The performance of La Traviata at the 2005 Salzburg Festival drew attention from all over the world: It is not the first time on stage together for Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón in the leading roles – but it is here in Salzburg that they finally rise to superstardom. Each are brilliant on their own, but under the direction of Willy Decker, they shine above all as a couple, playing to the fantasies of the audience. Opera stars had never before been so up-close and personal, and had never been so present in the media. Previously unseen rehearsal scenes and interviews with Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Thomas Hampson and Willy Decker bring this magic moment of music to life.
Anton Bruckner – The Enigmatic Genius
The cliché of Bruckner as a “musician of God”, writing symphonies “for the higher honour of the Lord”, doesn’t match his complex and troubled personality, which is as intricate as his music. The film explores Bruckner’s enigmatic relationship with his craft: was he truly a “weirdo” (as Brahms called him), detached from symphonic norms, or a bold musical innovator? Actor Michael Dangl and music journalist Marie König lead this exploration to try to uncover the essence of Bruckner’s character on a journey to the ‘Bruckner sites’ in Upper Austria and Vienna. The film also gathers insights from authentic eyewitness accounts and contemporary reports, as well as interviews with renowned figures like Franz Welser-Möst, Markus Poschner, organist Hansjörg Albrecht, and former Wiener Philharmoniker chairman Clemens Hellsberg.
Magic Moments of Music – Der Rosenkavalier by Herbert von Karajan
The Salzburg Festival is celebrating its 100th anniversary in the summer of 2020. Among the co-founders of the festival were the composer Richard Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Their most popular work was without doubt the comic opera Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose). In 1960, the newly constructed Great Festival Hall in Salzburg opened its doors to the public with a performance of this very same opera. On the conductor’s podium was Herbert von Karajan. The production was such a success that it was decided that it should be captured for posterity on 35mm film. The performers included Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who is still considered by many as unmatched in the role of the Marschallin, and Anneliese Rothenberger. Among the artists returning to this 1960 opera for Great Moments in Music are Ioan Holender, conductor Franz Welser-Möst, singers Anna Prohaska and Günther Groissböck. Lastly, the episode accompanies André Heller as he fulfils a long-cherished dream: he is directing the new production of Der Rosenkavalier at the Berlin State Opera.