This new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin is the culminating completion of the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy with Vincent Huguet as stage director. Huguet wants the Da Ponte trilogy to be understood as a legend of sexual liberation and its consequences, and the three operas of the cycle each tell of different phases of life. Don Giovanni about the escape of an ageing man in a world full of contradictions. Huguet sets the story of a seducer who ends up in hell for mocking his murder victim in the 1980s: Don Giovanni is a fashion photographer who uses his position of power to bed as many good-looking women as possible. The young ensemble of singers around Michael Volle as Don Giovanni, including Elsa Dreisig, Slávka Zámecníková, and David Oštrek, embrace this interpretation with immense enthusiasm. The Staatskapelle Berlin is conducted by Staatskapellmeister Thomas Guggeis. “An ensemble of young female voices who approached their roles with such freshness it was pure joy to listen to them.” (Bachtrack.com)
Le nozze di Figaro
Set designer Aurélie Maestre and costume designer Clémence Pernoud have moved the action of this Staatsoper Berlin production into the 80s, imbuing it with a retro ambiance that adds to the natural comedy of the opera. Throughout this adaptation of Le nozze di Figaro, stage director Vincent Huguet has an eye for more than just entertainment: the extraordinary singing and acting talent of the soloists, including the stellar Elsa Dreisig, Nadine Sierra and Emily D’Angelo, also allow him the leeway for nuanced reflections on human behavior. This already fantastic bill is topped off by the world-class Staatskapelle Berlin with the Daniel Barenboim at its helm: a sheer delight for eyes, ears, and mind! “Quirky action comedy à la Almodóvar.” Tagesspiegel
Ein Deutsches Requiem
When Brahms composed his “German Requiem”, he thought little of the salvation of the deceased. With his music, Brahms wanted to give comfort to the bereaved, so he decided against the usual Latin text of the Roman Catholic Church and chose German texts from Luther’s Bible instead. Nevertheless, or precisely because of this, the work thrilled the audience and made it a triumphant success for Brahms. In this performance Christian Thielemann, doubtless one of the leading conductors for the romantic symphonic music, at the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker, together with the Wiener Singverein, the choir that first performed the first three movements of the Requiem in December 1867, and a duo of outstanding singers, “conjures unforgettable moments” (BR Klassik). Soloists of the evening were French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig (“delicate”, Der Standard) and German baritone Michael Volle. Thielemann’s “differentiated conception finds a harmonious balance between intimacy and archaic moments and transports Brahms’s core message of consolation to the audience’s delight in an immediate way.” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2025
It is the traditional start to the pre-Christmas season for classical music lovers throughout Germany: on the eve of the First Advent, the Frauenkirche shines in its baroque splendour and offers a magnificent experience with the Sächsische Staatskapelle, the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor and the Kreuzchor Dresden. Conductor Nicholas Collon takes the podium for this year’s concert, joined by the dazzling soprano Elsa Dreisig, star tenor Benjamin Bernheim, and virtuoso violinist Daniel Hope. Together, they present a festive programme of Mozart, Berlioz, Bach, Gounod, and more.
Stars of Tomorrow presented by Rolando Villazón – Episode 31
With unparalleled charm and whirlwind exuberance, world-renowned tenor Rolando Villazón hosts a unique television special in which young musical “stars of tomorrow” are introduced to millions of music lovers as soloists in performances with the Junge Sinfonie Berlin under the baton of Giedre Slekyte und Elias Grandy – a highly successful, casual, briskly paced concert series that appeals to young audiences!
Festive Re-Opening Staatsoper Unter den Linden – Scenes from Goethe’s Faust
The Staatsoper Berlin is back in ist place of origin: Unter den Linden! After major renovations, it reopens with Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Under the direction of Jürgen Flimm and in the sets of acclaimed German artist Markus Lüpertz, Schumann’s orchestral work is transformed in a captivating drama. In the glow of the renovated opera hall Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin perform alongside soloists such as Roman Trekel, Elsa Dreisig and René Pape. Besides the vocal parts, the main characters Faust, Gretchen and Mephistopheles are embodied by the renowned actors André Jung, Meike Droste and Sven-Eric Bechtolf.
Salzburg Festival 2023: Thielemann conducts Ein Deutsches Requiem
When Brahms composed his “German Requiem”, he thought little of the salvation of the deceased. With his music, Brahms wanted to give comfort to the bereaved, so he decided against the usual Latin text of the Roman Catholic Church and chose German texts from Luther’s Bible instead. Nevertheless, or precisely because of this, the work thrilled the audience and made it a triumphant success for Brahms. In this performance Christian Thielemann, doubtless one of the leading conductors for the romantic symphonic music, at the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker, together with the Wiener Singverein, the choir that first performed the first three movements of the Requiem in December 1867, and a duo of outstanding singers, “conjures unforgettable moments” (BR Klassik). Soloists of the evening were French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig (“delicate”, Der Standard) and German baritone Michael Volle. Thielemann’s “differentiated conception finds a harmonious balance between intimacy and archaic moments and transports Brahms’s core message of consolation to the audience’s delight in an immediate way.” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Salzburg Festival 2020: Così fan tutte
At Salzburg Festival the new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte is a magic moment in Mozart interpretation, a true feast for the eyes and ears: A masterfully clever staging, a ravishingly young cast and, with Joana Mallwitz, for the first time a woman stands at the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker for a staged opera production at the Festival. “The sovereignty and prudence with which conductor Joana Mallwitz steers her ensemble and the Wiener Philharmoniker through Mozart’s musical cosmos is phenomenal“, praises BR Klassik, “the orchestra likes to be carried away by her, playing with enthusiasm and brilliance.“ For this shortened version of Mozart´s masterpiece the young conductor joins forces with none other than the internationally renowned director Christof Loy. The celebrated stage director brings unexpected psychological elements to his strikingly modern mise en scène which is coherent down to the smallest detail. On the simple black and white stage, the emotional tragedy takes ist course: The sisters Fiordiligi (sung by stunning French soprano Elsa Dreisig) and Dorabella (beautifully presented by Marianne Crebassa) are subject of a bet made by their betrothed Ferrando (exquisite and sunny voiced Bogdan Volkov) and Guglielmo (hot tempered Andrè Schuen) with Don Alfonso (surprisingly uncynical Johannes Martin Kränzle): true faithfulness would not exist with women. In the end, Don Alfonso should be right and still, this game causes deep wounds for all involved!
“Hommage à Gounod” Gounod Birthday Concert
The Palazzetto Bru Zane joins forces with the Orchestre National de France to present a special concert retracing the composer’s career through rare and little-known pieces: his cantata for the 1837 Prix de Rome (Marie Stuart), the unpublished first version of the Poison Aria from Roméo et Juliette, his opera Cinq-Mars (revived only in 2015), excerpts from his epic sacred oratorio Mors et Vita, and the big female duet from Le Tribut de Zamora, the composer’s last opera. As is appropriate for a tribute, the concert also recalls some of Gounod’s greatest successes, with the Overture to Mireille and the Ballet Music from Faust, which have constantly delighted music lovers for more than a century now. “Bravos for the soloists and orchestra!” (Operawire)
Lucerne Festival 2017: Rattle conducts Haydn’s Schöpfung
It was a farewell and the end of an era: Sir Simon Rattle was in Lucerne as principal conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker one final time this summer. Together, they evoked the original state of the world with a performance of Haydn’s Schöpfung. It was a finale that touched upon life through music – thereby proving once again the distinctiveness and the outstanding standard of the artistic cosmos of Rattle and his orchestra. Earlier in the program, they played “ein kleines symphonisches Gedicht” by Georg Friedrich Haas, who was “composer-in-residence” of the Lucerne Festival in 2011. “Rattle highlights the story of the creation with a great sense of detail” NZZ