In her production, the director and choreographer Gabriela Carrizo sets out to explore the identity and motives of Carmen, a quasi-mythical woman. As in her creations for her Peeping Tom dance theatre company, notable for their intense physicality, multilayered meanings and poetic power, she zooms in on the psyche and unconscious of the characters. The Utopia Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Teodor Currentzis, who has led five previous opera productions in Salzburg. Asmik Grigorian, Jonathan Tetelman, Kristina Mkhitaryan and Davide Luciano take on the main roles.
Norma
In this intimate staging of Bellini’s masterpiece opera, Asmik Grigorian’s highly anticipated debut as Norma is “one of the best things to happen to Vienna’s opera stages in a long time” (FAZ). Set in a dictatorship of the 20th century, Grigorian’s Norma is the forewoman of a clay foundry. Vasily Barkhatov’s “convincingly concentrated, intimate staging” (Kronenzeitung) underscores the drama of the love triangle between the three central characters. Grigorian masters the notoriously difficult role with bravura: “Grigorian is a true Callas successor because every gesture and facial expression merges with her musical expression” (Kleine Zeitung). In Aigul Akhmetshina as Adalgisa, “she found a counterpart who has one of the richest mezzo voices of our time” (Die Presse). Freddie De Tommaso as Pollione completes the three-way conflict with his “clean and beautifully sounding” tenor (Oper News). Rounding out the evening musically are the “magnificent in every respect” Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Salzburger Nachrichten). “All in all, a breathtakingly thrilling evening with a perfect interlocking of stage and pit” (Van Magazin).
Don Carlo
“vocal luxury was the order of the day”(Die Deutsche Bühne) In this new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo, director Kirill Serebrennikov sets the opera in a historic costume research institute, blending history with the present. Silent actors in historic costumes symbolize self-aggrandizement and emotional confinement. Conductor Philippe Jordan is praised for his sensitivity. Joshua Guerrero effectively portrays Don Carlo, while Etienne Dupuis’s Posa is a charming freedom fighter. Roberto Tagliavini stands out as Filippo II, and Eve-Maud Hubeaux impresses alongside Asmik Grigorian, who shines in her role debut as Elisabetta, delivering a powerful performance that resonates deeply with the audience.
Pique Dame
“Magnetic pull: Soprano Asmik Grigorian shines” (Salzburger Nachrichten) “Madness in close-up” (BR Klassik): Director Benedict Andrews plunges Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame at the Bavarian State Opera into a cinematic film noir aesthetic, in which the characters regularly seem to vanish into shadow and mystery. Brandon Jovanovich “plays a credibly broken anti-hero as Hermann” (Münchner Merkur) and Asmik Grigorian as Lisa once again steals the show with her unerring dramatic and vocal skills. Conductor Aziz Shokhakimov gives a convincing debut at the podium of the state orchestra, managing a “dramatically stirring, propulsive interpretation” (FAZ).
Turandot
At the Vienna State Opera, Claus Guth stages Puccini’s last opera as a chamber drama of timeless topicality – far removed from all pseudo-Chinese clichés and with shooting star Asmik Grigorian and audience favourite Jonas Kaufmann in the two leading roles. For Asmik Grigorian, the role is a debut and she succeeds “brilliantly. […] Her singing reveals a woman’s soul” (Die Presse) and captivates with “glistening high notes, the coldest cantilenas and deeply felt emotions” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). In contrast, the foreign prince appears less as a swashbuckling conqueror than as a sensitive companion who reaches out his hand to a woman struggling with her demons. The role of Calaf is also a stage debut for Jonas Kaufmann. He sings the famous “Nessun dorma” “with the greatest sensitivity” (Salzburger Nachrichten), “he is in his element in the top notes, his velvety timbre is convincing in every register”. (Der Standard). The Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan portrays a touching Liù as an “enchantingly beautiful soprano” (Kronen Zeitung). Conductor Marco Armiliato “delights with the unleashed splendour of Puccini’s sound” (Falter).
Rusalka
“The public surrenders to Asmik Grigorian”, wrote Spanish newspaper El Español enthusiastically about the premiere of Antonín Dvorák’s lyric fairy tale “Rusalka” and continued: “Fine cinnamon. Unforgettable. What a great Rusalka we have for the future!” Grigorian perfectly embodies the role of the water nymph who becomes a human in order to find love, but then loses all hope when her prince is seduced by a sensual princess. Stage director Christof Loy tells the story as a fascinating journey of a young woman into life. Thanks to Teatro Real’s music director Ivor Bolton, the whole production is of an immense quality, combining the romantic lyricism with a dark and terrifying musical atmosphere.
The Gambler
Based on a short novel by Dostoyevsky, Prokofiev’s The Gambler unfolds in the fictional casino town of Roulettenburg, where a variety of characters converge and clash. These characters include a General indebted to a covetous Marquis, the General’s resentful stepdaughter Polina, and Alexey, who harbors feelings for her. Director Peter Sellars, known for his insightful interpretations of overlooked masterpieces, challenges us to mirror the bravery of Dostoyevsky and Prokofiev – the courage to confront our inner darkness. The musical direction of Russian conductor Timur Zangiev shines together with the vocal performances of the exceptional cast: “Asmik Grigorian portraying a passionate Polina, and Sean Panikkar delivering a powerful performance as Alexei” (Financial Times) “Peter Sellars…has done what this exceptional director always tries to do: present an old, distant story as an analysis of the here and now” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) “A triumph of vision and passion” (European News Agency) “Grand sound cinema” (Bachtrack)
Macbeth
With his Macbeth, Giuseppe Verdi broke with the operatic conventions of the time and created one of his darkest and most abysmal works. Directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, the timeless drama unfolds in a new interpretation that takes the audience on an intense journey into human abysses. An opera of this kind demands not only outstanding voices but also outstanding actors. “Vladislav Sulimsky is forceful and brutish in the title role, at times truly frightening, always utterly assured.” (Financial Times) Asmik Grigorian is giving her debut as Lady Macbeth and performs “with an urgency of expression that needs no further explanation.” (Salzburger Nachrichten) “Her singing becomes a victory over expressive resistance.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine) “Philippe Jordan celebrated a triumph on the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker” (Kurier), his “Macbeth crackles with power and electricity, propelled by its own velocity. The orchestra attacks the score with relish.” (Financial Times) “A triumph for ‘Lady Macbeth’ Asmik Grigorian.” (Kronen Zeitung)
Il trittico
Il trittico was premiered in New York on 14 December 1918, composed while the First World War was still raging in Europe. At first glance, the three one-act operas Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and Suor Angelica seem to have no connection with each other; their common denominator is solely the entanglement of man in a fateful destiny that only exceptionally, for a moment, seems to promise a happy outcome to the “adventure of life” – a set of themes that in its complexity seems to be in such good hands with few directors as with Christof Loy. The main female roles in the three opera acts are performed by the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, a very rare and tremendous feat, but once again connects the works to each other. “Grigorian is […] a wonderful, intense performer: a gracefully graceful Donna fragile as Lauretta, a feverishly longing for love while tormented by guilt Giorgetta, and a desperately lost Angelica rebelling with defiance.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) “Loy’s direction is competent and detailed without being revelatory; this is scrupulous conservatism at its best.” (Financial Times)
Elektra
Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The Lithuanian soprano Ausrine Stundyte as vengeful and traumatized Elektra turns the opening of the Festival into a real knockout performance! Her sister Chrysotemis is sung by her compatriot Asmik Grigorian, who made her international breakthrough as acclaimed Salome at the 2018 Salzburg Festival, and whose performance once again draws the audience into spell. Tanja Ariane Baumgartner as Klytämnestra, Derek Welton as Orest and Michael Laurenz as Ägisth complete an ensemble of top-notch singers. The staging by Krzysztof Warlikowski of this work about matricide, obsession, revenge and physical degradation is a deep psychological study of a broken family. Franz Welser-Möst brings his trademark flair to the pit where the brilliantly effervescent and then again heartrendingly gentle playing Wiener Philharmoniker create gloriously exultant Strauss moments. “To have chosen Elektra of all pieces, was audacious – and to have brought it off so well, triumphant”