(Credits: © Marco Borrelli / OnP / © Alexey Kostromin / OnP / © Jiyan Chen) The Berlin Philharmonic Online Festival’s “The Golden Twenties” will be held from February 13 until February 27, 2021. For the purpose of this article, we will focus only on the vocal works. First up is Igor Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex.” The showcase will star Ekaterina {…}
Credit: Klaus Gigga Peter Theiler, the Intendant of the Semperoper Dresden, has canceled the planned rehearsal for Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben” due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns. Per the sources from the German press, Chief Conductor Christian Thielemann and the orchestra board of the Staatskapelle Dresden felt that their work was hindered. “You do not believe how disappointed I am {…}
Renée Fleming has announced her new CD for Decca Classics. The soprano will release her first full-length Lieder album in almost two decades. Fleming is joined by Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic, performing Mahler’s Rückert Lieder. She will also perform songs by Schumann and Brahms with Hartmut Höll at the piano. In a press release, Fleming noted, “The German lied is, {…}
The Semperoper in Dresden has announced that music director Christian Thielemann will extend his contract for five years. The German conductor will be with the company until 2024. The new contract will begin on August 1, 2019, effective once he finishes his current one. Under the new contract he will conduct a minimum of 40 concerts including 25 opera performances. {…}
Holiday shopping hasn’t started but there are a number of DVD selections to choose from. This week Diana Damrau has two DVDs while such stars Philippe Jaroussky and Anja Hateros are featured on new releases. Find out what you can buy this week. Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” The first big release of the week stars Diana Damrau in her {…}
Last season Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala did what most expected was impossible. They performed their first Wagner roles in “Lohengrin.” During the four performances, rumors swirled around that the run had been recorded for DVD. A year later the rumors came to fruition as a DVD was released through Deutsche Grammophon in what is one of the finest “Lohengrin” {…}
Deutsche Grammophon has announced the release of Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” The hotly anticipated DVD features Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala in their role debuts from the Semperoper Dresden. It will also feature Evelyn Herlitzius and Tomasz Konieczny and George Zeppenfeld under the direction of Christian Thielemann. When the opera premiered in 2016, Opera News noted, “The results were flabbergasting- this was {…}
On April 8 the Salzburg Osterfestpiele will officially open with a starry production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre.” The festival, which was established by Herbert Von Karajan, is celebrating its 50th anniversary, will re-create the original 1967 production. According to Christian Thielemann, the festival will celebrate Karajan by “attempting to re-create Karajan’s musico-theatrical vision of ‘Die Walküre’ from 1967. Our re-creation of {…}
On Jan. 29 ORF and Arte presented Wagner’s “Lohengrin” starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala. The opera was one of the highlights from last season as it featured the role debuts of both stars. It also showcased an all star supporting cast that included Evelyn Herlitzius and was conducted by Christian Thielemann. However, the opera was only broadcast in France {…}