‘The Giacomo Variations’ is a chamber opera play based about the late Giacomo Casanova, who, in the face of his approaching death, is still trying to find out, what he was living for, if not only to be coveted and desired by the woman he loves. Giacomo, played by John Malkovich, presents his memories and stories to impress Countess Isabella, the beautiful young sister of his host Karl Emanuel Count von Waldstein and of course has his try on the nurse, the seamstress and the kitchen maid, while he is developing his philosophical view on love, medicine, fashion, and cookery. The play by Michael Sturminger with music concept by Michael Haselböck is based on opera scenes by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte.
LSO: Rattle conducts Haydn “The Seasons”
The London Symphony Chorus celebrate its 50th anniversary with Haydn’s ‘nature’ oratorio The Seasons, a stellar cast of international singers and Sir Simon Rattle. The Seasons is divided in to four sections: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter charting a musical year with rousing choruses, a riotous wine tasting with dancing peasants, a loud thunderstorm, even the croaking of frogs. In his old age Haydn achieved fame and fortune in London following visits here in the 1790s. ‘Papa Haydn’ was encouraged to write The Seasons by the great success of his previous oratorio The Creation, which was performed all over Europe.
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