In bringing the work back to the Wiener Staatsoper for its first new production since World War II – inventively directed by Adrian Noble, former Artistic Director of Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company – it’s no surprise that, as one of today’s most admired interpreters of both Wagner and Strauss, German conductor Christian Thielemann should particularly relish the musical echoes of those composers’ works in Humperdinck’s score. In Opera magazine’s words, “He polished all these moments with refinement and subtlety, inspiring the Staatsopernorchester to play with energy, engagement and transparence.” Other reviews were equally ecstatic, praising both the orchestra’s “fabulously resplendent and silky playing” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Thielemann’s “concern for an elegantly flowing musical line … and for a lightness and transparency that allow this noble music to sparkle in manifold ways” – in short, the whole performance was “musically exceptional … a miniature miracle in sound” (Wiener Zeitung).
Der Freischütz
Axel Köhler’s production of Der Freischütz at the Dresden State Opera was described by Die Presse as “a minor miracle in Dresden”. In the words of the Salzburger Nachrichten, Köhler “scored a bulleye” with his sombre and satanic interpretation of Weber’s Romantic opera about love, temptation, souls sold to the Devil, obsession andfaith. According to the Financial Times, Christian Thielemann and the Dresden Staatskapelle conjured up a sense of “mortal terror from the orchestra pit. […] Thielemann is in command of every detail. That makes for utterly gripping listening.”
La Bohème
‘My principal motivation in filming the opera “La Bohème” is to set a memorial to the singers Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón,’ says director Robert Dornhelm, adding: ‘I think that this film, this music, this story will beguile not just opera lovers.’ The pairing of one of the most beloved operas of all time with the world’s current ‘dream team’ of singers is a recipe for success. Produced by Unitel and Vienna’s MR Film with a budget of five million euros, the theatrical film is helmed by Hollywood director Robert Dornhelm, Oscar nominee for ‘The Children of Theater Street’ and most recently director of the sensational four-part TV adaptation of Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.’
Der Freischütz
Axel Köhler’s production of Der Freischütz at the Dresden State Opera was described by Die Presse as “a minor miracle in Dresden”. In the words of the Salzburger Nachrichten, Köhler “scored a bulleye” with his sombre and satanic interpretation of Weber’s Romantic opera about love, temptation, souls sold to the Devil, obsession and faith. According to the Financial Times, Christian Thielemann and the Dresden Staatskapelle conjured up a sense of “mortal terror from the orchestra pit. […] Thielemann is in command of every detail. That makes for utterly gripping listening.”
Der Freischütz
Christian Räth’s inspired staging of Der Freischütz, Weber’s seminal Romantic opera, at the Haus am Ring stands out due to the bold set and costume design by Gary McCann. It was “a festival of singers, that the young conductor Tomas Netopil underscored with the State Opera Orchestra with warmth. Andreas Schager, the immense Heldentenor, as Max, Camilla Nylund as the touching Agathe – a magnificent pair. The other roles were also well cast … “ (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Der Rosenkavalier
With their “comedy for music” in the spirit of Mozart, Richard Strauss and his inspired librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal created the most popular of all their works and one of the most frequently performed operas of all time. In the guise of a gossamer-light and supremely entertaining high-class comedy, Der Rosenkavalier touches on universal themes such as love, sex, marital fidelity and the changes that human relations undergo over time – and all of it set to music of the most glorious kind imaginable. With its stellar cast under the inspired direction of Harry Kupfer, the 2014 Salzburg Festival’s production of Der Rosenkavalier was one of the most internationally acclaimed interpretations of the work since the start of the new millennium. “A musical feast from beginning to end“ (Wiener Zeitung).
Medea
Marlis Petersen, Michaela Selinger, Elisabeth Kulman, Michael Roider, and Adrian Erod star in this Vienna State Opera production of the Reimann opera conducted by Michale Boder and directed by Marco Arturo Marelli.
Christian Thielemann conducts Chausson, Debussy and Fauré
Christian Thielemann conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in a programme of late Romantic French masterpieces, accompanied by the outstanding voices of Christiane Karg, Sophie Koch and Adrian Eröd. Gabriel Fauré’s heart-easing Requiem with its famous “Pie Jesu” is turned into a “magical moment” by Karg’s “divine” way of singing (Kulturradio). Ernest Chausson’s haunting song cycle Poème de l’amour et de la mer, in which Sophie Koch performs “superbly with her dramatic, yet light voice” (FAZ), constitutes the Requiem’s temporal counterpart. Thematically bridging the two works are Debussy’s Danse sacrée and Danse profane for harp and strings, with the orchestra’s principal harp Marie-Pierre Langlamet creating “cascades of artful polyphony in delicate nuances” (FAZ).
Hollywood in Vienna – A Tribute to Randy Newman
The legendary Film Music Gala from the Wiener Konzerthaus with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra , in 2014 was dedicated to Randy Newman. The program contains favourite film music from War of the Roses to The Simpsons, from Sabrina to Life of Brian, Pink Panther, The Artist, Mr. Bean, Love … actually, and several Randy Newman song medleys.
The World Of The Ring
Christian Thielemann, the most soughtafter Wagner conductor of our time, looks into the story behind one of the most ambitious opera projects of music history: the genesis and reception of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” – in a four-part documentary by film director Eric Schulz.