“Michael Volle’s Wotan […] is an event, […] Rolando Villazón plays a fabulous Loge.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) A myth, a heroic epic, a family saga – perhaps all of these together – make up Richard Wagner’s Ring tetralogy. This epic production of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden sees a remarkable collaboration between Christian Thielemann , one of the most distinguished Wagner conductors of our time, and Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the great, internationally celebrated opera directors of our time. The result is “A glittering feast of voices, sounds, ideas and precise direction of characters. Wagner at his best.” (BR Klassik) The Rheingold gives the background to the events that drive the main dramas of the whole Ring cycle. “In this Rheingold, Thielemann mastered the art of nuance and varied interpretation like no other, and without having to bank on exaggeration.” (Bachtrack.com)
Joe Hisaishi in Concert
Joe Hisaishi wrote the score for some of his country’s most successful films, Japanese Anime movies, popular around the globe. In this concert, he presents and conducts some of his best-known compositions: the scores of Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, as well as a symphony of his own. Joe Hisaishi is without doubt the most popular Japanese composer in the world. His collaboration with director Hayao Miyazaki has been compared to that of director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams. “As a composer, I have chosen not to restrict myself” (Joe Hisaishi). PROGRAM Hisaishi: Symphony No. 2, Woman, Princess Mononoke, One Summer’s Day, World Dreams
Turandot
Philipp Stölzl, known as award-winning cinema director (The Physician), always finds time for opera despite his many TV and cinema projects – and each time it is a very special production. He now turned to Giacomo Puccini’s last opera Turandot, which remained unfinished, because the composer could not find a twist for the final love scene that convinced him. Stölzl came up with a “a particularly intelligent perspective” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), which fascinates as much as his massive puppet moved by string, the splendid cast, or the Staatskapelle Berlin in the pit conducted by the great Zubin Mehta.
Aida
Even though Christian Thielemann conducted a lot of Italian operas during his “journeyman years” in Italy, this production at the Semperoper is his very first Aida. He tells this stirring drama by Giuseppe Verdi at the Semperoper Dresden with a great symphonic arc and a sense of detail. No blaring, no crashing: Everything is carefully balanced and lovingly modelled. With small breakes when it’s important, and otherwise a high basic pulse, Thielemann and the luxurious Staatskapelle Dresden counter the oratorical, statuesque nature of the piece with a lot of dramatic tension. Katharina Thalbach, known for her innovative and thought-provoking productions, created a classical set for the Semperoper and hence laid all the focus on the portrayal of the characters and their relationships and on the music. The “outstanding ensemble of singers” (Deutschlandfunk). “The crowning glory of this feast of voices is provided by Francesco Meli … currently the best Radamès” (Der Merkur), Krassimira Stoyanova as Aida, who beguiles with her power as well as with piani, and Oksana Volkova as Amneris, who comes up with darkly blazing passion” (Neue Musikzeitung).
Ein deutsches Requiem
The “German Requiem” made Johannes Brahms one of the most famous composers of his time. He himself later said of his work, “I have now found consolation.” Under the direction of Gianandrea Noseda, who presented himself with this extraordinary concert as the new General Music Director of the Zurich Opera House, the choir and orchestra performed in an empty hall – the orchestra on the stage, the choir facing it in the parquet and the tiers of the auditorium. Distanced, yet united in consolation. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Giuditta
Giuditta was to be Franz Lehár’s ticket to the world of opera: His “Spieloper” or “musical comedy” was triumphantly premiered in January 1934. Intoxicating melodies and borrowings from Puccini, whom Lehár admired, and his tragically loving characters stand alongside operetta-like innocuousness. However, the end of the plot is by no means cheerful; the lovers Giuditta and Octavio go their separate ways in resignation. The “musical comedy” thus only seems to stand in stark contrast to the social present of the emerging war, the 1930s. Director Christoph Marthaler, known for his whimsically beautiful theatre evenings, picks up on the ambivalence of Lehár’s characters, who vacillate between opulence and resignation, between euphoria and the abyss. Orchestral music by Béla Bartók, Erich Wolfgang Korngold or Dmitri Shostakovich, songs by Viktor Ullmann, Hanns Eisler or Alban Berg as well as excerpts from Sladek oder Die schwarze Armee by Ödön von Horváth radically place Lehár’s operetta in the context of its time of origin. Giuditta in Christoph Marthaler’s version tells a love story within the turmoil and confusion of the times, brilliantly realised by a top-class cast led by Vida Mikneviciute and Daniel Behle.
Parsifal
Russian stage director Kirill Serebrennikov’s fearlessness, which one can almost physically feel in his productions, fascinates some as much as it confuses others. His radical reading of Wagner’s last magnificent opera at Wiener Staatsoper considers Parsifal as an opera of liberation, namely as a liberation from oneself through the realisation that the path to freedom can only be tackled by oneself. One central idea of this production is the doubled Parsifal, who drags his old ego of the past around with himself in order to leave it behind at the end. Opposite the wavering Parsifal figures stands a powerful Kundry. The whole cast excels, especially the central pairing of Jonas Kaufmann as Parsifal and Elina Garanca in her role debut as Kundry: two icons in prime vocal form and immersed in their roles to a degree that transcends the hype that surrounds them. Philippe Jordan conducting the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper opts for a bright, fast Wagner. “A luxury cast for Wagner’s wonder sounds” Salzburger Nachrichten / “Serebrennikov conjures up worlds of images that never let you go.” FAZ
Don Giovanni
The world-famous singer, conductor and the holder of 14 Grammy Awards Plácido Domingo came up, as conductor and artistic director, with a unique Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre Prague, where the opera had it´s premiere 230 years ago. The production boasts an original classic scene, traditional costumes, designed by Theodor Pištek, the Oscar winner „Best costume design“ for the Amadeus movie and authentic stage direction matching the performance features from 1787. The cast features extraordinary Operalia competition winners with top Czech singers chosen bei Plácido Domingo.
Gyorgy Kurtag: The Matchstick Man
“The structures stripped bare hold up the empty air”. György Kurtág is more than one of the most powerful creative voices in modern Europe. He created a new way of listening; forging a musical language in which silence can be as meaningful as sound and even the smallest gesture opens up new worlds. This award-winning 1996 documentary offers an unrivalled, often profoundly moving glimpse into his creative imagination, including interviews with the composer as well as rare performance and rehearsal footage plus contributions from György Ligeti, Claudio Abbado, pianist Zoltán Kocsis and the composer’s late wife (and artistic collaborator) Márta.
Thomas Guggeis conducts Smetana
The Prague Spring Festival opens annually with Bedrich Smet ana’s cycle Má vlast (My Fatherland), always on 12 May, the anniversary of the composer’s death. It is one of the national monuments of Czech music: a musical foray through the world of the Czech mythical character Šárka, through the history and landscape of the Bohemian Basin in the heart of Europe and the old Prague castle of Vyšehrad. The most famous movement, “Vltava” describes the river Moldau and its course through the country. It is therefore a special honour to be invited to play the opening concert. Only the best orchestras are asked, but for probably no other orchestra the theme of Má vlast has such significance as for the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. At the rostrum is Thomas Guggeis, a former assistant of Daniel Barenboim, who has – as many scholars of the great maestro before – made his own career and has been appointed general music director of the Frankfurt Opera.