Russian stage director Kirill Serebrennikov’s fearlessness, which one can almost physically feel in his productions, fascinates some as much as it confuses others. His radical reading of Wagner’s last magnificent opera at Wiener Staatsoper considers Parsifal as an opera of liberation, namely as a liberation from oneself through the realisation that the path to freedom can only be tackled by oneself. One central idea of this production is the doubled Parsifal, who drags his old ego of the past around with himself in order to leave it behind at the end. Opposite the wavering Parsifal figures stands a powerful Kundry. The whole cast excels, especially the central pairing of Jonas Kaufmann as Parsifal and Elina Garanca in her role debut as Kundry: two icons in prime vocal form and immersed in their roles to a degree that transcends the hype that surrounds them. Philippe Jordan conducting the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper opts for a bright, fast Wagner. “A luxury cast for Wagner’s wonder sounds” Salzburger Nachrichten / “Serebrennikov conjures up worlds of images that never let you go.” FAZ
Verdi, Messa da Requiem
In time for the Verdi Year 2013 the Teatro alla Scala has come up with a special project: Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with an exquisite quartet of soloists – Anja Harteros, Elina Garanca, Jonas Kaufmann and René Pape – conducted by Daniel Barenboim, the Teatro’s Maestro scaligero. This first performance in Milan is followed by performances at the Lucerne and the Salzburg Festival and in the Berlin Philharmonie in 2013.
Beethoven, Missa solemnis in D major, Op.123
The concert commemorating the bombardment of Dresden in World War II features Beethoven’s mighty choral work under the direction of Christian Thielemann. Playing with vibrancy and passion, the Staatskapelle Dresden made a profound impression on the entire audience. Particularly remarkable is the fabulously homogeneous solo quartet formed of Krassimira Stoyanova, Elina Garanca, Michael Schade and Franz-Josef Selig. Another major vocal feat was accomplished by the Saxon State Opera Choir, which mastered the extremely difficult choral part with effortless proficiency.
Christian Thielemann – Wiener Philharmoniker at Salzburg Festival
Christian Thielemann is a compelling advocate for German music, and his Salzburg Festival 2020 programme with the Wiener Philharmoniker is smack-dab at the heart of his favoured repertoire. For his long-awaited return to the Summer Festival, he opens with Wagner’s Wesendock Songs, considered musical sketches for the opera Tristan und Isolde, with terrific Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as soloist. The centerpiece is Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, the Romantic. Storms of applause. “Together with an orchestra that breathes with her, Elina Garanca proved that she currently represents the non plus ultra in the mezzosoprano category. Grandiose the fusion of intensity and noble sound” Der Standard “An event with goose bumps“ Kurier PROGRAM Wagner: Five Poems for female voice and piano “Wesendonck Lieder”; Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 “Romantic”
Salzburg Opening Concert 2010
As the 2010 Salzburg Festival marked two major landmark anniversaries – the Festival’s 90th and the Großes Festspielhaus’s 50th – a glamorous and very special opening concert was mandatory: Daniel Barenboim, the Vienna Philharmonic and a quartet of world-class singers opened the proceedings in style. Barenboim, who in 2010 also celebrated his 60th anniversary onstage, excelled as soloist and conductor of Beethoven’s unsurpassably lyrical Fourth Piano Concerto. And subsequently, under his baton, Dorothea
Röschmann, Elina Garanc?a, Klaus Florian Vogt and René Pape delivered unforgettable performances in Bruckner’s poignant Te Deum.
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Beethoven´s Missa Solemnis was performed on 13 and 14 February at the traditional memorial concert to commemorate the bombardement of Dresden during the last weeks of World War II. Under Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden proved itself exeptionally qualified to master this work´s magnificent challenges. Thielemann “conjured up the gigantic cosmos of the Missa with such lightness and grace that its mystery seemed to reveal itself”, wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. No less remarkable was the fabulously homogeneous solo quartet formed of Elina Garanca, Krassimira Stoyanova Michael Schade, Franz-Josef Selig.
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2014
Elina Garanca, the star of this festal Advent concert, proves once more “that she has one of the loveliest and finest voices in the whole world”. In Georges Bizet’s “Agnus Dei”, in the “Regina Coeli” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, she lets her voice “shine and beam, bringing tears to many eyes”, the critics enthuse. Meanwhile Christiane Karg captivates us with her crystalclear soprano, winging its way straight to our hearts. The concert is conducted by maestro Pablo Heras-Casado, whose sensitive touch and style-conscious precision brings out to the full the particularly refined sound of the Staatskapelle. (Der neue Merker)
Elina Garanca – Naturally A Singer
The challenges of a young singer today: by telling Elina Garanc?a’s story, this film invites us on a journey into the heart of today’s lyrical art. It is this intriguing contrast between the beaming singer on stage with the young, concentrated woman, demanding and fragile in her work. This film will be a testimony, one of a future great singer that allows the general public to discover and understand the rise of a grand diva today. ‘There is a moment when you close yourself off completely. You don’t want to let anyone in because you have just given and shown everything possible of yourself and you simply feel empty and sort of lost. It is a special moment… so I gather all the pieces together that I have just given. […] Sometimes it occurs overnight. I wake up in the morning and I realize: Yes, the cosmos has pieced me together again.’
Elina Garanca
Opera Gala Baden-Baden
Four of the greatest singers of our time combine their talents and their artistry in an evening of beloved operatic numbers – rarely has a concert deserved the title ‘Opera Summit’ as much as this one, recorded live at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden on 3 August 2007. Heading the quartet is soprano Anna Netrebko with her inimitable blend of glamour and simplicity, her enticing appearance and seductive singing, a musical powerhouse who tops the pop charts and sells out operas houses within hours. Hardly less dazzling than her Russian colleague is Latvian mezzo Elina Garanc?a, whose crystal-clear voice and charismatic stage presence never fail to enthrall her audiences. Replacing the indisposed Rolando Villazón is his fellow Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas, who began his career in Europe after winning the first prize in the Enrico Caruso Competition in Milan. French baritone Ludovic Tézier is a frequent guest at La Scala, the Opéra Bastille and the Met.
La Favorite
Donizetti’s La Favorite at the Bayerische Staatsoper comes up with a cast of outstanding belcanto singers: star mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as seducing Léonor de Guzman (her very first stage role!), Matthew Polenzani as her desperate lover Fernand and Mariusz Kwiecien as King Alphonse. Amélie Niermeyer transforms the tragedy of the female role torn between spiritual and secular values into “a concentrated and intense drama […] with high acting quality” (Münchner Merkur). This contrast is highlighted by enormous architectural box structures that continually transport the characters between the convent and the royal palace, emphasizing the influence each party has on the current scene.