Disappointing Meistersinger from Zürich

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Zurich Opera 2003. Production: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Cast: José Van Dam (Sachs), Peter Seiffer (Walther), Petra-Maria Schnitzer (Eva), Matti Salminen (Pogner), Michael Volle (Beckmesser), Brigitte Pinter (Magdalene), Christoph Strehl (David), Gunther Groissböck (Nightwatchman).

It is not the first time, that otherwise quite inventive stage directors seem to freeze and revert to previous times static theatre when faced with Meistersinger. While it is perhaps not surprising that no-one seems to have truly decoded this piece, why not at least give it a try? Katharina Wagner did, with mixed, but nevertheless interesting results. Nikolaus Lehnhoff, as seen here? Well, suffice to say, we are light years from his production of Tristan and Isolde, to be seen at Glyndebourne around the same time.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff´s style is easily recognizable though; simplistic, geometric sets in stylish colours and characters in period costumes; just take a look at the abstract blue second act with a massive stair-case which could easily have been re-used for his Lohengrin. The best are the equally abstract 3rd act sets, including and excellent amphitheatre excellent ballet.  However, when the answer to the question "what did you learn from this staging regarding the characters and their relationship?" is "nothing", then the raison d´être for this DVD eludes me. Especially as none of the singers were stand-outs either:

Peter Seiffert, sings Walther like Tristan, though not without strain. His real-life wife Petra-Maria Schnitzer is better vocally, though not exactly youthful. Is it really that difficult to cast these two characters? After all this is not Tristan and Isolde.  Also as Magdalene we see the rather mature Brigitte Pinter and while Matti Salminen brings his usual command to Pogner, he is not in optimal vocal shape.  Age notwithstanding, I have seen much better performances from him recently.

José Van Dams strong point is his characterization of Sachs. The voice? Rather too dry, however his strong stage presence and the experience he brings to the role makes up for a lot.

Best of all however: Michael Volle, in a role he repeated in Bayreuth a couple of years later: Vocally strong, always interesting and never ridiculous. A better Beckmesser is not to be seen today.

Finally, Franz Welser-Möst presents a rather swift reading, which is not bad at all, especially as he keeps momentum throughout. However, the competition is stiff, and he does not reach the level of neither Barenboim, Thielemann nor Levine on competing DVDs.

Final scene:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

José Van Dam: 3-4
Peter Seiffert: 2
Petra Maria Schnitzer: 3
Michael Volle: 5
Matti Salminen: 4
Christoph Strehl: 4

Lehnhoffs production: 3
Franz Welser-Möst: 3

Overall impression: 3

DVD: Zurich Don Giovanni with Simon Keenlyside

Don Giovanni. Zurich Opera House 2006. Production: Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Cast: Simon Keenlyside (Don Giovanni), Eva Mei (Donna Anna), Malin Hartelius (Donna Elvira), Anton Scharinger (Leporello), Alfred Muff (Commendatore), Piotr Beczala (Don Ottavio), Reinhard Mayr (Masetto), Martina Jankova (Zerlina). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

I will admit straightaway to being less than impressed with Sven-Eric Bechtolf´s production of Don Giovanni for the Zurich Opera. The setting is simply a 1930-50 upper-class nightclub, in which the characters enter and exit throughout the opera. Apart from being rather unaesthetic, it´s also plainly uninteresting. Yes, the characters do interact convincingly with one another, but somehow the entire affair never lifts off.

Of the singers, Simon Keenlyside and especially Piotr Beczala stood out.
Simon Keenlyside, by all means is a fine Don Giovanni, singing and acting far above average. That his slightly wooden-sounding baritone doensn´t entirely appeal to me, is probably less important in this context: He does indeed cut a convincing figure on stage.
Even more so Piotr Beczala, who for once managed to make Don Ottavio´s arias something of a highlight. Anton Scharinger provided contrast to Simon Keenlyside in both apparent age and vocal colour (him beeing a bass-baritone as opposed by Keenlyside´s high baritone), but not much more.

Malin Hartelius, an excellent Rosenkavalier-Sophie, simply does not have the vocal power for a Donna Elvira, and seems strangely cast in this part as a high lyric soprano. Almost equally underpowered and seemingly not at ease with Mozartean style was Eva Mei as Donna Anna.

Franz Welser-Möst reminds that Don Giovanni is not an easy work to conduct. Admittedly I am not an easy customer either with my preferences for the likes of Barenboim and Furtwängler. And in that context, Welser-Möst for once provides an appropriately slow reading. However, he fails to maintain the appropriate tension, which results in dragging on as opposed to being poignant. Admittedly it is not easy....

Various excerpts from the production:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Simon Keenlyside: 4
Anton Scharinger: 3
Eva Mei: 3
Malin Hartelius: 3
Piotr Beczala: 4-5
Martina Janková: 4
Reinhard Mayr: 3

Sven-Eric Bechtolf´s production: 3

Franz Welser-Möst: 3

Overall impression: 3

Renée Fleming´s Arabella on DVD

Arabella. Zurich Opera 2007. Production: Götz Friedrich. Cast: Renée Fleming (Arabella), Morten Frank Larsen (Mandryka), Julia Kleiter (Zdenka), Johan Weigel (Matteo). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

Götz Friedrich´s Arabella production is a bit dusty, but nothing compared to a traditional dust-covered staging and, as all Friedrich´s output, is modern in the outlook. A stylized, minimalistic, however not too interesting production, which will, I suppose, offend very few.

Obviously Renée Fleming is the star of the evening, and those liking the way Renée Fleming sounds on her recent Richard Strauss disc with Christian Thielemann will most likely admire her Arabella, at least from a vocal point of view.
I must admit I am rather un-taken with her Arabella, finding her artificially sophisticated and mannered in both acting and vocal execution. Her Arabella is much more the sophisticated lady than the young girl. Personally I much prefer the Arabella of Karita Mattila or Adrianne Pieczonka, however fans of Renée Fleming´s current sound will not be disappointed.

Young dashing Danish barytone Morten Frank Larsen was a last-minute replacement for Thomas Hampson, which should be enough to cut him some slack. His voice is rather steady and if he manages to expand on his top register and control the incipient wobble he might have a great future. Did I mention, he looks great as well? However, his scheduled Jochanaan and Scarpia later this season, doesn´t strike me as the most ideal path to take from a vocal point of view.

A great future also could be in the making for Julia Kleiter, who more than holds her own next to Renée Fleming. She has a beautiful lyrical soprano and looks convincing in trousers as well as in her short girlish appearance.

My main reservation with this DVD, however, lies with the orchestra. The lush Straussian sound is simply not here. I am not sure Franz Welser-Möst may be entirely blamed for this as his Arabella in Vienna last year was both lush and vivid.

Renée Fleming/Julia Kleiter "Aber der richtige":

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Renée Fleming: 4
Morten Frank Larsen: 4
Julia Kleiter: 4-5
Johan Weigel: 4

Götz Friedrich´s production: 3-4

Franz Welser-Möst: 3-4

Overall impression: 4

DVD: Thomas Hampson as Macbeth in Zurich

Macbeth. Zurich Opera 2002. Director: David Pountney. Cast: Paoletta Marroccu (Lady Macbeth), Thomas Hampson (Macbeth), Roberto Scandiuzzi (Banquo), Luis Lima (Macduff). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

That an opera production is weird is no problem as such. However, David Pountney is simply not at his best with this Zuric Macbeth staging. He has created several superb stagings of lately, such as Peter Grimes and Turandot, however for some reason, this Macbeth misses the boat. And rather surprisingly it is not even stylish, normally a trademark of Pountney´s.

That Banquo´s blood is green is simply odd. However, there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, and it does fluorescate rather intriguingly when smeared all over Macbeth and the lady...But in an unaesthetic way oddly corresponding with the rest of the sets.
Furthermore, I do not get any insights into the characters motivations or relationships. I do not doubt that David Pountney has the ideas. He just doesn´t convey them to the audience.

Thomas Hampson is a highly intellectual singer, always performing immense amounts of background searches for his characters apart from speaking some of the best German I´ve ever heard from a native English-speaker. Furthermore he looks rather good - in the documentary, that is. As Macbeth he both looks and appears irritating and pathetic. Perhaps because his character, Macbeth unfortunately is irritating and pathetic- almost bordering on a self-parody. And because they made him wear a wig, which simply does not suit him. Vocally, this is not his turf either - there has to be more ring to the part to make it work.

Roberto Scandiuzzi may have been a good singer once. Paola Marroccu could have been a great Lady Macbeth now, had she not been consistently flat and had her voice not had a distinctly grainy quality not really to my liking. However, she is not at all uninteresting and creates genuine drama on stage. The audience seemed to adore her.

Franz Welser-Möst = As reliable as ever.

Recommended? Not really.

Banquo-Macbeth duet:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Thomas Hampson: 3-4
Paoletta Marroccu: 3
Roberto Scandiuzzi: 2
Luis Lima:2

David Pountney: 2

Franz Welser-Möst: 4

Overall impression: 2

DVD: Lulu from Zurich

Lulu. Zurich Opera House 2002. Director: Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Cast: Laura Aikin (Lulu) etc. Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

This is Sven Bechtolf´s first opera staging, a source of stress to conductor Franz Welser-Möst until he met Bechtolf at the first rehearsal, the latter arriving fully prepared and familiar with the opera from A to Z, including the score.
Quite possibly, this is also Bechtolf´s best staging to date, at least the best I am familiar with. In the accomanying 30 minutes documentary, we hear about all the fun the cast seemed to have had during rehearsals, and they do indeed seem a very solid team. All singers are equally fine actors as singers, a prerequisite for success (in any opera, really)..

Becholf´s Lulu is a girl abused by Schön at the age of 12. As a consequence of this abuse she mirrors herself in the men around here. Eerie film footage to that effect is shown at interludes, and Bechtolf illustrates this split-personality by introducing the body double, to be used extensively in his later Pélleas and Mélisande staging. Another idea, frequently used in his later productions, are leaving characters confined to wheelchairs, probably symbolising psychological immobilisation/isolation.

When Lulu is killed by Jack the Ripper/Schön in the end, a child doll is killed first and Lulu is then dragged into the corner and covered by litter. The message is clear: Lulu was killed years ago, as a child. Only her shallow surface has remained.

In Laura Aikin Bechtolf has a superb performer, giving everything on stage, including semi- nudeness in what may be her finest achievement as yet.

Franz Welser-Möst, as always, is far more than merely competent, however when he has to compete against Boulez and Andrew Davis it´s hard not to somehow end up with the shortest straw.

One may argue endlessly whether the two act (uncompleted as Berg wrote it) or the three act (completed by Cerha) is to be preferred. This Zurich DVD presents the two act version. The Glyndebourne DVD is of the three act version. Cases may be made for both.

Overall I´d still prefer the Glyndebourne production with Christine Schäfer provided the Boulez/Chéreau Paris production will not be released, but this Zurich production is highly recommended for an alternative take on this fascinating work.

Laura Aikin is Lulu:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Laura Aikin: 4

Sven-Eric Bechtolf: 4

Franz Welser-Möst: 4

Overall impression: 4

DVD: Tannhäuser in Zurich - a nightmare

Tannhäuser. Zurich Opera House 2003. Director: Jens-Daniel Herzog. Cast: Peter Seiffert (Tannhäuser), Roman Trekel (Wolfram), Solveig Kringelborn (Elisabeth), Isabelle Kabatu (Venus), Walther (Jonas Kaufmann), Alfred Muff (Hermann). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

In brief, I find this production virtually unbearable to watch, reflected in the extraordinarily low overall rating below.

First of all, the camera work is quite easily the worst I have yet encountered in opera, jumping back- and forwards between backstage shots of the characters in their dressing rooms (even in the middle of the opera), overhead shots of the pit, close-ups of the sweating Peter Seiffert (whom we also see putting on his final costume during the ouverture before he heads downstairs) and Franz Welser-Mösts wedding ring, shots from the stage aiming at performers waiting backstage etc etc. Furthermore, fans of Jonas Kaufmann, beware: During his only aria we do not see him at all, as the camera only focuses on the faces of Tannhäuser and Elisabeth. Extremely annoying..

This moving back and forth between pre-production and performance shots, takes away a significant part of the potential pleasure of the staging, which I cannot even describe properly due to the odd camera angles. The sets are simple, the stage is bare, but aesthetic it is not. I simply cannot imagine that, visually, this DVD will appeal to anyone.

Musically things are rather better, though not exceptional. Solveig Kringelborn does make a rather fine Elisabeth (though I personally find her irritating), not entirely matched by Isabelle Kabatu as Venus. Fine performance from Roman Trekel (slightly neurotic) and Peter Seiffert (equally boring). Franz Welser-Möst is more than competent though not overly imaginative.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Peter Seiffert: 3
Solveig Kringelborn: 3
Roman Trekel: 3
Isabelle Kabatu: 2

Franz Welser-Möst: 4

Jens-Daniel Herzog: 2

Overall impression: 1

Der Rosenkavalier on DVD: Nina Stemme, Vesselina Kasarova and Malin Hartelius in Zurich production

Rosenkavalier. Zurich Opera House 2004. Production: Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Cast: Nina Stemme (Marschallin), Vesselina Kasarova (Octavian), Malin Hartelius (Sophie), Alfred Muff (Ochs). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further details here.

The staging is modern, but opposed to Robert Carsen´s superb Salzburg production from the same year I simply don´t understand Sven-Eric Bechtolf´s concept:

It begins in a white Japanese-style room with a few naked tree trunks and big windows making up one of the walls. The Marschallin and Octavian seem to be of the same age - possibly because Nina Stemme is a conceptionally rather young Marschallin.

For Act 2 we are in a kitchen, complete with traditionally clad chefs. Apparently Sophie is some sort of maid (but clad in a shining dress), who hides behind a door when Octavian arrives to present the Rose. Fitting into the surroundings, Octavian ends up hurting Ochs with a kitchen knife.

In Act 3 we are back in the initial white Japanese room, where a tent has now been erected and Ochs is served by servants wearing beetle masks. The Act 3 ensemble is a mixture of chefs, beetle servants, sevants with wings, skeletons and Mariandel in a fairy-tale princess dress with a half-moon shaped diadem...

The unifying concept: I honestly cannot tell.

Malin Hartelius is a superb Sophie, with ethereal high notes and convincing as the naive girl, who stands up to Ochs as well. Also Vesselina Kasarova is among the very best Octavians - beautiful, with an entirely unstrained voice as well as funny.

While the Marschallin is better suited to Nina Stemme than her heavy Wagnerian roles (read: Isolde), she still has a timbre I don´t take to and her voice has clearly deteriorated over the past few years. Furthermore, I see none of the worldly wisdom and varied acting of the great Marschallin´s here.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts a fine performance, but unfortunately the DVD competition is exceptionally strong - Carlos Kleiber and Semyon Bychkov both with the Vienna Philharmonics as well as Georg Solti from Covent Garden.

For a modern production of Rosenkavalier, Robert Carsen´s 2004 Salzburg production is strongly recommended. For a traditional Rosenkavalier one of the Carlos Kleiber-conducted Otto Schenk productions (I´d personally prefer the one from the Vienna State Opera) or the Georg Solti-conducted production from Covent Garden are the top available choices.

Vesselina Kasarova, Malin Harterlius and Nina Stemme with Hab´s mir gelobt:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Nina Stemme: 2-3
Vesselina Kasarova: 4
Malin Hartelius: 5

Sven-Eric Bechtolf´s prodution: 2

Franz Welser-Möst: 4

Overall impression: 2

Pelleas and Melisande on DVD in experimental Zurich staging with body doubles

Pélleas and Mélisande. Zurich Opera 2004. Director: Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Cast: Isabel Rey (Mélisande), Rodney Gilfry (Pélleas), Michael Volle (Golaud). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

Those disliking experimental stagings /Regietheater, may opt to stay away as this Sven-Eric Bechtolf production from the Zurich Opera is an example of highly experimental Regietheater.

I am not at all certain I understand the directors intentions, but two main aspects stand out: The frosty concrete environment and the continuous presence of body doubles..

Body-sized mannequin doubles of the characters are virtually present on stage at all times. The characters move around carrying their respective doubles in wheel-chairs when they are not lying in the corners, often interacting with the body-double of themselves or others as opposed to the live characters. The frosty concrete environment is desolate. Psychologic coldness/isolation perhaps?

In the beginning Pélleas and Mélisande address their body doubles - later they address each other. Golaud mainly interacts with Mélisandes double, though Mélisande is present. The live Mélisande interacts with the live Arkel as well. The live Golaud kills the live Pélleas. In the end, the living Mélisande leaves playing with a golden ball, leaving her body double on stage. Anyone familiar with the opera not getting the psychological message?

Fine performance from Franz Welser-Möst in the pit. Isabel Rey is a fine, delicate Mélisande. Rodney Gilfry however does not have the air of the innocent dreamer if that is how one sees Pélleas, but seems an ordinary man just like Michael Volle´s excellent Golaud.

Did I like it? In theory yes, the splitting concept seemingly fine for this work. But somehow it just seemed to be spelled out to pointedly. If I understood it at all, that is. And all that frosty concrete and the wheelchairs are just so ugly to watch. I´d still prefer Peter Stein´s production from the Welsh National Opera, which also benefits from the superb conducting of Pierre Boulez.

A video clip from the staging below:

The bottom line (scale from 1-5, 3=average):

Isabel Rey: 4
Rodney Gilfry: 3
Michael Volle: 4

Franz Welser-Möst: 4
Sven-Eric Bechtolf´s staging: 3

Overall impression: 3-4

Renée Fleming finally with Arabella on DVD

Excerpt from Renée Fleming´s portrait of Arabella ("Aber der richtige") from the DVD just released from the Zurich Opera House:

The production is an old one by Götz Friedrich. Danish barytone Morten Frank Larsen was a last-minute replacement for Thomas Hampson as Mandryka. Welser-Möst conducts.

Renée Fleming really shines in Richard Strauss´ music as virtually nobody else on stage today. 50 years ago, she would have had some tough competition, though:

Lisa della Casa also with "Aber der richtige" from Arabella.

As an afterthought (see comment one), there is another singer of today, who belongs here:

Karita Mattila again with "Aber der richtige" from Arabella (production from Paris). The beauty of her middle register is just immense..

DVD: Gala concert at the Vienna State Opera

Gala for the 50th anniversary of the reopening of the Vienna State Opera. Vienna State Opera, November 5th 2005
Excerpts from: Don Giovanni, Rosenkavalier, Aida, Meistersinger, Frau Ohne Schatten, Fidelio

Artists include: Agnes Baltsa, Plácido Domingo, Thomas Hampson, Bryn Terfel, Violeta Urmana, Edita Gruberova, Angelika Kirchschlager. Conducting: Daniele Gatti, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Christian Thielemann, Franz Welser-Möst. More information here.

No matter how high the quality of the individual performances, these galas, in my opinion, tend to border on the tedious. Not the least due to the excessive applause between the contributions, at several points outlasting these in time. At least you get an impression of the atmosphere in the packed house, I suppose. During these applause session the camera repeatedly lingered on selected guests, of whom I only recognized Christa Ludwig, seated next to the entrance of the soloists and greeting many as they passed.

Is it worth watching? Definitely yes. Is it worth owning? I suppose that depends your affinity for this sort of thing and degree of liking for the individual performers.

Of particular note:

Bryn Terfel, despite a beautiful voice, is (still) not at his best in the Wagnerian repertoire (here as Hans Sachs).

Violeta Urmana - a really fine dramatic soprano. Couldn´t she be an option to resolve the much-talked-about Norma crisis at the Metropolitan Opera? I am sure she´d be great (here as Aida).

Agnes Baltsa - an immense presence on stage. She must have been completely mesmerizing to experience live in her prime, and was in impressively fine voice here (as Amneris).

Plácido Domingo - in very fine voice (as Radamés).

Angelika Kirchschlager - perhaps the ideal Octavian of today? (here as Octavian).

Christian Thielemann - does have a rather attention-seeking way of conducting (whether intentional is not for me to say), but the orchestra played gloriously with him (Meistersinger and Rosenkavalier).

Angelika Kirchschlager and Genia Kühmeier in the final scene of Rosenkavalier, Thielemann conducts:

New Peter Grimes on DVD: Superb Pountney production from Zurich

Peter Grimes. Zurich Opera 2005. Production: David Pountney. Cast: Christopher Ventris (Peter Grimes), Emily Magee (Ellen Orford), Alfred Muff (Balstrode). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Further information here.

Director David Pountney really does get to the core of Peter Grimes as I see it: Not a drama of the changing of the sea or a specific English fisherman-village portrait, it is rather a universal story of someone being pushed out of a community, for whatever reason we don´t know, and which eventually breaks him. In the unchanging stylish sets, the people of the village are suspended on chairs in the air, literally looking down on, as a metaphor of condemning Peter Grimes. It is a cold world, with everyone looking after himself, even Balstrode plays with the prostitute-girls in Act 3 like the other hypocrites of the village.

Both Christopher Ventris and Emily Magee are exceptionally well-cast as Peter Grimes and Ellen Orford. Ventris brings both sympathy and ambiguity to the character, who is, also from Britten´s hand, ambiguous in his harsh working methods vs. his dreams of simple domestic happiness with Ellen.

And Pountney brings almost biblical pathos to the final scene - Orford and Balstrode sit on each side of the stage with the two dead boys in their lap, while Grimes delivers his monologue leaning toward a white pole (cross).

Well conducted, though not overly dense, by Franz-Welser Möst this DVD is highly recommended. Of modern versions, the only alternative is the 2008 production from the Metropolitan Opera, equally highly recommended.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Christopher Ventris: 4
Emily Magee: 4-5
Alfred Muff: 4

David Pountney´s staging: 4-5

Franz Welser-Möst: 4

Overall impression: 4-5

Vienna: New Walküre in which Uusitalo looses his voice

A nightmare for Finnish bass-barytone Juha Uusitalo: At the premiere of Walküre, the first installment of the new Ring at the Vienna State Opera , Uusitalo was apparently singing with a cold and lost his voice during the Monologue. In the third act he could only whisper, and Oskar Hillebrandt, seemingly in the process of eating a pizza at the Westbahnhof, was brough in to sing the remainder of the part. Terje Stensvold, an excellent Wotan, is scheduled as Wotan in the next performance on Thursday.

The production is by Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Franz Welser-Möst conducts. The cast: Nina Stemme, Eva Johansson, Juha Uusitalo, Johan Botha and Michaela Schuster.

Reviews:

Der Standard thought the staging to be uninspired and naive in the conception. However particular praise to Johan Botha and Nina Stemme as the Wälsung twins.

Financial Times also was rather unimpressed with Bechtolfs staging, but even less impressed with Holender´s tackling of Uusitalo´s lost voice. Quote:

"Holender was greeted with storms of boos, a reception not inappropriate for a man who had failed to organise an understudy for the opera’s heaviest role. He held up both hands and talked. When he had hired Uusitalo four years ago, the man had been in fine voice. He has sung the role well in other houses. He was fine at the dress rehearsal. He, Holender, had advised Uusitalo to be more careful with his voice in the last rehearsals. Oskar Hillebrand had answered his mobile phone and agreed to sing the part from the pit, while Uusitalo acted his role silently on the stage, a solution that he, Holender, did not especially like, but what else can you do with such a production?The boos were tamed, but the cost was high. Uusitalo was just having a bad night. It can happen to anyone."

Salzburg Festival 2008: The programme is out and tickets are now available..

UPDATE July 2008: Detailed information on the 2008 Salzburg Festival opera programme including radio transmissions here.


The programme for the 2008 Salzburg Festival is now available online (as well as tickets..).

Highlights include:

Otello - new production by Langridge, cond. Riccardo Muti, singers a.o. Antonenko (O), Poplavaskaya (D) and Àlvarez (I)

Romeo & Juliette - w/Netrebko&Villazon

Don Giovanni - new production by Claus Guth, cond: Billy, Don G: Christopher Maltman

Duke Bluebeard´s Castle - new production by Simons, cond. Eötvos, w/Struckmann, De Young

Rusalka - new production by Wieler/Morabito with Camilla Nylund and Piotr Beczala

The Magic Flute - Repremiere of Audi´s staging

As usual various concerts and recitals with a.o. Vienna & Berlin Philharmonics, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Kryzstian Zimmermann, Maurizio Pollini, Vesselina Kasarova, Elina Garanca a.o. - more info on the Festival website here

Muti will conduct "A german requiem" and Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct Mahlers 3rd Symphony, both with the Vienna Philharmonics.

Simon Ratttle will conduct Messiaen´s Turangalila Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonics.

Gustavo Dudamel and the Símon Bolívar Youth Orchestra will be orchestra in residence.

Arabella: Adrianne Pieczonka, Thomas Hampson and Genia Kühmeier in Vienna

Adrianne Pieczonka and Thomas Hampson in Arabella.

Arabella. Vienna State Opera. March 2007. Production: Sven-Erik Bechtolf. Cast: Adrianne Pieczonka (Arabella), Thomas Hampson (Mandryka), Genia Kühmeier (Zdenka), Michael Schade (Matteo). Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst.

Sven-Erik Bechtolf´s postmodern Arabella takes place in METROPOL - a modern hotel cum bar, dominated by brown colours, flashing neonlights and mirrors. That apart, the story was told relatively straightforward and the production received rave reviws, not least due to the musical aspects at the 2006 premiere at the Vienna State Opera.

Adrianne Pieczonka once again showed why Richard Strauss is her true fach. Though interpretatively closer to the Marschallin (which she portrayed on the superb 2003 Salzburg Rosenkavalier DVD) than the young girl Arabella, her singing was simply superb, with wonderfully exquisite and nuanced characterization.

In both presence and manners, Thomas Hampson is close to the ideal Mandryka: The awkward, shy country-guy, not really knowing how to behave around what he perceives to be aristocracy (in fact Arabella´s family are on the fringes of upper-class Viennese society).
Luckily (for him) Thomas Hampson is so well-known at the Vienna State Opera, that his vocal indisposition (though not announced) was clear to anyone, as he was virtually incapable of hitting the notes towards the end. Once again: Whose interest exactly is the management serving by not announcing these things? I don´t even see the point in (trying to) fool the first-time operagoing tourists occupying the standing room spaces..

Genia Kühmeier was simply wonderful as Zdenka, with a shining lyrical soprano unmatched on stage today. She received the largest applause of the evening. Accompanied by a Michael Schade in top-form as Matteo.

Franz Welser-Möst conducted and the orchestra played as brilliant as ever.