“The public surrenders to Asmik Grigorian”, wrote Spanish newspaper El Español enthusiastically about the premiere of Antonín Dvorák’s lyric fairy tale “Rusalka” and continued: “Fine cinnamon. Unforgettable. What a great Rusalka we have for the future!” Grigorian perfectly embodies the role of the water nymph who becomes a human in order to find love, but then loses all hope when her prince is seduced by a sensual princess. Stage director Christof Loy tells the story as a fascinating journey of a young woman into life. Thanks to Teatro Real’s music director Ivor Bolton, the whole production is of an immense quality, combining the romantic lyricism with a dark and terrifying musical atmosphere.
Don Carlos
Set in 16th-century France and Spain, Don Carlos tells of the political and amorous rivalry between King Philip II and his son, Don Carlos, over Elisabeth de Valois. Boasting an international cast in one of Verdi’s most popular operas, Luc Bondy’s moving production is the original French version restored to five acts.
Tosca
Puccini’s verismo masterpiece demands a trio of vocal soloists of stellar quality. This Munich Festival production of “Tosca” meets all expectations. The great Finnish soprano Karita Mattila infuses her Tosca with passion and controlled intensity. As her lover Cavaradossi, Jonas Kaufmann once again confirms his status as one of the leading tenors of our time, and Juha Uusitalo’s evil Scarpia brims with dark menace.
Schubert, Mass in E flat major No.6, D. 950
Franz Schubert’s Mass in E flat major D. 950 is an uncontested masterpiece of Viennese sacred music. Composed in 1828, the year of Schubert’s death, it reaches a depth and a grandeur equaled in his sacred works perhaps only by the A flat major Mass. Did premonitions of his fatal illness and death stir him to pour his soul into this work? In any event, it breaks away from the rather perfunctory quality of his earlier masses. The tragic tones, austere contrapuntal textures and expressive, dramatic choral writing are nothing less than profoundly gripping. The unusually large wind section without flutes recalls Mozart’s Requiem, which was the last composition written by Mozart before his death. The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado.
Il trittico
Il trittico was premiered in New York on 14 December 1918, composed while the First World War was still raging in Europe. At first glance, the three one-act operas Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and Suor Angelica seem to have no connection with each other; their common denominator is solely the entanglement of man in a fateful destiny that only exceptionally, for a moment, seems to promise a happy outcome to the “adventure of life” – a set of themes that in its complexity seems to be in such good hands with few directors as with Christof Loy. The main female roles in the three opera acts are performed by the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, a very rare and tremendous feat, but once again connects the works to each other. “Grigorian is […] a wonderful, intense performer: a gracefully graceful Donna fragile as Lauretta, a feverishly longing for love while tormented by guilt Giorgetta, and a desperately lost Angelica rebelling with defiance.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) “Loy’s direction is competent and detailed without being revelatory; this is scrupulous conservatism at its best.” (Financial Times)
Rusalka
Rusalka returns to Madrid “on an overwhelming level that will leave its mark”. (El Español) Mesmerizing soprano Asmik Grigorian, “already one of the most outstanding sopranos of her generation“ (Online Merker) stars with a “voice, at its zenith of maturity“ (El Pais) in the title role of Christoph Loy’s timeless and evocative staging of Dvorák’s tragic take on the Little Mermaid fable. Especially „the direction of dancers and extras in the second act is a virtuoso performance by Loy and his choreographer.“ (El Pais) “Musically, this Rusalka is of immense quality, no doubt due to the spectacular work of Ivor Bolton.“ (El Español)
Salzburg Festival 2022: Il trittico
Il trittico was premiered in New York on 14 December 1918, composed while the First World War was still raging in Europe. At first glance, the three one-act operas Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and Suor Angelica seem to have no connection with each other; their common denominator is solely the entanglement of man in a fateful destiny that only exceptionally, for a moment, seems to promise a happy outcome to the “adventure of life” — a set of themes that in its complexity seems to be in such good hands with few directors as with Christof Loy. The main female roles in the three opera acts are performed by the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, a very rare and tremendous feat, but once again connects the works to each other. “Grigorian is […] a wonderful, intense performer: a gracefully graceful Donna fragile as Lauretta, a feverishly longing for love while tormented by guilt Giorgetta, and a desperately lost Angelica rebelling with defiance.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Mozart, Kyrie in D minor, K.341
The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. Mozart’s Kyrie in D minor K. 341 is a monumental torso written most likely in Vienna in 1788. It dispenses with all traditional restrictions and conventions of church music; for example, it contains no solo vocal parts, includes clarinets and four horns for the first time in Mozart’s sacred music, and prefigures the tragic solemnity of the Requiem with the use of the same key of D minor.
Mozart, Aria of the Angel from “Funeral Music”, K. 42
The “Grabmusik” (Funeral Music) K. 42 was composed in 1767, when Mozart was 11 years old. Its style reflects the Italian influence predominant in church music at that time. The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. The soloist here is the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, whose “splendid timbre” was singled out by the reviewer of Vienna’s leading daily “Die Presse.”
Mozart, Laudate Dominum, K. 339
The “Laudate Dominum” is part of the “Vesperae solennes de confessore” K. 339, written in Salzburg in 1780. The strikingly sensual beauty of the long soprano cantilena, highlighted by the filigree of the violin melody and supported by the rich bassoon tone, has undoubtedly been responsible for the enormous popularity this work has always enjoyed. The Vienna State Opera Chorus’s All Saints’ Day concert has become an institution in Vienna. Although the superbly homogeneous and subtly shading chorus plays the most important role throughout this concert, the orchestra also unfolds its warm and colorful and, at times, forceful personality. The concert in which this work was recorded took place on All Saints’ Day 1986 under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. The soloist here is the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, whose “splendid timbre” was singled out by the reviewer of Vienna’s leading daily “Die Presse.”