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.
Thielemann conducts Faust
Under the direction of romantic-music specialist Christian Thielemann, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden performs a special Franz Liszt memorial concert at the Semperoper in Dresden to commemorate the 200th anniversary year of one of the 19th century’s greatest composers. The “Faust”-themed concert opens with the Overture to “Faust” in D minor by Richard Wagner, who was Liszt’s son-in-law, before leading into Franz Liszt’s symphonic masterpiece “A Faust Symphony”. “A top orchestra and a top conductor have found one another” (Die Welt).