No burkas and no bikinis – long before Bayreuth’s latest Parsifal had opened in Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s new reading, these two phrases had done the rounds, their emotive content ensuring that the production was hotly debated. Laufenberg shows us everything: the Grail chalice, the dead swan, the wound, the lance. Such realism in the staging, which above all reveals an eye for intricate detail, creates the impression of a new radicalism. With Klaus Florian Vogt “as a powerfully heroic Parsifal (…), the beautiful gold, silver piercing iron of Elena Pankratova’s voice as Kundry (…), Georg Zeppenfeld as a slim Gurnemanz providing unparalleled vocal command (…) and Ryan McKinny as a noble and agonised Amfortas.” (The Telegraph)
Salzburg Festival: L’Upupa – The Hoopoe and the Triumph of Filial Love
The world premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s opera, recorded live at the Salzburg Festival in 2003. The libretto is based on an old Syrian fairy tale concerning three rulers, three sons and three treasures. Matthias Goerne leads an international cast including Laura Aikin, John Mark Ainsley, Alfred Muff and Hanna Schwarz. Markus Stenz conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker.
La Rondine
Internationally acclaimed tenor and stage director Rolando Villazon’s new production of Giacomo Puccini’s La Rondine. Fabulous and emerging soprano Dinara Alieva (described by soprano Montserrat Caballe as “a singer who possessed the gift of heaven”) appears in the leadying-lady role of Magda. World-renowned Charles Castronovo – one of the leading lyric tenors of his generation – sings the hero’s role of Ruggero.
Mosè
For the first time the opera “Moses” by Gioachino Rossini is on stage inside a Cathedral in a semi-scenic performance at the Duomo di Milano. The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, in the wake of a centuries-old tradition of dialogue with the contemporary, chooses the most advanced technology to open up to the world and the public with an immediacy never achieved until now, including lights and colors effects that characterize the scenes of the show, with an evocative videomapping technique. With the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano Orchestra and Choir conducted by Francesco Quattrocchi, with the special presence of Ruggero Raimondi in the part of Mosè.
I Capuleti e i Montecchi
A Romeo and Juliet opera without the poetic balcony scene and with a woman singing the role of Romeo: Vincenzo Bellini’s reworking of Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy is in many respects remarkable. Not least because the young composer presents in his opera “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” perhaps the most moving final scene of opera repertoire to date: Romeo and Juliet are both alive and conscious, allowing them to sing a duet before dying together. The Zurich Opera House has enlisted extraordinary and vivacious voices for the world’s most famous lovers: In the new Bellini production, American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato – in a class of her own – performs the role of Romeo. At her side as Romeo’s beloved Giulietta is the young Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska with an incredible acting and singing performance, making the audience hold ist breath during her subtle arias. Musical Director Fabio Luisi with the Philharmonia Zurich and Stage Director Christof Loy brought this poignant bel canto opera to stage in Zurich resulting in an utmost impressive TV experience.
Wozzeck
Berg’s “Wozzeck” is an indispensable work in the repertoire of any opera house. In Zurich, critics and audience celebrated director Andreas Homoki, General Music Director Fabio Luisi and baritone Christian Gerhaher for their intriguing interpretation of this masterpiece of operatic history. “It is an astonishing debut…: For the first time, Christian Gerhaher sings one of the most important operatic roles of the 20th century. That in itself is a great experience. But this evening is fantastic even beyond Gerhaher’s brilliant performance as a singer and actor thanks to the striking and truly exceptional interacting of music, scene, and singing. This Zurich ‘Wozzeck’ is phenomenal.” Süddeutsche Zeitung
Madama Butterfly
An acclaimed cinematic adaptation of Puccini’s popular opera about the tragic love affair between a naive geisha and the American naval officer who deserts her and their young child. Like the finest of film scores with its fluid beauty and succession of intensely romantic tunes, Madame Butterfly has a surprisingly cinematic feel. In 1995 director Frederic Mitterand exploited this quality of the story, exposing a young woman’s disillusionment against a backdrop of cultural chasms. Shot on location, with Tunisia doubling convincingly as a turn of the century Nagasaki, this Butterfly shines with fragile beauty. The house becomes a brilliantly used set; airy and full of the scent of flowers and at the same time a cage for the trapped woman. Archive footage of bygone Nagasaki is used skillfully to underline the distance between the 15-year-old bride and Pinkerton. Featuring Chinese soprano Ying Huang and American tenor Richard Troxell.
R. Wagner: The Ring from the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires
To honor Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday, Latin America’s famous opera house in Buenos Aires hosts a one-of-a-kind project: Performing Wagner’s powerful music drama “The Ring of the Nibelung” on stage in a single day. Stage Director Valentina Carrasco, who has worked with the award-winning Catalonian theatre group “La Fura dels Baus” for the past ten years, transposes the “Colón Ring” into the 1970s – the period of Argentina’s military dictatorship. Symbols of that age are seen on the costumes, while the characters also make references to the period in their behavior and gestures. LENGTH: Part 1 – 83’ // Part 2 – 112’ // Part 3 – 72’ // Part 4 – 122’ / Also available: DOCUMENTARY – The Colón Ring – Wagner in Buenos Aires by Hans Christoph von Bock (90′).
The Giacomo Variations
‘The Giacomo Variations’ is a chamber opera play based about the late Giacomo Casanova, who, in the face of his approaching death, is still trying to find out, what he was living for, if not only to be coveted and desired by the woman he loves. Giacomo, played by John Malkovich, presents his memories and stories to impress Countess Isabella, the beautiful young sister of his host Karl Emanuel Count von Waldstein and of course has his try on the nurse, the seamstress and the kitchen maid, while he is developing his philosophical view on love, medicine, fashion, and cookery. The play by Michael Sturminger with music concept by Michael Haselböck is based on opera scenes by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte.
Le Nozze di Figaro
Legendary production of Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ from the stunning Berlin Staatsoper. In the role of Figaro, multi-award-winning German baritone Roman Trekel. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim and staged by German director Thomas Langhoff.