The Portuguese Soprano and “opera communicator” Catarina Molder is opening the world of opera for new audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds in an absolute out of the box TV format which integrates magazine, documentary and fiction. After the success of ist preceding Portuguese seasons, Super Diva premieres with 13 English episodes. Each of them focuses on one super opera, unveils ist plot and context and reworks ist most emblematic super aria. World famous guests like Sir Antonio Pappano, Rolando Villazón, Gaëlle Arquez, Sonya Yoncheva or René Pape share their personal experiences in opera confessions. Finally, the Consulting Room! Opera Mix presents new exciting versions of great operatic hits. Super Diva also includes the innovative feature of twitter opera: newly commissioned operas in short film format which reflect upon present-day life and are thematically related to each episode’s super opera. Episodes: Die Zauberflöte, Macbeth, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Cavalleria rusticana, Fidelio, Norma, Otello, Carmen, Faust, Tosca, La forza del destino, Turandot, Tristan und Isolde.
Falstaff
Falstaff is Verdi’s masterpiece of comic opera, in which the behaviour of the ageing Sir John Falstaff, a devious freeloader and would-be ladykiller, causes uproar in the petty-bourgeois household of the Windsor’s. In Berlin, Mario Martone updates the action to the present day and shows Falstaff as ageing rebel in dodgy sideburns and leather jacket. Among the “exquisit vocal cast”, Michael Volle gives his debut in the title role “as if he had been preparing for this role for a lifetime” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
Simon Boccanegra
When Simon Boccanegra is elected Doge of the City of Genoa, it seems to offer the opportunity of reconciliation between the Patricians and the Plebeians. But he becomes entangled in family tragedies and power plays. Simon Boccanegra is Verdi’s most sombre work, yet enthralling with its strong drive to love and freedom. To unveil the moving score, the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne is joined by Verdi specialist Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, who is known for an intimiate and precise knowledge of the Italian master’s style.
Les Contes d’Hoffmann
The title role of “Les contes d’Hoffmann”, Jacques Offenbach’s most ambitious opera, requires an exceptional tenor. The Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam found him in John Osborn. He beautifully shows the sufferings of Hoffmann, the prototype of the German romantic period artist, in the “enormously clever production” (Concerti) by Tobias Kratzer. Among the top vocal cast are Nina Minasyan, Ermonela Jaho and Christine Rice as the three women in Hoffmann’s “tales”. Vocal powerhouse Erwin Schrott sparkles with devilish charisma and Carlo Rizzi excels on the rostrum of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. “Unanimous applause for all!” (NMZ)
Ermione
Ermione, the rare opera gemstone by Gioachino Rossini, like you have never seen it before: Filmmaker Felix Breisach captured the masterpiece, staged and conducted by Gustav Kuhn at the Tyrol Festival Erl in a shortened version especially made for this recording. The result is an opulent opera film, in which impressive exterior shots are combined with artistic shots of the dramatic action on stage. Maria Radoeva in the title role leads a cast of outstanding singers in a “festival” of “great voices” (Standard).
Der Freischütz
Christian Räth’s inspired staging of Der Freischütz, Weber’s seminal Romantic opera, at the Haus am Ring stands out due to the bold set and costume design by Gary McCann. To win Agathe’s hand, the young assistant forester Max has to pass a test of skill in marksmanship. The desperate lover, in order to win the shooting contest, resorts to the use
of magic bullets. With his “magnificent Heldentenor”, Andreas Schager offers “a convincing portrait” and Camilla Nylund’s Agathe arias are “captivating poetry” (Kleine Zeitung Steiermark).
Beth Hart plays Baloise Session
Beth Hart is on fire. Right now, the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter is riding a creative tidal wave, firing out acclaimed albums, hooking up with the biggest names in music and rocking the house each night with that celebrated burnt-honey voice. In 2016, the headline news is Beth’s latest album, Fire On The Floor, a release that even this fiercely self-critical artist describes as “pretty frickin’ good.” But let’s not forget the backstory that brought her here. The Blues Magazine once dubbed Beth Hart “the ultimate female rock star”, and there’s no doubt that her two-decade career is the ultimate thrill-ride. Born in Los Angeles, she released a fistful of hit albums through the ’90s, then reignited in the post-millennium as both a solo artist and the head-turning vocalist for guitar heroes like Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Beck and Slash. “Extraordinary,” wrote The Times of her once-a-generation voice box, while The Guardian praised her “daring, brooding and angry” performances.
The Nutcracker
Because of Tchaikovsky’s imaginative music, “The Nutcracker“ is one of the most popular works of the ballet repertoire, instantly bringing to mind scenes of a splendidly decorated Christmas room, dancing snowflakes and the waltz of the flowers. The plot of “The Nutcracker“ is based on a novella by E.T.A. Hoffmann. While the masterful fairytale virtuously jumps back and forth from a dream to reality, in its adaptation as a ballet libretto by Alexandre Dumas and Marius Petipa, it lost much of its dark romantic fantasy. Christian Spuck attempts to distance himself from the Dumas/Petipas version in his choreography and puts the literary origin at the heart of his ballet, emphasizing the fantastical nature of the original rather than the delightful Christmas fairytale and bringing back the fairytale of the princess Pirlipat, who turns into a nut monster, as told by E.T.A. Hoffmann. In Rufus Didwiszus’ stage setting, the workshop of the godfather Drosselmeier turns into an old revue-theater, where the characters of the ballet come to life. Spuck’s choreography plays with the richness of characters in Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, the absurdity and overwrought humor that inhabit them while at the same time looking down into the dark abyss of Romanticism.
Tristan und Isolde
If there is one work that has been crucial to Barenboim’s conducting career, it has to Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. From Bayreuth to Berlin through Milan and New-York, the Argentinian conductor has been working on piercing its secrets for more than 35 years, going as far as to author a book on the subject. In the pit of the newly renovated Staatsoper and at the head of the Staatskapelle Berlin, he once again makes magic happen. Dmitri Tcherniakov, no stranger to the work for having already staged it at the Mariinsky in 2005, delves into the psychological aspects of the drama and works to make the mythical lovers as relatable to as possible. He thus gives a new realistic depth to this opus, probably the most fascinating and odd among the wagnerian corpus. The Act III, which sees the tragic end of Tristan und Isolde’s doomed love affair, is striking by ist powerful simplicity, and the famous Liebestod, where Isolde bids farewell to her dead lover, reaches unparalleled levels of emotionality and intensity. Thanks to his demanding direction of the cast, but also to the precise light work by Gleb Filshtinsky, Tcherniakov once again manages to craft intense images which effectively resonate with the rapturous and voluptuous enchantments of the score. To complete this high-level artistic crew, the Staatsoper called upon some of the finest Wagner experts: Andreas Schager, already a superb Parsifal and a regular guest at the Bayreuth Festival, is Tristan, Anja Kampe is an unforgettable Isolde, and Ekaterina Gubanova thrills as Brangäne.
Macbeth
Giuseppe Verdi’s powerful opera “Macbeth” received a fulminant staging at the newly reopened Staatsoper Unter den Linden by legendary stage director Harry Kupfer. In this new production superstars Plácido Domingo and Anna Netrebko were singing the title roles. Maestro Daniel Barenboim led the Staatskapelle Berlin portraying the many-layered motives of the opera’s characters “at their very best” (NZZ). This “magical moment of opera” (NZZ) was an “exhilarating success” (SZ). While Domingo “still fascinates the audience after decades” (rbb24), Netrebko performed “perhaps the best role of her life” yet (rbb24). Kwangchul Youn and Fabio Sartori shone as Banquo and Macduff. With monumental choral scenes, the Staatsopernchor did not only sing, but also play ist acting role brilliantly. With ist black marble halls and ist larger-than-life-projections, the stage design by Hans Schavernoch was striking. “A lot of cheering for this evening of legends.” (BR Klassik)