Alban Berg’s final opera Lulu is like nothing else in 20th-century theatre. A psychodrama of a woman and her sexuality in a corrupt (and corrupting) world, it’s set to music of shattering power and iridescent sensuality; an opera to disturb and seduce in equal measure. This 2001 staging from Zurich Opera made a powerful impression on critics at the time, with soprano Laura Aikin compelling as the morally ambivalent heroine, and Franz Welser-Möst drawing lustrous playing from the orchestra. Director Sven-Erich Bechtolf, meanwhile, calls on pop culture and Weimar cabaret to explore the dark underbelly of an opera that never gets any less compelling.
Il Turco in Italia
A romantic poet, a gypsy girl, a spirited young wife and an Ottoman pasha: throw them together under the blue skies of Naples and the result is an opera buffa that’s precisely as fizzy and as farcical as you’d imagine from Rossini at the absolute top of his game. Il Turco in Italia is exuberant (and distinctly spicy) fun in the sun and Cesare Lievi’s delightful, candy-coloured 2002 staging from the Zurich Opera House has a cast to die for: with Cecilia Bartoli, no less, as the capricious Fiorilla and the veteran Ruggiero Raimondi exuding charisma and warmth as the Turk Selim.
Nina
Crazy in love: Mozart was a fan of the operas of Giovanni Paisiello and in the years after its premiere in 1789, Nina took Europe by storm. Its blend of melody, playfulness and pathos is just as potent today, and in 2002 this stylish new staging by Cesare Lievi for the Zurich Opera brought Paisiello a new generation of admirers. Conductor Adam Fischer brings out all its freshness and emotion, and with a cast that includes Cecilia Bartoli at the height of her powers as the lovelorn Nina, as well a young Jonas Kaufmann, Paisiello has never sounded more compelling.
Romeo and Juliette (realised as a film)
Shakespeare’s lovers never looked and sounded as good as in this romantic film adaptation of Charles Gounod’s beloved opera Roméo et Juliette, starring one of classical music’s most popular and successful couples, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu. A spectacular medieval castle and its surrounding countryside provide the breathtaking setting for this timeless tale of warring families and star-crossed lovers. Conductor Anton Guadagno leads the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra through the opera’s beautiful arias and duets in this fresh interpretation of Gounod’s masterwork.
Peter Waters & Barbara Hendricks: Fauré
Australian pianist Peter Waters and his jazz ensemble, the Treya Quartet, garnered widespread praise for their sensitive jazz arrangements of songs by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. This beautifully-shot music film compares these arrangements with the original versions, as sung by the internationally-acclaimed American soprano Barbara Hendricks. She is accompanied by Waters, who also plays in the Quartet with Paolo Fresu (trumpet), Tony Overwater (double bass) and Gilbert Paeffgen (drums/percussion). The performances are interspersed with answers to the question: “Why the songs of Fauré in a jazz setting?” Hendricks, meanwhile, contributes her thoughts on the power of song as a form of expression and means of communication.
Mozartwoche 2002
Mozart, Symphony in E flat major, K.543 (Mozartwoche 2002)
The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg has been the orchestra of the city and Land of Salzburg since 1958 and regularly concertizes at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. The principal conductor is the Dutch-born Hubert Soudant, who led the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de France in Paris from 1981 to 1983 and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1986. In addition to his activities in Salzburg, Soudant is also the principal conductor of the Orchestra and Opéra des Pays de Loire in Nantes and Angers, France. This symphony is the first segment of the famous symphonic triptych composed by Mozart in the summer of 1788. Although we do not know exactly why Mozart wrote these three symphonic masterpieces at that time, it is assumed that they were intended for a series of concerts in Vienna. Despite his waning popularity in Vienna and his desperate financial situation, Mozart succeeded in forgetting his daily concerns and created a masterpiece of good spirits and self-confidence. The stately introduction leads into a graceful, urbane theme that seems to flow without effort. But a highlight of this work is the Trio of the Minuet, a pastoral Ländler for woodwinds that contrasts strikingly with the pounding energy of the Minuet.
Cimarosa, Il maestro di capella. Intermezzo giocoso (Mozartwoche 2002)
This “intermezzo giocoso” for bass and orchestra by Domenico Cimarosa features Maurizio Muraro in the solo part. The conductor is Ton Koopman. The Dutch musician was born in 1944 and ranks among the outstanding specialists in the field of historical performance practice. He studied organ, harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam and turned to conducting during his training. From the very beginning, he used original instruments and combined theory and practice into a fascinating, historically well-founded interpretation of the works. In 1979 he founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He is the principal conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra. As a performing artist and teacher, Koopman has made decisive contributions to the renaissance of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. He has published many books and articles, teaches at the Conservatory of The Hague and is an honorary member of the Royal Music Academy in London. The Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg goes back to the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” founded in 1841. Since 1938 it has been an independent institution with professional musicians. It has been the orchestra of the city and the Land of Salzburg since 1958 and, in addition to its activity as opera and concert orchestra, it also performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche.
Mozart, Motet “Exsultate, jubilate”, K.165 (Mozartwoche 2002)
Luba Orgonasova hails from Slovakia and sings at all the major opera houses of the world. She is one of the most sought-after interpreters of lyrical coloratura parts in the fields of opera and concert performance. She was one of Herbert von Karajan’s last discoveries: in 1990 she sang the part of Marzelline (Fidelio) at the Salzburg Festival – a role that marked the beginning of her meteoric career. The Dutch musician Ton Koopman was born in 1944 and ranks among the outstanding specialists in the field of historical performance practice. He studied organ, harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam and turned to conducting during his training. From the very beginning, he used original instruments and combined theory and practice into a fascinating, historically well-founded interpretation of the works. In 1979 he founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He is the principal conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra. As a performing artist and teacher, Koopman has made decisive contributions to the renaissance of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. He has published many books and articles, teaches at the Conservatory of The Hague and is an honorary member of the Royal Music Academy in London. The Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg goes back to the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” founded in 1841. Since 1938 it has been an independent institution with professional musicians. It has been the orchestra of the city and the Land of Salzburg since 1958 and, in addition to its activity as opera and concert orchestra, it also performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche.
Mozart, Symphony in C major, K.338 (Mozartwoche 2002)
The Dutch musician Ton Koopman was born in 1944 and ranks among the outstanding specialists in the field of historical performance practice. He studied organ, harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam and turned to conducting during his training. From the very beginning, he used original instruments and combined theory and practice into a fascinating, historically well-founded interpretation of the works. In 1979 he founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He is the principal conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra. As a performing artist and teacher, Koopman has made decisive contributions to the renaissance of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. He has published many books and articles, teaches at the Conservatory of The Hague and is an honorary member of the Royal Music Academy in London. The Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg goes back to the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” founded in 1841. Since 1938 it has been an independent institution with professional musicians. It has been the orchestra of the city and the Land of Salzburg since 1958 and, in addition to its activity as opera and concert orchestra, it also performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. After his trip to Paris in 1778, Mozart spent only two and a half more years in Salzburg before leaving the service of the hated Prince Archbishop forever. During this period, his self-confidence seems to have grown considerably, if we are to judge from the bold, ambitious Symphonies K. 318, 319 and 338 that were the last he wrote in Salzburg before settling in Vienna as a freelance musician. Written in the brilliant, formal key of C major, the Symphony has a grand, majestic flow. The vigorous first movement is followed by a graceful, rococo-like Andante for strings and bassoons. The work closes with a lilting Allegro vivace in a tarantella rhythm.