Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts based on Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and Love). Just before Christmas 2012, it was recorded at the Malmö Opera, the leading opera house in the expansive region of Öresund in Sweden. Luisa Miller is the story of the lovers Luisa and Rodolfo. Their love is challenged by class distinctions between their families. Despite the couple’s struggle, the story eventually ends in inevitable tragedy. The Russian opera singer and rising star Olesya Golovneva is breathtaking as Luisa and the Swedish Expressen writes that Luc Robert as Rodolfo “is a gold treasure from Canada. A real tenor!” Conducted by internationally acclaimed Michael Güttler, who works for opera houses and orchestras all over the world, including the Orchestre de Paris and the Wiener Staatsoper, this opera is a must have’.
Rinaldo
Theodor
“The World Premiere of ‘Theodor’ involved you emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually with effective singing, convincing acting, taut libretto, and intuitive, haunting music” (Opera Now, Critics’ Choice) The opera Theodor intertwines two key periods in Theodor Herzl’s life. In one, a disillusioned, older Herzl flees his failed marriage and a world filled with hate, haunted by the Dreyfus Affair. In the other, a young Herzl, proud of joining a nationalist student union, looks toward a promising future. As these timelines converge, both versions of Herzl struggle with the desire to belong and escape their inner isolation, each seeking to create a new reality for himself just before he transforms into a legend. Theodor is the first opera by Israel born composer Yonatan Cnaan. His cinematic music contains references to Chopin and Kurt Weill, for example, but also to early Jewish composers like Sasha Argov. An “excellent” cast of twelve leading Israeli singers, among them Oded Reich in the title role and Anat Czarny in the role of his wife Julie, makes the production a “roaring success” and a “must-see” (The Jerusalem Post).
Pierre-Laurent Aimard in Tokyo
“A brilliant musician and an extraordinary visionary” (Wall Street Journal) French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is widely acclaimed as an authority in music of our time while recognized also for shedding fresh light on music of the past. His international schedule of concerts and recordings is complemented by a career-long commitment to teaching, giving concert lectures and workshops worldwide. In this recital, a special concert for music students given at the Tokyo University of the Arts, the pianist performs works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert and György Kurtág.
Kirill Gerstein & Mao Fujita in Recital
Experience an extraordinary evening of piano artistry as acclaimed pianist Kirill Gerstein appears with his brilliant protégé Mao Fujita at the Ark Hall, Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Centre. This special concert offers a rare glimpse into the powerful artistic bond between master and student. A recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award and professor at Berlin’s Hanns Eisler Hochschule, Gerstein is internationally celebrated for his imaginative interpretations and distinctive blend of classical and jazz influences. Mao Fujita, silver medalist at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition, has rapidly emerged as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation. Schubert: Variations Op. 46; Schumann: Andante and Variations Op. 46; Ravel: La Valse; Busoni: Duettino concertante based on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances Op. 45; Debussy: Lindaraja; Rachmaninoff: Waltz for 4 Hands Op.11, No.4
Die tote Stadt
In 1920s Germany, Erich Korngold’s work was considered “degenerate” and banned. Eventually, in 1934, he left for Hollywood. There, he made a name for himself as a film composer and only rarely wrote great works for the stage. Many of his quite successful operas, composed between 1913 and 1927, stopped being performed after World War II. Among these was his perhaps most significant work, Die tote Stadt (“The Dead City”), which was performed again for the first time after a long hiatus in 1955 in Munich. Further productions followed. Nevertheless, Götz Friedrich’s version of 1983 for the Deutsche Oper Berlin was only the fifth new production of the opera after 1945. Thanks to it, the work became established in the repertoires of many other opera houses, if only as a curiosity.
In the production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1983, James King, who debuted at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1961 and had a great interest in the role, starred as Paul; the internationally renowned singer Karan Armstrong as Marietta; and William Murray as Frank.
Preußisches Märchen
On the surface it is a comic version of the “Hauptmann von Köpenick” story in which it is not the petty thief Wilhelm Voigt who carries off the prank but a respected member of society, the clerk Wilhelm Fadenkreutz. He is not a factory owner like Diederich Heßling, but definitely has many of the characteristics of the hero of “Der Untertan”. Boris Blacher and Heinz von Cramer Cramer quickly realised that such a devastating critique of Germany’s past would not be easy to stage, and they toned down the satirical text before presenting it to the intendant of the Städtische Oper, Heinz Tietjen. Blacher also shortened the caricature of the German national anthem played on the tuba at the start of the piece to make it less recognisable. The authors cast about for a long time for a title for their work that would not conflict with Carl Zuckmayer’s “Der Hauptmann von Köpenick”. After considering “Herrliche Zeiten” (Glorious Times), they finally hit on the idea of combining the local and the fantastical by calling the work “Preußisches Märchen” (A Prussian Fairytale). The premiere on 23 September 1952 in the Theater des Westens, where the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble appeared under the title of “Städtische Oper” between 1945 and 1961, was acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.
Alonzo King
“The choreographer Alonzo King, acclaimed as “one of the few, true Ballet Masters of our times” by world-famous William Forsythe, works with his company The Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Before founding LINES Ballet in 1982 King has been working for companies around the world, including the Frankfurt Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the
Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, the Washington Ballet and the Hong Kong Ballet.
With its global perspective on dance the LINES Ballet attracts worldwide attention combining modern dance and classical ballet. Alonzo King gives his dancers the chance to get involved into the creative process of the choreography. Critics often comment on the “new language” or
“re-invention of form” arising in King‘s choreographies.
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Montezuma
Including: Preussisches Märchen // Montezuma // Die tote Stadt // Die Gespenstersonate / Oedipus
For ist 100th anniversary the Deutsche Oper Berlin is featured in a special edition of live recordings that were produced since the beginnings of television broadcasts from the opera house. Following the first DVD collection with recordings from the 1960s, this special edition box contains
operas from the 1970s and 1980s – treasures in colour featuring great opera singers, stage directors and contemporary composers.
Die heimliche Ehe
Staged by Gustav Rudolf Sellner, conducted by Lorin Maazel, with costumes by Filippo Sanjust and performed by the six soloists with consummate vocal elegance, Cimarosa’s “Die heimliche Ehe” (Il matrimonio segreto / The Secret Marriage) offers unalloyed pleasure, triggering a kind of ecstasy with ist combination of delicacy and opulence and ist refined humour. It brings out Cimarosa’s musical mastery – but also the visual impact of the opera. Sung in German.