The operetta “Eine Nacht in Venedig” (A Night in Venice) was premiered in Berlin on 2 October 1883; barely a week later the Viennese were also able to celebrate the triumph of a new work by the “Waltz King.” The music of this comic opera perfectly matches the merry, carefree mood of the action. Melodies such as “Komm in die Gondel,” “Ach, wie so herrlich zu schau’n” and “Kommt, kommt, ihr holden Frauen!” are among the high points of the operetta. The stellar cast includes such eminent singers as Anton de Ridder, Sylvia Geszty, Trudeliese Schmidt and, as Ciboletta, Julia Migenes.
Zigeunerliebe
Franz Lehár (1870-1948) found remarkably expressive and brilliantly colorful sounds for the drama and romantic moods of this unique topic. The style was decisively influenced by the familiar cadence of Hungarian gypsy music in the composer’s native country. This is not only evidenced by the csárdás rhythms or the inclusion of the cymbalom in the arrangement, but above all by the many pronouncedly melancholy hues of the melody and harmony produced by the use of minor keys. After “The Merry Widow” and “The Count of Luxembourg”, “Gipsy Love” is Franz Lehár’s third most successful operetta. After its triumphant Vienna premiere in 1910, it was performed, for example, at the Empire Theater in Darjeeling, at the foot of the Himalayas! The location shots in our production were filmed in Austria’s Helenental and Vienna Woods.
Sehnsucht – Jonas Kaufmann sings German Arias
From the Gasteig in Munich: Germany’s most popular Tenor Jonas Kaufmann presents an evening with the most famous German operatic arias. Amongst them ‘Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön’ from W.A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute, ‘In fernem Land’ from Wagner’s Lohengrin and ‘Winterstürme’ from Walküre, as well as works by Carl Maria von
Weber (‘Freischütz’). With this repertoire Kaufmann goes back to his roots: ‘I grew up with this music. It is embedded in my genes.’