2013 open air concert from the stunning Odeonsplatz in Munich was dedicated to the music of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner performed by star tenor Rolando Villazón and world-famous baritone Thomas Hampson joined bySymphonieorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks. —— PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi: Ouverture to Les Vêpres Siciliennes; “Ce jour heureux est plein d’allégresse” from Don Carlos (Autodafé) // Jules Massenet: “Ce breuvage pourrait” – Vision fugitive from Hérodiade; “Ah! Tout est bien fini – O souverain” from Le Cid // Maurice Ravel: La Valse // Richard Wagner: “Freudig begrüßen wir die edle Halle” from Tannhäuser (Entry of the Guests); “Wie Todesahnung – O du mein holder Abendstern” from Tannhäuser; Prelude to Lohengrin, Act I // Giuseppe Verdi / Luciano Berio: L’Esule // Giuseppe Verdi: “Vedi le fosche notturne spoglie” from Il Trovatore (Anvil Chorus); “Dio, che nell’alma infondere” from Don Carlo
From Berlin to New York – Works by Gershwin, Bernstein and Weill
“From Berlin to New York” is the motto of German Television’s traditional New Year’s Eve Concert in 2013. And true to the motto Maestro Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the two world stars Reneé Fleming and Klaus Florian Vogt celebrate the New Year’s Eve 2013 with great hits and works from Eduard Künneke, Paul Lincke, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and others.
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2013
Program: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Paulus: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate / Tu virginum corona / Alleluia; Camille Saint-Saëns, Oratorio de Noël: Domine, ego credidi / Tollite hostias; Pietro Mascagni, Ave Maria; Max Reger, Unser lieben Frauen Traum; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker: Decorating the Christmas Tree / A Pine Forest in Winter; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Great Mass in C minor: Domine Deus / Cum sancto spiritu; Giacomo Puccini, Salve Regina; Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Elias: Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen; Adolphe Adam, Cantique de Noël / Macht hoch die Tür
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2012
Program: J.S.BACH: Orchestra Suite No. 4: Réjouissance / G. F. HANDEL: Messiah: “Alle Tale macht hoch erhaben”, “Denn die Herrlichkeit Gottes des Herrn”, “Halleluja” / W. KIENZL: Weihnacht (Kulman) / W. A. MOZART: Great Mass in C minor: Gloria in excelsis Deo, Laudamus te / A. BRUCKNER: Locus iste (Chor a cappella) / J. MASSENET, Méditation aus „Thais“ / MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY: Weihnachtskantate „Vom Himmel hoch“ / E. HUMPERDINCK: Christmas Cantata: “Vom Himmel hoch”, Hänsel und Gretel: Abendsegen und Traumpantomime, CH. GOUNOD: Saint Cecilia Mass: Sanctus
The Kálmán Gala
With this Gala Concert from the Semperoper in Dresden, Christian Thielemann gives eloquent testimony to an early love of his, the operetta. Since the beginning of his conducting career he has had a fascination for this genre. Time and again he has drawn parallels between the heavyweight Wagner and lighter works, his principal aim being to demonstrate the skills he acquired while conducting operettas: “Anyone who can handle The Merry Widow,” he says, “will have no problems with Lohengrin.” For this gala he turned his attention to Lehár’s contempory Emmerich Kálmán. He found two enthusiastic partners in Ingeborg Schöpf, the leading soprano from the Dresden State Operetta company, and internationally acclaimed tenor Piotr Beczala, and was frenetically applauded by the audience. They are joined by the Dresden State Opera Chorus and the Dresden Opera Ballet dancing in the beautiful interiors of the Semperoper.
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2011
Mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch and baritone Thomas Hampson are the stars of this year’s traditional Advent concert in the historic Frauenkirche in Dresden. Conductor Christian Thielemann heads this particularly lavish program with the Staatskapelle Dresden in the famous Baroque church. Together with the State Opera Chorus, and in a setting of resplendent beauty, they perform inspiring and festive works such as arias from Bach’s Mass in B minor and his Christmas Oratorio. The festive Advent concerts have become an institution since the year 2000. The TV broadcast of the concert is watched by almost two million viewers in Germany alone.
Notte Italiana
Since its première in the year 2000, “Classics on Odeonsplatz” has been a highlight of the Munich cultural season. Flanked by stylishly illuminated historical edifices, such as the Theatiner Church and the Residence, some 16,000 people each year thrill to music in this unique atmosphere. The Feldherrnhalle as orchestral platform and the adjoining historical buildings make Odeonsplatz into an open-air arena with magnificent acoustics. On the program arias by Giuseppe VERDI (“Nabucco”, “Aida”, “La Traviata”), Giacomo PUCCINI (“Tosca”, Gianni Schicchi”, “La Bohème”) and Ruggero LEONCAVALLO “I Pagliacci”, amongst others.
New Year‘s Eve Concert 2011 Gala Concert from the Semperoper
German Television’s traditional and most successful New Year’s Eve Concert from the stunning Semperoper will feature this year Angela Denoke, Ana Maria Labin and Piotr Beczala. Maestro Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden will celebrate the New Year’s Eve with the most beautiful melodies from operettas by Franz Lehár. A short entr’acte performed in the foyer by members of the theater’s ballet ensemble allows the viewer a glimpse into the luxurious interior of the Semperoper.
Pergolesi, Stabat Mater
When Anna Netrebko sings one of the most beautiful sacred works of the 18th century, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s “Stabat mater”, many music lovers will see this as the highlight of the “Pergolesi year”. Her appearance together with contralto Marianna Pizzolato and with Bertrand de Billy at the head of the Sächsische Staatskapelle in Dresden’s exuberantly Baroque Frauenkirche radiates “nothing less than bewitching depth and beauty” (Morgenpost). In addition to the Pergolesi, the concert features an excerpt from Joseph Haydn’s “Sieben letzte Worte des Erlösers am Kreuze” as well as Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Erbarme Dich”.
3 Stars in Berlin – Live from the Waldbühne 2011
When Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Erwin Schrott join forces, the result is a summit of vocal giants, recorded for posterity at Berlin’s spectacular outdoor Waldbühne. Accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia under Marco Armiliato, the three singers beguiled the audience with a program ranging from famous arias to forgotten gems. There’s something for everyone, from the connoisseur to the layman who rarely listens to classical music. Also of the highest standard is the recording itself, with expert camerawork ensuring that the concert’s unique atmosphere is vividly transposed to the screen.