Making his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper with Munich’s first ever staging of Boito’s masterpiece, director Roland Schwab (a protégé of the legendary Ruth Berghaus) plays devil’s advocate by setting the opera in what looks like a garbage-strewn nightclub that then transforms into a geriatric hospital ward, by way of a drunken detour to Munich’s own Oktoberfest. Is Hell, then, simply the hell-on-earth that passes for the modern world? Singing “with clear, strong bass lines” (Deutschlandradio Kultur), René Pape plays Mephistopheles as the sardonic leader of a satanic cult. As Faust, his slave, tenor Joseph Calleja “hits his high notes with formidable vigour” (Financial Times). Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais’s Margherita “shines with understated Grace Kelly elegance” (Opera Today), in the pit, Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber.
Rusalka
This highly acclaimed production from the Bayerische Staatsoper was a veritable sensation and a double revelation. That of the powerful and fascinating re-interpretation of Antonín Dvo?ák’s fairy-tale opera “Rusalka” and that of the young, up-and-coming Latvian soprano, Kristine Opolais, whose performance was hailed by the press as “one of the most vivid and striking accomplishments seen on an opera stage in a long time” (Vienna’s daily “Der Standard”). With her velvety soprano, her captivating beauty and her tremendous stage presence, Opolais perfectly embodies the role of the water nymph who becomes a human in order to find love, but loses all hope when her prince is seduced by a sensual princess.
The Gambler (Der Spieler)
‘The Gambler’ is a dark study of human failings and the corruptive power of money. In this work, everyone gambles: the hero Alexey, the General and even the wealthy aunt Babulenka gamble with money; Blanche, the Marquis and Polina – who loves Alexey – gamble with their fellow human beings. The results are humiliation, ruin and self-delusion. But when the Staatskapelle Berlin under worldfamous conductor Daniel Barenboim provide the orchestral sound to the full, lustrous voices of Vladimir Ognovenko, Kristine Opolais, Misha Didyk, Stefania Toczyska and their colleagues, there is nothing even remotely dismal about the opera or its production. Directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, ‘the evening zips past entertainingly, yet leaves its traces in the listener’s mind: a stroke of genius like Prokofiev’s opera itself’ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
Red Ribbon Celebration Concert – Building Bridges for Peace
Now, in its fourth year, the Red Ribbon Celebration Concert has become an integral part of the world famous Vienna Life Ball Weekend, one of the biggest fund-raising events to further the cause of those living with HIV or AIDS. Staged in the legendary Burgtheater, the concert assembles a line-up of stars which reads like the who is who of classical music. Anna Netrebko, Juan Diego Florez, Piotr Beczala, Elena Maximova, Thomas Quasthoff, Yusif Eyvazov and Kristine Opolais as well as the jazz singer Gregory Porter perform an extraordinary concert according to the motto “Building Bridges for Peace”. From Porter’s hit “Water under Bridges” to a humorous interpretation of Franz Lehar’s “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” by Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, the stars where celebrated with “only bravos” (Salzburger Nachrichten).
Andris Nelsons – Boston Symphony: Inaugural Concert
This event celebrates the start of Andris Nelsons’ tenure as the 15th music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and features two of the conductor’s close colleagues, the acclaimed Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais and the outstanding German tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Singing’s selections from the Wagnerian and the Italian verismo repertoires, they join forces for a powerful duet from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. The concert opens with Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture – the work that first inspired a five year old Nelsons to a life in music – and closes with Respighi’s spectacular orchestral showcases “Pines of Rome”.
Britten: War Requiem
Fifty years to the day after its premiere, Andris Nelsons celebrated with his orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (which also gave that first performance), Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem through a special anniversary performance given at Coventry Cathedral, the site of its first performance, starring Erin Wall, Mark Padmore and Hanno Müller-Brachmann.
Magic Moments of Music – Maria Callas & Tosca
The beginning of 1964 held a great surprise for the music world: Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Not even the Beatles received more press coverage. All this, for an artist whose glorious career was said to be over, with the singer herself passing over to legend. It is no longer her performances, but her scandals that, are dominating the headlines. Unlucky in love with her billionaire boyfriend Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas wants to show them all that the title of ”Primadonna assoluta” is still rightfully hers. On condition that famed stage director Franco Zeffirelli takes on the production, the exceptional vocalist is prepared to take on the role of Tosca. Her fans queue outside the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden for four, even five nights. To get their hands on the sought after tickets, they spend the freezing winter nights in sleeping bags and on fold up chairs. A British broadcaster has recorded the opera’s second act. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history – to save the artist Cavaradossi from his torturer; Tosca ends up murdering the chief of police Scarpia. The film recording is one of the few opportunities to see Maria Callas on stage and witness her emotional dramatics and vocal competence.
Andris Nelsons conducts Dvorak
When Nelsons steps up to the podium of the Gewandhausorchester in March 2018 as its new musical director, Leipzig will indeed undergo a makeover. Apart from Felix Mendelssohn, his famous predecessor, he is the youngest conductor in the history of the orchestra beingthen only 37 years old. In this program Nelsons focuses on Dvorák – the “Otello” overture is followed by extracts from his opera Rusalka. Nelsons’ spouse, Kristine Opolais, takes over the arias of the title role, which she has already performed at the New York Met and the Bavarian State Opera. The fact that Nelsons also selected Dvorák’s 9th “From The New World” can be seen as a programmatic omen: Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester now enter new territory, so to speak, on a joint musical journey.
The Baltic Festive Concert – Kristine Opolais & Friends
Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais is the evening’s star soloist and will perform highlights from her secular and sacred repertoire. Under the baton of Constantine Orbelian, we experience a concert in the magnificent Basilica of Kaunas. Stars from Latvia, Armenia and the USA perform popular highlights from opera, ballet and orchestral song.