Franz Lehár’s “Das Land des Lächelns” is one of the best-known operettas of all time. For this new production Piotr Beczala, a world star who cultivates the tradition of the famous Tauber style like no other, returned to the Opernhaus Zürich as Sou-Chong. He has an equal partner in Julia Kleiter, who played the role of Lisa. Fabio Luisi and Andreas Homoki also know that the genre of operetta requires particular care – which is why they have assumed personal responsibility for this production. Homoki lets the plot take place in a Paris Variététheater from the 1920s, complete with show staircase and heavy curtains. To emphasize the operatic elements, he purged the piece, cutting several secondary roles and shortening dialogues. “Julia Kleiter as Lisa and Piotr Beczala as Sou-Chong – unhappy lovers, but vocally a dream couple!” SRF
Lucia di Lammermoor
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor is by no means a private love tragedy, but rather an eminently political story that demonstrates how a system of power deforms and ultimately corrodes human relationships. Donizetti provided his most haunting music for the rebellion and extinction of betrayed love; the revenge is bloody, the madness deadly. In this new production of the Opernhaus Zürich, soprano Irina Lungu sings the title role of Lucia. Piotr Beczala appears as her lover and Massimo Cavalletti as her brother. Tatjana Gürbaca, renowned for her precise direction, staged the visually powerful production under the musical direction of Speranza Scappucci.
Le Concert de Paris 2021
It is now a well-established tradition: every year, on July 14, the Orchestre National de France welcomes the summer with a large musical gathering at the foot of the Eiffel Tower with stunning fireworks. Conducted by Simone Young, and accompanied by the Chorus of Radio France, the orchestra invites the audience around the world, to experience great arias and famous concert pieces in the company of prestigious soloists like Pretty Yende, Piotr Beczala, Renaud Capuçon, Ksenija Sidorova, Clementine Margaine, and Ibrahim Maalouf!
Bayreuth Festival 2018: Lohengrin
From the 2018 Bayreuth Festival, the acclaimed new production by American director Yuval Sharon, “one of the most interesting arrivals on the musical landscape” (Opernwelt). The New York Times praised “the outstanding Piotr Beczala” as Lohengrin, “Anja Harteros [making] her impressive Bayreuth debut” as Elsa, and Ortrud “played with dominant presence by the incomparable Waltraud Meier”. The distinguished artists Neo Rauch and Rosa Loy created “breathtaking visuals”, and the whole performance was guided with “enthralling musicality” by conductor Christian Thielemann.