed by Michael Volle’s “eloquent” Hans Sachs (The New York Times). “Philippe Jordan’s supple conducting is moulded around Kosky’s staging… and the Bayreuth Orchestra and Chorus are superb” (The Guardian).