To mark its 40th anniversary, the International Baroque Days of Melk Abbey are returning to their roots: Under the musical direction of Stefan Gottfried, the Concentus Musicus Wien, the Bach Choir Salzburg, together with soloists Anna Lucia Richter, Michael Schade and Florian Boesch, perform Joseph Haydn’s famous oratorio “Die Schöpfung” (The Creation). First performed in Vienna in 1798, Haydn’s three-part oratorio is still considered a reference work today. The creation of the world, the chaos of all beginnings is marked by picturesque depictions of nature in the composition.
Tosca
Premiered in 1900 with huge success, Puccini’s “melodramma” Tosca is a political thriller with a heart-breaking love story. With his gripping opening scene, stage director Michael Sturminger sets the tone for a cinematic, richly detailed Tosca which is set in the Mafiosi world of modern day Rome and which is “the perfect thriller … reminiscent of Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’” (Kleine Zeitung), a “film noir” (FAZ). In this production soprano Anja Harteros is “a phenomenal Tosca!” (Kurier), “unparalleled in the world” (Der Standard) and Aleksandrs Antonenko is “a Cavaradossi of superlatives” (Kieler Nachrichten). The Staatskapelle Dresden under Christian Thielemann „show again that he is not only a master of German repertoire but also strikes the right note in Italian repertoire.“ (Focus)
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)
Epiphany Cooncert – Through the forests, through the meadows
If you wander “through the woods, through the pastures” musically, you soon come into romantic hunting grounds. These words from Weber’s opera Der Freischütz are the guiding idea for the traditional Salzburg New Year’s Concert of the Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum Salzburg, led by Hansjörg Angerer. The Bläserphilharmonie, which is composed of top-class musicians from leading symphony orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Münchner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, roams through the most beautiful hunting, nature and forest music of the 19th century.
Bartabas in Salzburg 2017 – Mozart: Requiem
An absolute highlight of Salzburg’s Mozart Week with “highest art of sound and riding“ (Kronenzeitung): the French equine artist and theatrical genius Bartabas presents Mozart’s Requiem. Horses and riders from the formidable Académie Équestre de Versailles join forces with the Musiciens du Louvre, conducted by Marc Minkowski, the Salzburger Bachchor and “an excellent quartet of soloists“ (Kurier), namely Genia Kühmeier, Elisabeth Kulman, Julien Behr and Charles Dekeyser, to place the Requiem into a new theatrical context. Restoring the Felsenreitschule’s original purpose – a riding school – and at the same time including ist impressive architecture of arcades into the musical dramaturgy, the production is a breath-taking synthesis of the arts. By meticulously refining the skillfully regulated interactions between humans, animals and music, Bartabas and his horsemen have created a production which is much more than a great show riding choreography: it’s a moving exploration of the interconnectedness of existence. A piece of art with an “exceptional power of attraction” (Schwäbische Zeitung), “a requiem for all senses“ (Kronenzeitung).
T.H.A.M.O.S.
Wherever they are, that’s where the action is. The Catalan theatre group La Fura dels Baus is staging T.H.A.M.O.S at the Felsenreitschule Salzburg. The performance is based on Thamos, King in Egypt, with interlude music by Mozart for the heroic drama written by Tobias Philipp Freiherr von Gebler, supplemented by other compositions by Mozart and texts by Nikolaus Tesla, Antonin Artaud and Alicia Aza. Mexican conductor Alondra della Parra conducts the Camerata Salzburg and a singer ensemble starring René Pape and Fatma Said.
Bartabas in Salzburg 2016 – Mozart: Davide Penitente
For this spectacular production of Mozart’s Davide penitente on the vast stage of the Salzburg Felsenreitschule at the Mozart Week 2015, Marc Minkowski and the equestrian choreographer Bartabas used dancing horses and thus restored the former riding school to its original function. Horses, riders from the Académie équestre de Versailles and Bartabas himself, whose successful productions are unique in the world of art, perform their elegant dressage arabesques within this exceptional setting. Soloists, chorus and orchestra are ranged over three levels on galleries cut from the bare rock. The result is a unique synthesis of the arts.