Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story of all time. In Charles Gounod’s operatic adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona “Saimir Pirgu and Aida Garifullina mesmerize as the tragic lovers.“ (Euronews) Charles Gounod is one of the great representatives of French lyric drama and due to his famous aria “Je veux vivre,” ravishing melodies, magical duets and the unique ballet scene in Act IV, Roméo et Juliette continues to gain much popularity. This production by Stephen Lawless once again demonstrates the abundance of ideas that Shakespeare’s legendary tale is able to inspire, even in the 21st century. In addition to the lavish stage sets and the carefully chosen costumes and props, the production captivates the audience thanks to its refined dramaturgical logic: “Lawless successfully creates a dignified and logical background to the ongoing story […].” (Metropolitan Barcelona)
La donna del lago
Rossini’s La donna del lago, premièred in 1819 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, is a masterpiece based on the poem The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott, which is full of passion and romantic frisson. “With characteristic boldness, Michieletto reformulates this glittering music into something otherworldly” (Financial Times) and the performance is “musically brilliant.” (Die Presse.com) “Marko Mimica and Varduhi Abrahamyan produce strong performances as Douglas and Malcom respectively. Flórez is laser like and fresh as ever and thrilling brutish …“ (Financial Times) while the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: “Michele Mariotti and his outstanding orchestra were the stars of the evening.“
The Exclusive Subscription Concert Series – Martha Argerich & Zubin Mehta
The Subscription Concert Series of the Wiener Philharmoniker from the Golden Hall of the famous Musikverein, are special concerts reserved for subscribers, hence the name. But to become a subscriber, due to the exceptional quality of the concerts and the limited offer, the average waiting time is more than 10 years. With this series, these very special concerts are made available for the first time audiovisually to a wider audience worldwide. With Zubin Mehta and Martha Argerich “two veteran musicians gave rise to real storms of enthusiasm in the Musikverein.” (Wiener Zeitung) “The power of true ‘Old Masters’ – Martha Argerich sat at the piano as spiritedly sparkling as ever. Just as Bruckner’s Fourth subsequently succeeded in becoming a magnificent dialogue between orchestra and conductor: Bruckner impulsive, intimate, poignant, stirring.” (Kronenzeitung)
Program: Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor / From Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 Von fremden Ländern und Menschen; Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 “Romantic”
Dona Nobis Pacem – A ballet by John Neumeier
“Dona Nobis Pacem” – give us peace. This title is of great importance to me – even at the risk of seeming naïve, sentimental or even pretentious. In light of the constant and growing tensions in our world, this thought remains an important aspiration and inspires me to approach Johann Sebastian Bach’s multifaceted composition (Mass in B minor) with conviction. In my 50th season as artistic director, I consider this creation a great opportunity.” John Neumeier A Historic Document The film version of “Dona Nobis Pacem” takes us close to the creative evolution of this ballet. Even though there were very high expectations, John Neumeier agreed for the first time in his career to have one of his ballets filmed during the week of the world premiere. Thus, the film became an impressive document of the outstanding quality of the Hamburg Ballet ensemble. It excels not only in terms of technical brilliance, but also expressive intensity and wholehearted dedication.
Tosca
“La Scala’s season opens with a powerful Tosca” (Financial Times). Premiered in 1900 with huge success, Puccini’s “melodramma” Tosca is one of the most dramatic thrillers in the history of opera. In this performance Riccardo Chailly conducted “a magnificent orchestra and a sonorous choir” (NMZ) while Anna Netrebko had sung “phenomenally. She still has one of the most beautiful voices today.” (Deutschlandfunk) With “Francesco Meli, probably unsurpassable in this role at the moment: lyrically soft, and then again impressively expressive”, and Luca Salsi also “very convincing as the slick, power-conscious Scarpia” (BR Klassik), La Scala has engaged the highest-calibre partners imaginable.
Turandot
Video artist Franc Aleu, who belongs to the artists’ group La Fura dels Baus, sets the exciting Puccini opera Turandot into the future. With projection mapping and 3D technology in the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the play about the cruel princess is shown in a spectacular, visually striking new way. The great vocal cast including Irene Theorin, “a powerful-voiced Turandot, Jorge de Leon, a sovereign Calaf and Soprano Ermonela Jaho, who sings a touching Liu“ (Das Opernmagazin) is leaded by conductor Josep Pons “in great form“ (forumopera.com).
Rigoletto
Verdi´s Rigoletto, one of his most successful operas, is based on Victor Hugo’s play Le roi s’amuse, which for Verdi was the greatest drama of the present day. The “spectacular production“ (La Vanguardia) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu “under excellent musical direction by Riccardo Frizza“, “the dramatic depth of Carlos Álvarez and the triumphant debut of Javier Camarena as Duke of Mantua“ (El Periodico) made it a “top-class Rigoletto“. (bachtrack.com) “A production with this simplicity requires outstanding direction, which is achieved here“ (Seen and Heard International) and is crowned by the colourful costumes of the Oscarwinning Sandy Powell
David Garrett: ALIVE
For the first time, David Garrett performed with his band in the ancient baths of Caracalla, presenting his outstanding program ALIVE. David Garrett plays the greatest soundtracks from the world of movies and games, with numerous world hits such as Happy, Stayin’ Alive, Let it Go, Shallow, Bella Ciao, or Thriller, among others. + BONUS David Garrett – The private life of a star Included is a bonus documentary of star violinist David Garrett. Starting as a so-called Wunderkind of classical music he is now one of the most successful violinists of his generation. His recipe for success is his crossover of rock, pop and classical music: 4.5 million albums sold, 25 gold and platinum awards and enthusiastic fans on tours worldwide. By looking into an otherwise hidden world, interviews of companions, friends and family, archive and private material of previously unreleased material from his childhood underpin the picture of the violin genius showing very private glimpses of his life.
Siberia
Umberto Giordano’s opera Siberia with its libretto by Puccini’s successful librettist Luigi Illica (La bohème, Tosca) premiered in 1903 at La Scala as a replacement of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, which was not finished at the time. Madama Butterfly came out in Milan shortly after Siberia and flopped completely. Umberto Giordano, however, briefly became a public favorite. Shortly after successful re-runs on important theatres, including Buenos Aires, New York and São Paulo, Siberia could not maintain its position in repertoire although Gabriel Fauré designated the second act as “one of the most remarkable and captivating that modern dramatic music can offer.“ This opera rarity performed at Bregenz Festival “is musical narrative theatre in perfection“ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) in which “Uryupin leads the agile Wiener Symphoniker through the score with a sense for delicately tinted colours. Ambur Braid sings the challenging part of Stephanas with bravour“ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
Anna Karenina – A ballet by John Neumeier
Thomas Mann once named Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina “the greatest social novel of world literature.” When reading the novel, John Neumeier was deeply fascinated by Tolstoy’s work: not only by the main characters and the plot, but also by the extraordinary variety of thematic connections. It is a story of three families. John Neumeier states: “Tolstoy himself wrote and published ‘Anna Karenina’ as a serial story over a number of years. The feeling in the novel of a developing contemporary narrative – similar to a television series of today – is underlined by the fact that the novel does not end with the death of the title character. My challenge was therefore to give true life and relevance to the story by selecting key emotional situations and essential characters to fit within the framework of an evening-long ballet.“