The Theater an der Wien has announced it will extend intendant Stefan Herheim’s contract. The company said “We are pleased to announce that the city of Vienna, together with the Vienna Holding and the VBW, have decided to extend the contract of Stefan Herheim until fall 2030 and continue the much-regarded program line of his intent.” Herheim added, “It is {…}
The applications are open for the 10th anniversary Ring Award competition. The international music theatre competition is designed for young artists in the field of direction as well as stage and costume design. Teams are tasked with creating a new production of Claudio Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo.” They will be assessed by a jury of experts consisting of Jossi Wieler (chair), Jan {…}
(Photo Credit: Bernd Uhlig) There is something unique about waiting for the curtain to rise on “Götterdämmerung.” Anyone who has followed a “Ring” in the theatre, may take their seat in sadness as this evening will end the journey through the most fabled, mythical and symbolic landscape of all. Though the images and sentiments confronted in any given production condition {…}
(Photo: Bernd Uhlig) “Siegfried” is a deceptively complicated opera, perhaps one of the most difficult in all “Der Ring” to pull off both musically and scenically. The main reason is that much of Wagner’s storytelling brings its characters to realizations within themselves, with inner drives and motivations lashing out often in vehemence and violence. What’s more, the once-recognizable leitmotifs are {…}
(Credit: Fotos von Bernd Uhlig, Kontakt: [email protected]) Often after watching a perplexing rendition of “Das Rheingold“, critics and public alike might proclaim: “Let’s see what will happen tomorrow night. Let us hold our judgement until then, to see where all of this is going.” And then, Herheim’s “Die Walküre” began, proving to be the worst of the cycle. The First {…}
(Fotos von Bernd Uhlig, Kontakt: [email protected]) It does seem that the 2021 Deutsche Oper Berlin’s Ring has been somewhat of a success over the last few years. And this is good for opera. A major achievement, this as other cycles, after the centennial Patrice Chéreau staging have created negative stirrings, indeed vivid contestations largely due to mistaken stage-director conceptions ingrained {…}
(Photo credit: Bernd Uhlig) The man who gave the opera world its most dazzling 21st century “Parsifal,” Stefan Herheim, continues his quest to interrogate the Romantic text that is Richard Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungen.” Inspired refreshing of a 150-year-old work of art can provide new insights and flashes of illumination. But conceptual pyrotechnics can just as easily destroy its {…}
(Photo by Bernd Uhlig) I’m back in Berlin, a city I favor and enjoy so much, ready for yet another Ring cycle at Deutsche Oper, a large, comfortable 1850-seat theatre boldly designed in the Modernist style and simply ideal for large-scale productions. And none comes much larger than those penned by Giacomo Meyerbeer, Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner Therefore, with {…}
(Credit: Teatro de Madrid) The Teatro Real de Madrid opened its 2021-22 season with Rossini’s opera buffa “La Cenerentola” based on the famous tale of “Cinderella.” This is Teatro Real’s second post-lockdown season and is still presenting the works with social distancing and obligatory masks for members of the choir and extras. With “La Cenerentola” the Teatro was able to {…}
(Credit: Miklos Szabo) Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that the Danish bass-baritone Johan Reuter will replace John Lundgren in the role of Wotan in Wagner’s “Die Walküre” on Oct. 4, 2020. Per the opera house’s official statement, Lundgren will appear on stage, while Reuter will sing the role from the side of the stage. Reuter has performed the role of {…}
(Credits: Kristen Hoebermann / ©Neda Navaee / Ray Burmiston/Decca Classics/ Deutsche Oper Berlin official website / Annika Schlicht official website) In times of massive uncertainty and heightened risks, the Deutsche Oper Berlin is taking on the gargantuan effort of staging the second opera of the cycle, “Die Walküre,” directed by Stefan Herheim. Herheim’s production of the iconic Wagner’s opera is {…}