Carmen

Georges Bizet‘s captivating music with its Spanish sounds took the world by storm: Carmen‘s Habanera and Seguidilla, like Escamillo‘s Toreador‘s Song, are known to one and all. The French composer‘s most successful opera is staged at Bregenz with a set designed by British artist Es Devlin. She has designed sets for pop stars like Adele, U2, Take That, the Pet Shop Boys and Kanye West. In collaboration with the stage director Kasper Holten, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London, she has also worked at opera houses in Helsinki and Copenhagen, at the Theater an der Wien and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. For the Danish stage director, this “opera about destiny and obsession” centres on “two people who are treated as outsiders, whose paths cross and who cling to each other in a passionate but unhealthy relationship”. „The whole ensemble deserves a floor-deep bow.” Der Tagesspiegel

„In terms of sound and, above all, visual finesse, the Carmen in Bregenz is opulent … and brilliant opera show.“ Wiener Zeitung // „The lake-stage in Bregenz is a venue for theatrical spectaculars, and Kasper Holten’s production of Carmen on Es Devlin’s extraordinary set was a knockout.“ The Telegraph // „The French singer Gaëlle Arquez proves to be a lucky find. Not only her massive, shimmering mezzo-soprano is convincing, but her high-quality acting skills as well.” Salzburger NachrichtenNachrichten

Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Bregenz’s Tales of Hoffmann is different from everything you saw before. The New York Times praised the “thoughtfulness and creativity” of Stefan Herheim’s new production, devised by the director as a search for one’s own self in a sparkling drag show. A “shining-toned” (NYT) Hoffmann is embodied by tenor Daniel Johansson in the title role. He is supported by a fantastic cast: “Rachel Frenkel is positively ideal as Muse and Niklausse” (Kurier), Kerstin Avemo as Olympia is “endowed with brilliant, cheekily extemporized coloraturas” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), Michael Volle sings the parts of Lindorf, Coppélius, Dr. Miracle and Dapertutto, “the work’s four villains, with warmth and intensity” (NYT) and Mandy Fredrich is a “finelyphrased Antonia” (Kurier).

Bregenz Festival 2017: Carmen

Georges Bizet‘s captivating music with its Spanish sounds took the world by storm: Carmen‘s Habanera and Seguidilla, like Escamillo‘s Toreador‘s Song, are known to one and all. The French composer‘s most successful opera is staged on the world’s largest, spectacular floating stage of Lake Constance in Bregenz, with a set designed by British artist Es Devlin. She has designed sets for pop stars like Adele, U2, Take That, the Pet Shop Boys and Kanye West. In collaboration with the stage director Kasper Holten, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London, she has also worked at opera houses in Helsinki and Copenhagen, at the Theater an der Wien and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. For the Danish stage director, this “opera about destiny and obsession” centres on “two people who are treated as outsiders, whose paths cross and who cling to each other in a passionate but unhealthy relationship”.

Bregenz Festival 2015: Les Contes d’Hoffmann

“The opera visit of the year – Bregenz is showing a Tales of Hoffmann that makes you forget everything you saw before.” (FAZ) Sparkling with creativity, Stefan Herheim’s new staging of Jacques Offenbach’s opera Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Bregenz Festival, starring Kerstin Avemo, Mandy Fredrich, Rachel Frenkel, Daniel Johansson and Michael Volle, was received by an enthusiastic audience with standing ovation and frenetic applause. The international press agreed wholeheartedly: The New York Times praised the “thoughtfulness and creativity” of the new production, devised by the director as a search for one’s own self in a sparkling drag show.