Ein deutsches Requiem, Brahm´s majestic masterpiece, in a definite performance: Christian Thielemann and the Münchner Philharmoniker are a synonym for excellence in German late-Romantic repertoire. Soloists Christine Schäfer and Christian Gerhaher also rank among the best in their voice ranges. Through his almost surreal affinity to Brahm´s music, Thielemann has crafted a perfromance that places him among the best interpreters of this work, such as Furtwängler, Karajan or Guilini. “In Thielemann´s hands, this dying fall became the Requiem´s gently expressive high point.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Der Messias
Known as a creator of astonishing images, stage director and visual artist Robert Wilson delivers a magnificent production of Mozart’s adaption of Handel’s Messias. Mozart was commissioned by Gottfried van Swieten to modernise the score fifty years after Handel’s popular composition (1742), mainly by arranging the wind parts and partially re-composing them. With Marc Minkowski a conductor has been engaged who understands perfectly how to combine baroque style with the tonal possibilities of an orchestra of the classical period like the Musiciens du Louvre. The excellent soloist quartet with Elena Tsallagova, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Richard Croft and José Coca Loza merges perfectly into Wilson’s enormous flood of images. “A complete artwork”, praises Opernglas; “stunningly beautiful” (BR Klassik); “A stellar moment for the music” (orf.at); “Timelessly beautiful” Süddeutsche Zeitung
Theodora
George Frideric Handl´s oratorio Theodora, in it´s first-ever staged version at Salzburg Festival, was among the highlights of Handel Year 2009. Acclaimed director Christoph Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her faith, an interpretation captivated with bravura by world-renowned video director Hannes Rossacher. A luminous Christine Schaefer and countertenor Bejun Mehta formed a perfect leading couple altoghether suited to conductor Ivor Bolton´s vigorous reading. “With Christine Schaefer, Salzburg has found an ideal singer for the title role.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Beethoven´s Missa Solemnis was performed on 13 and 14 February at the traditional memorial concert to commemorate the bombardement of Dresden during the last weeks of World War II. Under Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden proved itself exeptionally qualified to master this work´s magnificent challenges. Thielemann “conjured up the gigantic cosmos of the Missa with such lightness and grace that its mystery seemed to reveal itself”, wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. No less remarkable was the fabulously homogeneous solo quartet formed of Elina Garanca, Krassimira Stoyanova Michael Schade, Franz-Josef Selig.
Messiah
To mark the 250th anniversary of Handel´s death, Vienna´s Theater an der Wien realized a truly extraordinary project: the staging of Messiah, the composer´s most popular oratorio.Collaborating with an exquisite cast of singers, Claus Guth, one of today´s highly renowned stage directors, delivered “an emotionally and psychologically charged sequence of images … “The audience was thrilled” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Ein deutsches Requiem
Ein deutsches Requiem, Brahm´s majestic masterpiece, in a definite performance: Christian Thielemann and the Münchner Philharmoniker are a synonym for excellence in German late-Romantic repertoire. Soloists Christine Schäfer and Christian Gerhaher also rank among the best in their voice ranges. Through his almost surreal affinity to Brahm´s music, Thielemann has crafted a perfromance that places him among the best interpreters of this work, such as Furtwängler, Karajan or Guilini. “In Thielemann´s hands, this dying fall became the Requiem´s gently expressive high point.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)