DIE OPERNWELT 2016 –17
10 YEARS OPERA HOUSE
DIE OPERNWELT 2016 –17
10 YEARS OPERA HOUSE
General sponsor
Ein Unternehmen der Wien Holding
The Theater an der Wien receives subsidies from the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna
DIVORCED, DECAPITATED, DECEASED,… WE HAVE ART IN ORDER NOT TO DIE OF THE TRUTH. * When Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was crowned queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey in 1559 at the age of 25, there was no reason to suppose that this inexperienced monarch would be able to stay on the throne for very long. In the turmoil following the reign of the legendary Henry, royal heads had a habit of rolling quickly. But the young woman proved politically adept and reigned for 45 years, leading the kingdom to a new golden age and becoming the central figure of the era that carries her name. Under her rule, modern European theatre experienced its first heyday, and the name most closely linked to it is William Shakespeare. Even today, little is known about the man who left the small and distant town of Stratford-upon-Avon and travelled to London to work at the capital’s theatres. But his dramas and sonnets have survived through the centuries, have never lost their appeal and inspired later artists to creative exploration of his themes and characters. Four hundred years after his death in 1616, the coming season at the Theater an der Wien focuses on operas connected to the work and the times of William Shakespeare. And of course, his queen must be inclu‚ ded too, even though Rossini’s Elisabetta, Regina d Inghilterra can scarcely be regarded as biographical. Nonetheless, the opera’s close shows her as history remembers her, as The Virgin Queen. She renounced love in order to meet the obligations of her position as queen. The successful German director Amelie Niermeyer makes her debut at the Theater an der Wien with this work. Jean-Christoph Spinosi conducts his Originalklangensemble Matheus. Between 1599 and 1602, Shakespeare created one of the most famous figures in world literature: the Danish prince Hamlet. His search for the true meaning of life and the right balance between thought and deed, the legendary „To be, or not to be“, constantly prompts new interpretations. Librettist Thomas Jonigk has created an intriguing version of the tale in an opera commissioned by the Theater an der Wien. Anno Schreier composed the music, and Hamlet represents his seventh work for musical theatre. This premiere, which opens the season, will be directed * F.W. Nietzsche (1888)
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by Christof Loy whose Peter Grimes of last year won the award for the world’s best new production of 2015 at the International Opera Awards in London. The premiere also reunites us with the wonderful Marlis Petersen. Hamlet begins the autumn Shakespeare trilogy at the Theater an der Wien. It is possible that Elizabeth I had some direct influence on the development of the character of Falstaff. Shakespeare first presents the comic bon vivant in the historical drama Henry IV, and shortly afterwards writes the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor with Falstaff as the main character. A century earlier than Verdi, Antonio Salieri, music director at the court in Vienna and, according to the latest research, more Mozart’s companion than his rival, scored a huge success with Falstaff. This new artistic interpretation is the work of the successful duo of Rene Jacobs and Torsten Fischer, whose last achievement at the Theater an der Wien was to rescue Telemaco from obscurity. The origin of the sombre tragedy Macbeth, on the other hand, is shrouded in the same Scottish fog in which the action is set. Giuseppe Verdi was a lifelong admirer of Shakespeare, but was never under any illusions about the difficulty of setting his dramas to music. Since he spoke no English, he approached the story of Macbeth with extreme caution. Because there are two different extant versions of Verdi’s Macbeth (1847 and 1865) I have decided to present both finali. Bertrand de Billy will conduct both versions, one with Roberto Frontali as Macbeth, the other with Plácido Domingo. If Shakespeare was England’s greatest poet, there are good reasons for regarding Henry Purcell as the country’s greatest composer. Of course, the two men never met: Shakespeare died half a century before Purcell was born. But the semi-opera The Fairy Queen with its mixture of sung and spoken passages is based on Shakespeare’s world-famous comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Purcell’s masterpiece was lost until the early 20th century, when a virtually complete score was found. Mariame Clément, the inventive French director, will try to whisk us away into the magical realm of Shakespeare and Purcell with the aid of Christophe Rousset and his baroque ensemble Les Talens Lyriques and those favourites of Viennese audiences, Anna Prohaska and Florian Boesch.
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Historically, ballet as artistic, choreographed stage dancing is older than the genre of opera, and the first opera composers incorporated it in their attempts to present dramas in musical form. Since the Theater an der Wien reopened as a new opera house ten years ago, we have always included one dance project a year to complement our programme of operas. This season, the Norwegian National Ballet from Oslo makes a guest appearance with two unusual productions: from the canon of Nordic literature comes Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts which depicts a family’s self-destruction. Georges Bizet’s Carmen, on the other hand, deals with the deadly transformation of love and longing to hatred and humiliation. Henrik Ibsen appears a second time in the new season: Peer Gynt – often called „the Faust of the North“ – is the personification of an egotistical daydreamer who tries many things and fails in all of them. He clings to the fantasy that his life is going well until the truth finally and inescapably catches up with him. The socially critical Ibsen, a controversial figure in his homeland, regarded himself as unmusical. Despite this, his works, and especially Peer Gynt, have regularly inspired composers to set them to music. The German composer Werner Egk/Mayer was one who, in the 1930s, wrote an opera called Peer Gynt that was first performed in Berlin in 1938. With this work, the ambitious artist, who took the name Egk from the initials of his wife, the violinist Elisabeth geborene [née] Karl) whom he married in 1923, established himself as the leading composer of his generation in the Third Reich. After 1945 he managed to „cleanse“ himself of his National Socialist connections by emphasising the left-wing and Jewish colleagues he had associated with during the Weimar Republic. Peter Konwitschny has undertaken an in-depth study of Werner Egk and his opera Peer Gynt, and the Theater an der Wien decided to put the work forward for discussion despite the composer’s problematic past. We can look forward to seeing Bo Skovhus in the role of Peer Gynt. The demonic and egomania are part of the artistic myth, but also of the reality of artistic work. Hans Werner Henze’s Georg Mittenhofer is a poet who, for the sake of inspiration, bloodies his hands to a catastrophic degree. Consequently, Henze’s opera Elegy for Young Lovers also serves to encourage us at the close of the 2016/17 season to reflect on all our artistic-programmatic activities over the past few years. Despite the outstanding successes we have achieved, we programme compilers and 4|
artists must always ask ourselves whether we are supplying our audience with the right arguments and promptings in our search for meaning in art to keep calling to mind the fragility of humanity, the danger to liberty and the risk of losing democratic ideals. Following Mathis der Maler, director Keith Warner will again question the role of the artist in society and put it forward for discussion. We are pleased that Amsterdam’s principal conductor Marc Albrecht is returning to the Theater an der Wien. We will also be presenting four new opera productions in the Kammeroper that range from the baroque to the modern. Handel’s little‚ known Oreste and Salieri’s comic Scuola de gelosi are juxtaposed with Ullmann’s Auschwitz opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Verdi’s famous La Traviata, albeit in an unusual chamber version (see p. 53). Last but not least we will round off our anniversary year 2016 with a repeat performance of our marvellous 2006 production of Don Giovanni. And on 31 December Erwin Schrott will ring in the new year 2017 in great style as Mozart’s „lady-killer“. I thank you for your loyalty and enthusiasm and wish all of us an exhilarating 2016/17 season. Yours,
Roland Geyer, Director
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AGRANA. A FLAIR FOR CULTURE. SUGAR. STARCH. FRUIT. - In these three segments is AGRANA successully active around the world; but cultural life in Austria also has plenty to offer. Our flair for culture is key to our efforts ensuring that this remains the case. AGRANA is the main sponsor of Theater an der Wien. AGRANA.COM
THE NATURAL UpGRAdE
CONTENT MUSICAL THEATRE A. Schreier: HAMLET A. Salieri: FALSTAFF G. Verdi: MACBETH W. A. Mozart: DON GIOVANNI H. Purcell: THE FAIRY QUEEN W. Egk: PEER GYNT G. Rossini: ELISABETTA, REGINA D’INGHILTERRA N. P. Molvær / C. Espejord: GHOSTS (Ballet) G. Bizet / L. Scarlett: CARMEN (Ballet) H. W. Henze: ELEGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS
8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44
AT THE KAMMEROPER
50
CONCERT PERFORMANCES
58
SPECIAL PROJECTS
68
AT THE „HÖLLE“
76
JUGEND AN DER WIEN
80
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HAMLET ANNO SCHREIER 14 – 23 SEPTEMBER 2016
HAMLET Opera in 25 scenes (2016) MUSIC BY ANNO SCHREIER LIBRETTO BY THOMAS JONIGK After motives of William Shakespeare’s drama of the same name, Saxo Grammaticus Historia Danica and François de Belleforest’s Histoires tragiques Performed in German with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Light designer
Michael Boder Christof Loy Johannes Leiacker Reinhard Traub
Hamlet Der tote Hamlet Gertrud Claudius Ophelia Ein Pastor
Andrè Schuen Jochen Kowalski Marlis Petersen Bo Skovhus Theresa Kronthaler Kurt Streit
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) Work commissioned by the Theater an der Wien
WORLD PREMIERE: 14 SEPTEMBER 2016 Performances: 16 / 18 / 21 / 23 September 2016, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 11 September 2016, 11 a.m.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most famous plays in world literature. Since 1602 it has proved its unbroken topicality in countless new productions and adaptations. For our Shakespeare year, 2016, the Theater an der Wien has commissioned a new Hamlet: the author Thomas Jonigk has not just written an abridged version of Shakespeare’s play suitable for a libretto, but has also drawn on the sources that the Bard himself used to create his play. The result is our own version of the tale, tailored to the 21st century without completely losing the connection to Shakespeare. The composition was commissioned from Anno Schreier, born 1979, who has already made a name for himself as a successful opera composer. Hamlet marks his debut at the Theater an der Wien.
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Hamlet, the old king, is dead, presumed poisoned. His widow Gertrude now plans to marry his brother, Claudius. She seems to have an over-affectionate relationship with her son, Hamlet. Presumably for this reason, and on grounds of decency, the son disapproves of her mother’s remarriage so soon after his father’s death. The young Hamlet feels that everything is becoming too much for him: his feelings towards his mother, his father’s death and the looming prospect of one day succeeding him as king which would mean having to accept him or the new king, his uncle Claudius, as a role model. What is more he is sure that it was Claudius who killed his father. How should he react in this situation? Gertrude is soon pregnant and convinced that the child will be a boy. Hamlet feels surplus to requirements and starts to suffer fits of depression. Gertrude engages Ophelia, a high-class prostitute who also bestowed her „favours“ on the late king, as a distraction for Hamlet. However, the nature of her profession is also causing Ophelia to feel depressed. She and Hamlet realise that they have an emotional bond and fall deeply in love with each other. Gertrude now persuades Claudius to murder Ophelia. Once she is dead, Gertrude sets Hamlet against Claudius so she will be rid of him as well, but her plans go awry when Claudius stabs Hamlet to death. Claudius publicly expresses his regret at the death of the crown prince before securing family ties with the pregnant Gertrude.
FALSTAFF ANTONIO SALIERI 12 – 23 OCTOBER 2016
FALSTAFF Opera comica in three acts (1799) MUSIC BY ANTONIO SALIERI LIBRETTO BY CARLO PROSPERO DE FRANCESCHI After the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597) by William Shakespeare Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director & light designer Set designer Dramatic advisor
René Jacobs Torsten Fischer Herbert Schäfer & Vasilis Triantafilopoulos Herbert Schäfer
Sir John Falstaff Mrs Alice Ford Mr Ford Mrs Slender Mr Slender Betty Bardolfo
Christoph Pohl Anett Fritsch Maxim Mironov Alex Penda Arttu Kataja Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod Robert Gleadow
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) New Production Theater an der Wien
PREMIERE: 12 OCTOBER 2016 Performances: 14 / 16 / 19 / 21 / 23 October 2016, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 2 October 2016, 11 a.m.
200 years after Shakespeare, 100 years before Verdi, 217 years before today: Salieri’s opera Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle to a text by Carlo Prospero De Franceschi and based on Shakespeare’s Elizabethan comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor premiered at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna on 3 January 1799. Antonio Salieri, born in 1750 in Legnano near Verona, moved to Vienna as a young conductor where he quickly became a protégé of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Barely over the age of twenty, Salieri managed to establish himself at the Vienna court as a successful composer of opera. By composing in various genres of theatrical music he quickly acquired the ability to express himself more trenchantly and directly than almost any other Italian composer of his day.
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Sex and crime in Windsor: adultery, jealousy. Two identical love letters cause a scandal at a society reception given by Mr and Mrs Slender. Even the Queen herself is not amused. Completely overestimating his attractiveness to women, Falstaff, a corpulent drinker and swindler, is pursuing two ladies at the same time with a view to cheating them out of their money. The wives of Windsor join forces and take the opportunity to convince their husbands that the accusations of adultery levelled against them are unfounded. Posing as a German lady, Mistress Ford praises Falstaff’s irresistible charm. Mr Ford feigns raging jealousy to expose Falstaff’s scheme until he learns that his wife has arranged to meet him. Mr Slender believes that his wife has already been unfaithful to him. The dream of love and devotion temporarily turns into a nightmare that brings the protagonists to the brink of disaster. In the end, the husbands and wives confess their carefully planned plots to each other and together they plan a night-time adventure as a further humiliation. Falstaff exposes the men and women of high society as victims and desperately comical puppets of their own libido and jealousy and ultimately becomes the tragic hero and scapegoat of a bigoted society.
MACBETH GIUSEPPE VERDI 11 – 24 NOVEMBER 2016
MACBETH Opera in four acts (1847/1865) MUSIC BY GIUSEPPE VERDI LIBRETTO BY FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE After The Tragedy of Macbeth (1606?) by William Shakespeare Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Light designer Video Choreography
Bertrand de Billy Roland Geyer Johannes Leiacker Bertrand Killy David Haneke Peter Karolyi
1865 VERSION (11 / 15 / 22 / 24 November 2016) Macbeth Lady Macbeth
Roberto Frontali Adina Aaron
1865 VERSION WITH 1847 FINAL (13 / 17 / 20 November 2016) Macbeth Lady Macbeth
Plácido Domingo Davinia Rodriguez
Banco Dama di Lady Macbeth Macduff Malcolm, figlio di Duncano Medicodomestico di Macbeth Ecate
Stefan Kocan Natalia Kawalek Arturo Chacón-Cruz Thomas David Birch * Andreas Jankowitsch Magdalena Bönisch
Supported by Wiener Symphoniker Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) New Production Theater an der Wien *Young Ensemble Theater an der Wien
PREMIERE (1865 VERSION): 11 NOVEMBER 2016, 7 P.M. PREMIERE (1865/1847 VERSION): 13 NOVEMBER 2016, 7 P.M. Performances: 15 / 17 / 22 / 24 November 2016, 7 p.m. 20 November 2016, 5 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 6 November 2016, 11 a.m.
Macbeth, Giuseppe Verdi’s first adaptation of a drama by William Shakespeare, was written in 1846/47 as a commission for the Teatro della Pergola in Florence. Verdi quickly realised that this exceptional material required him to come up with new ideas, and he created a constellation unusual for the time: the eponymous hero is a baritone, not a tenor; the plot is not a love story, but shows the degeneration brought upon a character by his desire for power and the disastrous dynamics this sets off between Macbeth and his wife. Although Verdi had dared to fly in the face of tradition with this opera, its very first performance was an overwhelming success. In Macbeth, Verdi gave dramatic expression priority over bel canto for the first time. He instructed his singers to declaim with great expression; the Lady’s voice should be „rough, strangled, hollow“ and if, from time to time, a singer failed to hit the right note it did not matter to Verdi. Macbeth was a clear departure from the romantic opera that dominated at the time, presenting themes and a portrayal of the characters’ emotional states that come very close to realism in musical theatre.
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Several witches prophesy to General Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. When messengers arrive with the news that King Duncan has appointed Macbeth Thane of Cawdor, Lady Macbeth decides that the second part of the prophecy should be fulfilled as soon as possible too, and urges her husband to murder the King. Macbeth carries out the murder when Duncan is their guest, making himself king. He accuses Duncan’s son Malcolm of the murder. Although Macbeth and his wife are plagued by their consciences, they do not shy away from violence and bloody retribution to stay in power. Malcolm attacks the usurper in an attempt to win back the throne. Macbeth again seeks the advice of the Witches. They tell him that no man born of woman can defeat him and that he cannot be vanquished until Birnam Wood marches against him. Macbeth now believes he is safe. But soon he sees that the wood really is marching against him: Malcolm has camouflaged his army with branches and bushes. In the end, Macbeth is killed by Macduff – who was born by Caesarean section and was therefore not „born of woman“.
DON GIOVANNI WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART 12 – 31 DECEMBER 2016
DON GIOVANNI Dramma giocoso in two acts (1787) MUSIC BY WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART LIBRETTO BY LORENZO DA PONTE Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director Co-director Set designer Choreographer Light designer
Ivor Bolton Keith Warner Michael Moxham Es Devlin Karl Schreiner Wolfgang Göbbel
Don Giovanni Donna Anna Don Ottavio Il Commendatore Donna Elvira Leporello Masetto Zerlina
Nathan Gunn (12/14/17/19/21 December) Erwin Schrott (28/31 December) Jane Archibald Martin Mitterrutzner Lars Woldt Jennifer Larmore Jonathan Lemalu Tareq Nazmi Mari Eriksmoen
Mozarteumorchester Salzburg Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) New interpretation of the Theater an der Wien’s 2006 production on the occasion of Theater an der Wien’s 10-year anniversary
PREMIERE: 12 DECEMBER 2016 Performances: 14 / 17 / 19 / 21 / 28 December 2016, 7 p.m. New Year-Performance: 31 December 2016, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 11 December 2016, 11 a.m.
When Le nozze di Figaro, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, was such a resounding success in Prague in 1786, a follow-up commission came from that city almost immediately. The story of Don Juan was very popular at this time, so it was safe to assume that an opera based on the tale would meet with interest. Following the first performance in 1787, a contented Mozart wrote to his friend Jacquin, „on 29th October my opera D: Giovanni was staged, and was received with the loudest applause“. Neither he nor Da Ponte could know that Don Giovanni would soon be regarded as the „opera of operas“ and would incite numerous deliberations on principles of philosophy, aesthetics and psychology. This „dramma giocoso“ with its mixture of comedy and tragedy tests the boundaries of morality, explores the hidden depths of emotion and has provoked new contemporary interpretations in every era including ours.
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His face concealed by a mask, Don Giovanni tries to seduce Donna Anna, the daughter of the Commendatore. He is about to flee when the Commendatore confronts him. The two fight a duel, and Don Giovanni kills him and escapes. Anna and her betrothed, Don Ottavio, swear to find the murderer and avenge her father. In the meantime, Don Giovanni and Leporello, his servant, encounter Donna Elvira. She has been abandoned by her betrothed and is now searching for him – and who should it be but Don Giovanni. He leaves the furious woman to Leporello who reveals to her the extent of his master’s womanising. Elvira also swears to take vengeance on Don Giovanni. When Donna Anna finally realises that Don Giovanni is her father’s murderer, the hunt for him begins in earnest. But he continues to waylay women, undeterred, and Leporello has to take the beatings intended for him. On the run again, the pair come to the statue on the Commendatore’s grave. The statue comes to life, and Don Giovanni invites it to dinner. It really does come, and demands from Don Giovanni that he repent of his crimes. When Don Giovanni declines to do so, hell opens up and swallows him. The vengeful women, who were unable to exact revenge on their quarry, disperse and Leporello has to find himself a new master.
THE FAIRY QUEEN HENRY PURCELL 19 – 30 JANUARY 2017
THE FAIRY QUEEN Semi-Opera in five acts (1692) MUSIC BY HENRY PURCELL LIBRETTO BY THOMAS BETTERTON Performed in English with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Light designer
Christophe Rousset Mariame Clément Julia Hansen Ulrik Gad
Soprano 1 Soprano 2 Mezzo-soprano Tenor 1 Tenor 2 Bass 1 Bass 2
Anna Prohaska Carolina Lippo * Marie-Claude Chappuis Kurt Streit Rupert Charlesworth Florian Boesch Florian Köfler *
Les Talens Lyriques Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) New Production Theater an der Wien *Young Ensemble Theater an der Wien
PREMIERE: 19 JANUARY 2017 Performances: 21 / 23 / 26 / 28 / 30 January 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 8 January 2017, 11 a.m.
English theatre at the time of the Restoration loved large-scale stage spectaculars, the so-called semi-operas. These consisted not just of singing: half of the performance was devoted to spoken dialogue and dance. Henry Purcell composed several such works. The text of The Fairy Queen presents a variation on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which the musical masques included in it relate to the action, but function as a kind of allegorical or humorous commentary. The Fairy Queen contains much of Purcell’s finest music, melancholy love plaints, satirical numbers and sophisticated, colourful instrumental passages. The success of the work, first performed in 1692 at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London, was enormous. Following the composer’s early death, his entire oeuvre was forgotten; the score of The Fairy Queen was lost and was not rediscovered until the early 20th century. Since the revival of interest in music of the Baroque era, The Fairy Queen has also enjoyed greater attention.
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A night in a fantastical, magical place far away from reality changes the lives of several pairs of lovers: in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander are plunged into emotional chaos by the spells cast by the sprite Puck; even Titania and Oberon, the ruling couple in the realm of the fairies, are not immune to the magical events. When dawn breaks, all these characters have undergone a journey through their subconscious and their secret yearnings which has left them altered. Despite all the madness, or perhaps because of it, their emotions have become ordered and they can begin a new life full of hope. In Shakespeare, the fantastical place is a wood, but his play is also a metaphor for the theatre itself: during a performance, audience and actors alike experience emotional turmoil and enchantments and it may also be that their consciousness and their lives are changed. The journey to a fantasy world influences reality: where does theatre begin, where does it end? „All the word’s a stage.“
PEER GYNT WERNER EGK 17 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH 2017
PEER GYNT Opera in three acts (1938) MUSIC BY WERNER EGK LIBRETTO BY WERNER EGK REARRANGED After the dramatic poem (1876) of the same name by Henrik Ibsen Performed in German with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Light designer Dramatic advisor
Leo Hussain Peter Konwitschny Helmut Brade Guido Petzold Bettina Bartz
Peer Gynt Solveig / Die Rothaarige Aase / 3. Vogel Ingrid / 1. Vogel Frau des Vogtes / 2. Vogel Mads Der Alte Erster Kaufmann / Vogt Zweiter Kaufmann / Schmied Dritter Kaufmann / Haegstadbauer Der Präsident / ein Unbekannter
Bo Skovhus Maria Bengtsson Natascha Petrinsky Nazanin Ezazi Cornelia Horak Andrew Owens Rainer Trost Michael Laurenz Zoltán Nagy Igor Bakan Stefan Cerny
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) New Production Theater an der Wien
PREMIERE: 17 FEBRUARY 2017 Performances: 19 / 22 / 25 / 27 February, 1 March 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 12 February 2017, 11 a.m.
Werner Egk composed Peer Gynt in 1937/38 as a commission from the Berlin State Opera where he had been engaged as principal conductor since 1936. Henrik Ibsen’s fantastical play about a feckless egomaniac’s search for the meaning of life gave Egk the opportunity to write a varied score in which – stylistically close to Kurt Weill – he incorporated elements such as the Charleston, the Tango, muted trumpets and the saxophone which were actually things the National Socialists disapproved of at the time. Despite this, the opera received the endorsement of the regime: Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels appeared to like it. Egk succeeded in continuing his career after 1945, and his operas remained in the repertoire. From a musical standpoint, Peer Gynt is worth a closer look, possessing as it does a unique musical language: colourful mood paintings, strong characterisations and evocation of the realm of the trolls that uses trenchant rhythms and elements of satire to create thrilling musical theatre.
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Peer Gynt lives in abject poverty from which he escapes into a fantasy world. He falls in love with Solveig, but when she rejects him at a wedding in the village he causes a scandal and runs away. He falls into the hands of the troll king, is nominated as the king’s successor and is chosen to marry his daughter. However, he is frightened by the conditions attached to these plans and refuses to agree to them. When the trolls threaten him he calls despairingly for Solveig and the trolls leave him alone. Solveig comes to him, but their life together is disturbed by the troll king’s daughter. Peer runs away again. Years later, he has become very rich from shady business deals and wants to become emperor of the world. However, this project fails. Once again, he falls into the hands of the troll king who now intends to pass judgement on his life: if the judgement is negative, the trolls will be allowed to keep him. Dead people who knew Peer are cross-examined. Not one of them speaks in his favour. Only his mother, who has also died in the meantime, demands he be given a chance to look for someone who knows his good side and is waiting for him. In the end, Peer succeeds in returning to Solveig. She welcomes him with love and affection, thus putting paid to all the trolls’ schemes and releasing him from his persecution from the underworld.
ELISABETTA REGINA D’INGHILTERRA GIOACHINO ROSSINI 17 – 28 MARCH 2017
ELISABETTA REGINA D’INGHILTERRA Dramma per musica in two acts (1815) MUSIC BY GIOACHINO ROSSINI LIBRETTO BY GIOVANNI FEDERICO SCHMIDT After the play Il paggio di Leicester (1813) by Carlo Federici Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Costume designer Light designer Dramatic advisor
Jean-Christophe Spinosi Amélie Niermeyer Alexander Müller-Elmau Kirsten Dephoff Gerrit Jurda Christian Carlstedt
Elisabetta Leicester, generale Matilde, sua segreta moglie Enrico, fratello di Matilde Norfolc, Grande del regno Guglielmo, capitano
Alexandra Deshorties Norman Reinhardt Ilse Eerens Natalia Kawalek Barry Banks Erik Årman
Ensemble Matheus Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner) New Production Theater an der Wien
PREMIERE: 17 MARCH 2017 Performances: 19 / 21 / 24 / 26 / 28 March 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 12 March 2017, 11 a.m.
Elisabetta was the first opera that Gioachino Rossini wrote for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. It was a triumphant debut. He was to stay at the opera house for seven years, and conducted his reform of Italian opera from there. That he was able to do so was due in no small measure to the superlative conditions it offered. Italy’s finest singers were gathered there, and Rossini was able to write music tailored especially to their talents and ask them to take part in musical experiments, of which Elisabetta provides an example. This is the first of Rossini’s operas not to feature any recitativi secci and he took pains to indicate all the ornaments with great precision to prevent the singers from distorting their parts beyond all recognition in a rush of virtuosity. Although, as so often, he used ideas from earlier compositions in his new opera, he adapted all the elements to the new context. As a result, Elisabetta is a cohesive work despite the many borrowings from previous pieces. It is also one of the first historical-romantic operas. Elisabetta was immediately taken up by European opera houses, and was performed with great success at the Theater an der Wien in 1818.
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The English Queen Elisabetta (Elizabeth I) feels an amorous attachment to her general, Leicester, who has just returned victorious from Scotland. However, she learns from his adversary, the Duke of Norfolk, that Leicester has secretly married Matilde, the daughter of her arch-enemy, Mary, Queen of Scots. In her fury she summons Leicester and his Scottish hostages, among whom is Matilde. At first, she tells him that she intends to marry him and make him king. In reality, though, she revels in the horror she sees in the faces of Matilde and Leicester. This makes it clear to the Queen that Matilde and Leicester really do love each other. She has them thrown into a dungeon. Norfolc tries to stir up Leicester against Elisabetta so that she has even more reason to have him executed, but Leicester refuses to take the bait. In the dungeon, the violent dĂŠnouement is played out: Norfolc tries to assassinate Elisabetta, but Matilde and her brother protect her. Elisabetta now owes a debt of gratitude to her rival, forgives Leicester and renounces love. From that moment on she devotes her life to her duties as Queen.
GHOSTS HENRIK IBSEN 3 & 4 APRIL 2017
GHOSTS (BALLET) BALLET BY CINA ESPEJORD MUSIC BY NILS PETTER MOLVÆR After the drama by Henrik Ibsen Director Choreographer Set designer Costume designer Light designer
Marit Moum Aune Cina Espejord Even Børsum Ingrid Nylander Kristin Bredal
Musicians
Nils Petter Molvær & Jan Bang
With the Norwegian National Ballet and dancers of the Norwegian National Ballet School Guest performance of the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo
PREMIERE: 3 APRIL 2017 Performance: 4 April 2017, 7.30 p.m.
Are we ever honest enough to remain unmoved by lies? This is the question dealt with in Henrik Ibsen’s drama Ghosts on which this ballet is based. „Ghosts is a psychological thriller in which the characters discover more and more about their own stories,“ says director Marit Moum Aune about the evening. „The theme is the way something unspoken can grow to become something unbearable. It requires enormous courage to make one’s peace with one’s own illusions.“ Together with the young choreographer Cina Espejord, she retells Ibsen’s drama as a ballet to music by Nils Petter Molvær. They are placing the story on the stage as danced theatre because the immediacy and power of expression of dance is especially well suited to portraying internal and external brutality.
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MUSICAL THEATRE
The young Osvald Alving gives up his bohemian lifestyle in Paris and returns to his home town in Norway. Nobody suspects that he is soon to fall prey to imbecility owing to cerebral softening. He is ironic and distanced in his dealings with other people. His mother welcomes the son who was so painfully missed, but only slowly realises the condition he has returned home in. And gradually secrets come to light that weigh heavily not just on his family, but on Osvald personally. step by step, ghosts from the past destroy the facade of the respectable middle-class family which is only maintained with difficulty. When Osvald’s hopes of marrying the young Regine are dashed because it emerges that she is his half-sister and the product of an affair his father had with one of his employees, he falls into despair. The only person who stands by him when the cerebral softening moves on to the next stage is his mother, who is also forced to expose painful secrets from her own life.
CARMEN GEORGES BIZET 8 – 11 APRIL 2017
CARMEN (BALLET) BALLET BY LIAM SCARLETT MUSIC BY GEORGES BIZET FROM THE OPERA CARMEN, L’ ARLESIENNE and others Arrangement by Martin Yates Conductor Choreographer Set designer Light designer
Per Kristian Skalstad Liam Scarlett Jon Bausor James Farncombe
With dancers of the Norwegian National Ballet Wiener KammerOrchester Guest performance of the Norwegian National Ballet Oslo
PREMIERE: 8 APRIL 2017 Performances: 9 / 10 / 11 April 2017, 7 p.m.
With the central protagonist of his novella Carmen, Prosper Mérimée created a character that has lost none of its topicality and fascination to this day. Carmen is presented as a wilful and sensual temptress with an unbroken desire for freedom. Again and again, her story poses the fundamental question of what love means to an individual, how it should occur in everyday life and what the other, the lover, should be like. The configuration of the relationship between Carmen and Don José is the story of two people whose concepts are irreconcilable: „Love is a bird that nothing can tame,“ sings Carmen, putting the essential problem in a nutshell. The extreme emotions, the conflicts between the lovers and adversaries, make this story predestined for an absorbing, tensionladen dance adaptation: scarcely any other opera has been adapted as a ballet as often as Carmen. In a guest appearance at the Theater an der Wien, the Norwegian National Ballet presents one of the most recent of these adaptations. The choreography, which was rapturously received at the premiere, was created by Liam Scarlett, one of the London Royal Ballet’s most high-profile young choreographers.
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MUSICAL THEATRE
Carmen works in a cigar factory. She quarrels with the other workers and is arrested. Sergeant José guards her. However, she manages to persuade him to let her go by promising him a rendezvous. He forgets all about his virtuous fiancée Michaëla and goes to meet Carmen in a seedy inn. There he misses the last post, gets caught up in shady dealings and ends up having no choice but to join the gang of smugglers of which Carmen is also a member. But Carmen soon tires of her new boyfriend. His constant jealousy irritates her, and the successful torero Escamillo has now caught her eye and seems a much more attractive proposition. Michaëla goes to see Don José and tells him that his mother is dying. Reluctantly Don José follows Michaëla, knowing that Carmen will turn to Escamillo as soon as he is gone. Some time later, Don José comes to Sevilla because he has heard that Carmen is now living there with Escamillo. When he finds them and demands an explanation, Carmen refuses to go back to him, making it clear that her liberty and her love of Escamillo are what matter most to her. Don José stabs her while Escamillo is killing a bull in the arena.
ELEGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS HANS WERNER HENZE 2 – 11 MAY 2017
ELEGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS Opera in three acts (1961) MUSIC BY HANS WERNER HENZE LIBRETTO BY WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN AND CHESTER SIMON KALLMAN German Version by Ludwig Landgraf in cooperation with Werner Schachteli and Hans Werner Henze Performed in German with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Costume designer Light designer
Marc Albrecht Keith Warner Es Devlin Tom Rand Wolfgang Göbbel
Georg Mittenhofer Hilda Mack Carolina, Gräfin von Kirchstätten Dr. Wilhelm Reischmann Toni Reischmann Elisabeth Zimmer Josef Mauer
Johan Reuter Laura Aikin Angelika Kirchschlager Martin Winkler Paul Schweinester Anna Lucia Richter Martin Berger
Wiener Symphoniker New Production Theater an der Wien
PREMIERE: 2 MAY 2017 Performances: 4 / 7 / 9 / 11 May 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 30 April 2017, 11 a.m.
Hans Werner Henze and his librettists, the English poets Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Simon Kallman, dedicated Elegy for Young Lovers, a commissioned work first performed in 1961 at the Schwetzingen Festival, „to the memory of Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian, European and master librettist“. The work was intended to hover between ironic comedy and tragedy in the spirit of Hofmannsthal. Satirical elements are juxtaposed with melancholy and even harrowing ones. Like a chamber play, a drama about an artist unfolds that is open to many interpretations and was inspired by William Butler Yeats’ motto, „The intellect of man is forced to choose perfection of the life or of the work“. Henze created a contemporary score to the drama that never forgets its attachment to European operatic tradition. The composition possesses enormous musical diversity, a nuanced, transparent sound pattern that always abides by the primacy of the vocal part and does justice to the libretto’s wealth of relationships with classical recitatives and also extends to highly virtuoso solo and ensemble passages.
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MUSICAL THEATRE
Despite the fact that he is well looked after by his entourage and his young muse Elisabeth Zimmer, the famous poet Georg Mittenhofer is suffering from writer’s block. Like a parasite, he draws inspiration from the visions of the half-mad Hilda Mack who has been waiting for forty years for her husband who went missing in the mountains. When Toni Reischmann, the son of Mittenhofer’s doctor, arrives he and Elisabeth fall in love and decide to go away together. The young woman finds it hard to leave the ageing literary genius, but in the presence of the others he releases her in an act of apparent magnanimity. But once he is alone, he allows his jealousy free rein. In the meantime, the body of Hilda Mack’s husband has been found on the glacier. This brings her back to reality, and Mittenhofer fears that his source of inspiration will now run dry. He asks the young couple to fetch him a particular flower from the Hammerhorn to stimulate his poetic mind. No sooner have Elisabeth and Toni set off than a snowstorm breaks out. When the mountain guide asks whether anyone is out on the mountain, Mittenhofer says there is not. The young couple die in the mountains. Some time later, Mittenhofer presents his latest masterpiece, Elegy for Young Lovers, at a gala reading in a Viennese theatre.
AT THE KAMMEROPER CONCERT PERFORMANCES SPECIAL PROJECTS AT THE „HÖLLE“ JUGEND AN DER WIEN
AT THE KAMMEROPER
THEATER AN DER WIEN AT THE KAMMEROPER Sebastian F. Schwarz In August our new Junges Ensemble – our third – starts work. For the coming two years we have again brought young singers of various nationalities together in Vienna who will present a wide-ranging repertoire to you. We begin our series of great operas in intimate fashion with a new chamber version of La Traviata; following her overwhelming success with La bohème in 2013, Lotte de Beer now revisits another standard of the opera literature. Then we have Der Kaiser von Atlantis, written in Theresienstadt concentration camp by Viktor Ullmann and never performed during his lifetime. In this work, our young international ensemble looks at our shared European history. Another pasticcio by Handel finds its way into the Kammeroper, this time Oreste. „Every stranger in our country risks his life,“ we hear in Oreste – and an examination of this idea is more topical than ever, bearing in mind the current mass migration. In 1783, Salieri’s Viennese version of his school of jealousy, ‚ La scuola de gelosi, was performed for the first time at the Burgtheater. It went on to become his most popular comic opera. The team of Jean Renshaw (director) and Stefan Gottfried (conductor) that showed its quality with Gli uccellatori (The Bird-Catchers) now turns its attentions to this next Viennese opera buffa. Our productions are completed by an intriguing trio of premieres of works by Šimon Vosecˇek, Hannes Loschel and Christof Dienz: Soma Hybris Nemesis is the title of the three operas that the sirene operatic theatre will present in the Kammeroper in November. Along with the departing Junges Ensemble, I too am leaving Vienna and take this opportunity to thank you for your curiosity and support. I wish you a moving and exciting season. The Junges Ensemble of the Theater an der Wien (JET) are: Carolina Lippo (IT), Frederikke Kampmann (DK), Anna Marshaniya (RU), Thomas David Birch (AU), Matteo Loi (IT), Florian Köfler (AT)
A separate brochure is available with information on the ensemble members and the detailed programme of the Theater an der Wien in the Kammeroper.
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LA TRAVIATA Melodramma in three acts (1853) MUSIC BY GIUSEPPE VERDI, ARRANGED BY MORITZ EGGERT LIBRETTO BY FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director Set & light designer Video
Kalle Kuusava Lotte de Beer Clement & Sanôu Finn Ross
Violetta Valéry Alfredo Germont Giorgio Germont Flora / Annina Grenvil / Douphol
Frederikke Kampmann Thomas David Birch Matteo Loi Anna Marshaniya Florian Köfler
Wiener KammerOrchester New Production Theater an der Wien at the Kammeroper In his novel La dame aux camélias (The Lady of the Camellias), published in 1848, Alexandre Dumas, fils made his former lover, the courtesan Marie Duplessis who had died a year before of tuberculosis, the title character. Shortly afterwards, the story, adapted as a stage drama at the Theatre Vaudeville in Paris, became the highlight of the season. Verdi, looking for suitable material for a new opera, was enthralled by the tragic fate of this lady of the Parisian demi-monde and the exposure of middle-class hypocrisy. He turned it into a masterpiece that remains topical and moving today.
PREMIERE: 27 SEPTEMBER 2016
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KAMMEROPER
Performances: 29 September 2016, 1/ 3 / 8 / 11 / 17 / 22/ 24 October 2016, 7 p.m., 5 October 2016, 12 a.m. Introduction: Sunday, 25 September 2016, 11 a.m.
DER KAISER VON ATLANTIS Play in one act (1943) MUSIC BY VIKTOR ULLMANN LIBRETTO BY PETER KIEN Performed in German with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Light designer
Julien Vanhoutte Rainer Vierlinger Susanna Boehm Franz Tscheck
Kaiser Overall Der Tod Lautsprecher Soldat / Harlekin Bubikopf, ein Soldat Der Trommler
Matteo Loi Dumitru Madarasan Unsteinn Árnason Thomas David Birch Frederikke Kampmann Anna Marshaniya
Wiener KammerOrchester New Production Theater an der Wien at the Kammeroper The composer Viktor Ullmann was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1942 where, with the writer and painter Peter Kien, he created Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Although rehearsals had already been held, the opera, with its obvious references to Hitler and the madness of National Socialism, was never performed. Using allegory, Ullmann shows the senselessness of war: When the megalomaniac Emperor Overall announces the beginning of a war waged by everyone against everyone else, even Death protests and goes on strike. However, this immortality increasingly becomes a curse that can only be lifted by a sacrifice on the part of the emperor himself.
PREMIERE: 11 JANUARY 2017 Performances: 15 / 18 / 24 / 27/ 31 January 2017, 2 February 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction at the „Hölle“ / Theater an der Wien: Sunday 8 January 2017, 1 p.m. 54 |
ORESTE Opernpasticcio in three acts (1734) MUSIC BY GEORG FRIEDRICH HÄNDEL LIBRETTO AFTER GIOVANNI GUALBERTO BARLOCCI Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer Light designer
Rubén Dubrovsky Kay Link Olga von Wahl Franz Tscheck
Ermione Ifigenia Pilade Toante Filotete
Frederikke Kampmann Carolina Lippo Thomas David Birch Matteo Loi Florian Köfler
Bach Consort Wien New Production Theater an der Wien at the Kammeroper In 1734, George Frideric Handel created the three-act pasticcio Oreste with the theatre impresario and dancer John Rich, director of the new Covent Garden Theatre. For this work, Handel used music from his earlier operas. The libretto was based on the text written in 1723 by Giovanni Gualberto Barlocci for Rome that focuses not on Ifigenia, as is usual, but on her brother Oreste. A distinctive feature of the opera is the lengthy ballet scenes which were created for the prima ballerina Marie Salle. Although the opera was only performed three times, Oreste can be described as the most successful of all Handel’s original pasticci.
PREMIERE: 6 MARCH 2017
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KAMMEROPER
Performances: 9 / 11 / 13 / 20 / 23 / 27 / 29 / 31 March 2017, 2 April 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction: Sunday, 5 March 2017, 11 a.m.
THE SCHOOL OF JEALOUSY LA SCUOLA DE’ GELOSI Dramma giocoso in two acts (1783) MUSIC BY ANTONIO SALIERI LIBRETTO BY CATERINO MAZZOLÀ Performed in Italian with German surtitles Conductor Director Set designer
Stefan Gottfried Jean Renshaw Christof Cremer
Il conte di Bandiera La contessa di Bandiera Blasio, biadajuolo Ernestina, moglie di Blasio Lumaca, servitore di Blasio Carlotta, una cameriera Il tenente, cugino di Blasio, e amico del Conte
Thomas David Birch Frederikke Kampmann Matteo Loi Carolina Lippo Florian Köfler Anna Marshaniya Julian Henao Gonzalez
Bach Consort Wien New Production Theater an der Wien at the Kammeroper Salieri was a prominent and wealthy composer and music director at the Viennese court, as well as a music teacher. He wrote over forty operas in approximately thirty-five years, and countless arias and ensembles are also attributed to him. However, La scuola de’ gelosi was first performed in Venice, in 1778. Salieri had temporarily left Vienna because Emperor Joseph II had made German the stage language and Salieri wanted to continue writing Italian operas. However, this prime example of an opera buffa, based on the character studies in Caterino Mazzola’s libretto about the jealousy, loyalty and unfaithfulness of two couples, immediately began to be staged with great success all over Europe. 1783 the viennese version premiered at the Burgtheater.
PREMIERE: 18 MAY 2017 Performances: 20 / 22 / 24 / 30 May 2017, 1/ 7 / 9 / 11 / 13 June 2017, 7 p.m. Introduction: 14 May 2017, 11 a.m. 56 |
PORTRAIT CONCERTS Matteo Loi, baritone 13 October 2016, 7.30 p.m.
Frederikke Kampmann, soprano 22 January 2017, 7.30 p.m.
Anna Marshaniya, mezzo-soprano 20 October 2016, 7.30 p.m.
Florian Köfler, bass 16 March 2017, 7.30 p.m.
Carolina Lippo, soprano 2 December 2016, 7.30 p.m.
Thomas David Birch, tenor 29 May 2017, 7.30 p.m.
THE FLYING SCHNÖRTZENBREKKERS Contrabass Violin Accordion
Georg Breinschmid Sebastian Gürtler Tommaso Huber
31 DECEMBER 2016, 7.30 P.M., New Year in der Kammeroper The Ivica File – The Shady Dealings of the Strauss Dynasty
18 MARCH 2017, 7.30 P.M. The Latest from Ivica Strauss – On the Trail of One Who is Rightly Forgotten
GUEST PERFORMANCES AT THE KAMMEROPER: SIRENE OPERNTHEATER WITH „HOSPITAL“ HYBRIS by Šimon Voseˇcek | Premiere: 3 November 2016 Performances: 4 / 5 / 28 November 2016, 8 p.m. NEMESIS by Hannes Löschel | Premiere: 14 November 2016 Performances: 15 / 16 / 29 November 2016, 8 p.m. SOMA
by Christof Dienz | Premiere: 25 November 2016 Performances: 26 / 27 / 30 November 2016, 8 p.m.
Conductor: François-Pierre Descamps, Jury Everhartz Director: Kristine Tornquist | Set designer: Cornelius Burkert | 57 | 57
KAMMEROPER
3 world premieres after Libretti by Kristine Tornquist
CONCERT PERFORMANCES A. Salieri: LES HORACES
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J. Ph. Rameau: ZOROASTRE
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G. B. Pergolesi: ADRIANO IN SIRIA
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A. Vivaldi: JUDITHA TRIUMPHANS
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J. A. Hasse: PIRAMO E TISBE
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C. Monteverdi: IL RITORNO D’ULISSE IN PATRIA
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N. A. Porpora: GERMANICO IN GERMANIA
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G. F. Handel: ARIODANTE
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LES HORACES Tragédie lyrique in three acts and two Intermèdes (1786) MUSIC BY ANTONIO SALIERI LIBRETTO BY NICOLAS-FRANÇOIS GUILLARD Concertante performance in French Conductor
Christophe Rousset
Camille Curiace Le Jeune Horace Le Vieil Horace L’Oracle, Un Albain, Valère, Un Romain Le Grand-prêtre, Le Grand-Sacrificateur Une suivante de Camille
Judith van Wanroij Cyrille Dubois Julien Dran Jean-Sébastien Bou Philippe-Nicolas Martin Andrew Foster-Williams Eugénie Lefebvre
Les Talens lyriques Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles (Ltg.: Olivier Schneebeli) A production by Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and Les Talens Lyriques After Antonio Salieri had scored a huge success with Les Danaïdes in Paris in 1784, he travelled back to Vienna with a new libretto in his hands: Les Horaces, based on the drama by the French classical poet Pierre Corneille. The opera focuses on an episode from the history of the founding of Rome. Romans (Horatii) and Albanians (Curiatii) are fighting for supremacy. In the end, it is decided that the dispute should be settled in a battle between three Roman and three Albanian warriors. The three sons of each of the two rival leaders are chosen. A love affair is tragically caught up in the conflict: Camille, the Horatiis’ sister, is in love with one of the Curiatii, but the young man is killed by one of her brothers. When Camille is seized by a fit of raging despair at this, she is killed by one of her brothers as a traitor to her fatherland. The premiere in Paris in 1786 was, unfortunately, very poorly received, and even though Salieri hastily changed the heavily criticised ending it made no difference and the opera was dropped from the programme after three performances.
TUESDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2016, 7 P.M. 60 |
ZOROASTRE Tragédie en musique in five acts (1756) MUSIC BY JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU LIBRETTO BY LOUIS DE CAHUSAC Concertante performance in French Conductor
Raphaël Pichon
Zoroastre Abramane Amélite Érinice Zopire Céphie
Reinound van Mechelen Nicolas Courjal N. N. Emmanuelle de Negri Christian Immler Léa Désandre
Ensemble and choir Pygmalion
WEDNESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2016, 7 P.M. | 61
CONCERT PERFORMANCES
The premiere of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s fifth tragedy, Zoroastre, received a rather lukewarm reception from Parisian society in 1749, although reports suggest that the show as such was again spectacular. Rameau and his librettist Louis de Cahusac decided to revise the opera, and in 1756 the tragédie en musique was a resounding success. Good and evil are set against each other with an unambiguity seldom seen on an opera stage. Zoroastre and Abramane fight not only for the throne of Bactria and therefore the hand of the beautiful Amélite, but also for the supremacy of the powers they represent. Rameau’s music expertly reflects the dualism inherent in the libretto, and with it he created a veritable musical extravaganza.
ADRIANO IN SIRIA Dramma per musica in three acts (1734) MUSIC BY GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI LIBRETTO BY PIETRO METASTASIO Concertante performance in Italian Conductor
Jan Tomas Adamus
Farnaspe Adriano Emirena Sabina Osroe Aquilio
Franco Fagioli Yuriy Mynenko Romina Basso Dilyara Idrisova Juan Sancho Sofia Fomina
Capella Cracoviensis Intrigues surrounding power and love in ancient Syria: The Roman emperor Adriano must choose between Sabina, his betrothed, and Emirena, the daughter of his enemy, Osroe. Marrying Emirena would ensure peace between the Romans and the Parthians, but Emirena is already in love with the prince Farnaspe. Both are prepared to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of peace. Adriano, impressed by such selflessness, returns to Sabina and allows the union of Emirena and Farnaspe. When Giovanni Battista Pergolesi began work on this Metastasian libretto in 1734 he was only 24 years old. It was to become his third opera seria, and he wrote the role of Farnaspe especially for the famous mezzo-soprano castrato, Gaetano Majorano, known as Caffarelli. But Pergolesi also provided dramatic music for the couple consisting of seconda donna and secondo uomo and for other supporting roles such as the scheming Aquilio. The composer died of tuberculosis only two years later.
FRIDAY, 16 DECEMBER 2016, 7 P.M. 62 |
JUDITHA TRIUMPHANS DEVICTA HOLOFERNIS BARBARIE Oratorio in two parts (1716) MUSIC BY ANTONIO VIVALDI LIBRETTO BY IACOPO CASSETTI Concertante performance in Latin Conductor
Robert King
Juditha Holofernes Vagaus Abra Ozias
Malena Ernman Marianne Beate Kielland Julia Doyle Gaia Petrone Hilary Summers
The King’s Consort choir and orchestra
WEDNESDAY, 25 JANUARY 2017, 7 P.M. | 63
CONCERT PERFORMANCES
Antonio Vivaldi wrote over fifty operas, but only four oratorios of which only one survives: Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie – Judith triumphant over the barbarians of Holofernes. This work about a woman of strength was an official commission to mark the victory of the Republic of Venice over the Turks during the siege of Corfu. It was first performed at Vivaldi’s place of work, the Ospedale della Pieta, a girls’ orphanage where Vivaldi taught music and whose residents were known all over Europe as exceptional musicians. Consequently, all the parts were sung by women at the time. The story is an allegory of victorious Venice: When the Assyrian general Holofernes lays siege to the Israeli town of Bethulia and the situation grows increasingly desperate, the young Jewish widow Judith goes to see Holofernes. Her beauty arouses his desire, and she tempts him with the prospect of a night with her. However, during the evening meal she gets him drunk. Once he has fallen asleep she cuts off his head with his own sword and takes it to her townsfolk as a trophy: Bethulia is free.
PIRAMO E TISBE Intermezzo tragico in two acts (1768) MUSIC BY JOHANN ADOLPH HASSE LIBRETTO BY MARCO COLTELLINI Concertante performance in Italian Conductor
Fabio Biondi
Piramo Tisbe Tisbe’s father
Vivica Genaux Désirée Rancatore Emanuele d’Aguanno
Europa Galante From 1725 on, Johann Adolph Hasse had a glittering career. It had begun in Italy, and he spent thirty productive years as court music director in Dresden, famed all over Europe, until the Seven Years’ War forced him to leave. In 1764, Hasse moved on to Vienna. Unfortunately for him, this was precisely the time when the reformed opera developed by Christoph Willibald Gluck was all the rage in Vienna, and nobody apart from conservative circles at the court of Maria Theresa was interested in the old opera seria that Hasse wrote. Piramo e Tisbe from 1768 was his penultimate opera. In it, he cautiously tried to break away from the rigid constraints of opera seria and incorporated contemporary ideas. Hasse himself regarded this intermezzo tragico as one of his best works and it was performed many times in Europe. He provided this drama about the fatal misunderstanding of a pair of lovers with a rich orchestral score and chiefly used recitatives with orchestral accompaniment so that the opera forms a particularly cohesive unit.
TUESDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2017, 7 P.M. 64 |
IL RITORNO D’ULISSE IN PATRIA Dramma per musica in a prolog and three acts (1640) MUSIC BY CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI LIBRETTO BY GIACOMO BADOARO Concertante performance in Italian Conductor
René Jacobs
Ulisse Penelope Telemaco Melanto / Amore / Giunone Eurimaco Eumete Antinoo Pisandro Anfinomo Minerva / Fortuna Il Tempo / Nettuno
Stéphane Degout Katarina Bradic Anizio Zorzi Giustiniani José Maria Lo Monaco Pierre Derhet Thomas Walker Marcos Fink Mark Milhofer Magnus Staveland Marie-Claude Chappuis Luigi De Donato
B’Rock Orchestra Gent
WEDNESDAY, 22 MARCH 2017, 7 P.M. | 65
CONCERT PERFORMANCES
In 1607, Monteverdi had established the new genre of opera with a masterpiece, L’Orfeo. Initially, performances of the new form of musical theatre were accessible only to the nobility, but from 1637 public opera houses were opened in Venice for paying audiences. Two operas by Monteverdi survive from this time. One of them is Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro after Homer’s Odyssey. Monteverdi seeks to satisfy the audience’s desire for spectacle with a large cast. In the prologue, Il Tempo (Time), La Fortuna (Fortune) and Amore (Cupid) along with l’Umana fragilità (Human Frailty) claim that every human being is a plaything of the gods. The return of Ulisse from the Trojan War is given as an example: for ten years he laid siege to Troy, and his return home was prevented for another ten years by the anger of the sea-god Nettuno. Without the support of the goddess Minerva his wanderings may have gone on forever.
GERMANICO IN GERMANIA Opera seria in three acts (1732) MUSIC BY NICOLA ANTONIO PORPORA LIBRETTO BY NICOLA COLUZZI Concertante performance in Italian Conductor
Jan Tomasz Adamus
Germanico Arminio Ersinda Cecina Segeste Rosmonda
Max Emanuel Cencic Mary-Ellen Nesi Julia Lezhneva Hasnaa Bennani Juan Sancho Dilyara Idrisova
Capella Cracoviensis For a long time, Nicola Antonio Porpora was known to later generations only as the singing teacher of the famous castrato Farinelli. During his lifetime, however, he enjoyed a reputation as a successful opera composer, and George Frideric Handel feared him as a rival. In recent years, musicologists and musicians have at last begun to rediscover Porpora’s operas, and they are proving to be veritable feasts of the art of singing. His Germanico in Germania was first performed in Rome in 1732, only to disappear into the archives for over 250 years. In 2015, the opera was successfully revived at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. The work portrays a family of Germanic princes during the Romans’ onslaught against their city. The family is split between those members who advocate resistance and those who favour appeasement. A love story involving a Teuton and a Roman further complicates matters. It is the Romans who finally win the battle, but the courage of the defeated Teutons causes the Roman generals to show respectful clemency, and the enemies put aside their differences.
THURSDAY, 30 MARCH 2017, 7 P.M. 66 |
ARIODANTE Dramma per musica in three acts (1735) MUSIC BY GEORG FRIEDRICH HANDEL LIBRETTO BY ANTONIO SALVI Concertante performance in Italian Conductor
Harry Bicket
Ariodante Ginevra Polinesso Dalinda Lurcanio Il Re di Scozia
Joyce DiDonato Christiane Karg Sonia Prina Joelle Harvey David Portillo Matthew Brook
The English Concert
FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2017, 7 P.M. | 67
CONCERT PERFORMANCES
Handel’s time in London was marked by constant ups and downs, a succession of successes and failures. Ariodante was written at a time when he was struggling for attention: a rival opera company, the Opera of Nobility, was in a better financial position and had lured all the star performers away from him. As a result, Handel aimed for great musical variety by keeping the recitatives very short and composing a large number of arias that were rich in contrast. A moderate success in 1735, Ariodante is today regarded as one of Handel’s most multifaceted operas. The plot stirs many emotions: in reality everything is fine, the Scottish princess Ginevra loves Ariodante, Ariodante loves the princess, the king is happy about this union and a date has been set for the wedding. But the envious Polinesso, rejected by Ginevra, aims to ruin everything. With a malicious trick he succeeds in making Ariodante think that Ginevra is unfaithful to him, and only a series of coincidences finally leads the despairing lovers to a happy ending.
SPECIAL PROJECTS WIENER PHILHARMONIKER PLAYING HANDEL
70
DIDO AND CLEOPATRA
71
ORPHEUS
72
THE CREATION (scenic version)
73
STEFAN MICKISCH
74
INTRODUCTION TO THE SEASON
75
IL DELIRIO AMOROSO WIENER PHILHARMONIKER Concert with Music by Georg Friedrich Handel Conductor
Emmanuelle Haïm
Soprano
Lenneke Ruiten
Concerto grosso in G major, op. 6 No. 1, HWV 319 Water Music Suite No. 3 in G major, HWV 350 Water Music Suite No. 1 in F major, HWV 348 Il delirio amoroso, HWV 99 One of Handel’s best-known orchestral works is the Water Music, at least part of which was written at the behest of King George I for pleasure boating on the Thames in 1717 and thereafter. The three suites, generously orchestrated, festive and light-hearted, were a great success the first time they were performed and remain so to this day. In our programme, the Water Music is preceded by the Concerto grosso in G major, the first of twelve such concertos that Handel wrote in the space of a single month in 1739. Delirio Amoroso, a cantata for soprano about the delusional love of a nymph to a text by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, was an enchanting calling card that Handel produced in 1707 shortly after arriving in Rome. Music lovers in the Eternal City were quickly clamouring to see the young German composer. Here, he plays with a wide variety of musical forms such as minuet and sonata, and the style of many passages is reminiscent of concerti grossi so that the programme ranges stylistically from Handel’s early work to the concerto written in 1739.
SATURDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2016, 7.30 P.M. 70 |
DIDO AND CLEOPATRA Baroque arias by Henry Purcell, Christoph Graupner, Georg Friedrich Handel, Johann Adolph Hasse, Antonio Sartorio, Francesco Cavalli and others Conductor
Giovanni Antonini
Soprano
Anna Prohaska
Il Giardino Armonico
SATURDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2016, 7.30 P.M. | 71
SPECIAL PROJECTS
The tales told about the two enigmatic African queens Dido and Cleopatra, both the fictional and the true, have fired the imaginations of many composers, particularly in the Baroque era. Their astuteness brought the two of them to power while their feelings meant they were destined to be tragic heroines: one of them dies for love, the other uses her love to retain her power and fails. Anna Prohaska presents excerpts from operas about Dido and Cleopatra that span a period of almost a hundred years, from 1644 to 1742. Triumphant, seductive, accusing, pining, belligerent: the soprano succeeds in touchingly expressing the range of emotions felt by these exceptional queens. And while famous settings such as Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto are virtually mandatory, Prohaska has also delved into the archives to find arias by composers less well known today, such as Antonio Sartorio, Christoph Graupner and Dario Castello. With these she has put together a wide-ranging programme that will have a few unusual surprises in store even for aficionados of baroque opera.
ORPHEUS Baroque arias by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Nicola Antonio Porpora, Johann Adolph Hasse, Giovanni Alberto Ristori and others Conductor
Andres Gabetta
Mezzo-soprano Soprano
Vivica Genaux Sunhae Im
Cappella Gabetta Descended from gods as the putative son of Oeagrus or even Apollo himself and the muse Calliope, it is said of Orpheus that he was the best singer who ever lived. His singing appeased and enchanted people, animals, plants and stones, and even the gods. With his sung lament, Orpheus succeeded in moving the god of the underworld to allow him – albeit on certain conditions, but he allowed it nonetheless – to bring his beloved wife Eurydice back from the underworld. Because Orpheus had a divine spirit but human feelings, he was unable to fulfil the conditions, and once his beloved was irretrievably lost even his singing could no longer help him. He remained sad and would not look at another woman until the Maenads ripped him to shreds, furious at his refusal to acknowledge them. It is no wonder that Orpheus has so often been chosen as the subject of new compositions since the beginning of the history of opera. This concert features excerpts from well-known Orpheus operas such as Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (Vienna, 1762), Nicola Antonio Porpora’s Orfeo (London, 1736), Johann Adolph Hasse’s Orfeo (London, 1736) and one less well-known work by Giovanni Alberto Ristori, I lamenti di Orfeo (Dresden, 1749).
WEDNESDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2016, 7 P.M. 72 |
THE CREATION (scenic version) Oratorio in three parts (1799) MUSIC BY JOSEPH HAYDN LIBRETTO BY GOTTFRIED VAN SWIETEN AFTER JOHN MILTON’S PARADISE LOST Conductor Director Costume designer Light designer Choreographer
Laurence Equilbey Carlus Padrissa Clara Sullà Carles Rigual Mireia Romero
Soprano Tenor Baritone
Mari Eriksmoen Martin Mitterrutzner Daniel Schmutzhard
La Fura dels Baus accentus Insula orchestra
MONDAY, 15 MAY 2017, 7 P.M. TUESDAY, 16 MAY 2017, 7 P.M. | 73
SPECIAL PROJECTS
During his second visit to England, Haydn was offered an English-language libretto: the creation of the world according to the Bible. Essentially, The Creation contains no more and no less than this. The retired diplomat and music lover Gottfried van Swieten, one of Haydn’s most important acquaintances in Vienna, was responsible for the translation. The experienced composer, master of the symphony and the string quartet, worked on the oratorio for nearly two years, from autumn 1796 to spring 1798. The premiere in the Schwarzenberg Palace attracted such a crowd that gendarmes had to cordon off a path for the invited guests. The press was also impressed by this major work: „The music has an expressive power beyond all imagining; the listener is enthralled, sees the raging of the elements, sees it become light, the fallen spirits sinking deep into the abyss, trembles at the rolling thunder, joins in the celebratory chorus of the heavenly host.“ (Teutscher Merker, 1798.)
STEFAN MICKISCH As the „opera guide for the 21st century“, Stefan Mickisch presents entertaining and edifying introductory talks on a wide range of works in the opera literature. Following his commentary on Wagner’s tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung and his thoughts on the relationship between Keys and Star Signs, the virtuoso pianist, Wagner expert and musicologist will present three works of musical theatre this season that have close links with the Theater an der Wien: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Magic Flute, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. On the basis of his exhaustive study of music literature and music history as well as musicology and music theory, Mickisch distils his comprehensive and detailed knowledge into an easy-to-follow and instructive lecture – without forgetting to add his inventive and downto-earth humour. In addition, the combination of theory and practice as demonstrated in colourful fashion on the piano fills his talks with verve and originality.
The Magic Flute
SUNDAY, 29 JANUARY 2017, 7.30 P.M. Fidelio
MONDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2017, 7.30 P.M. Die Fledermaus
SATURDAY, 25 MARCH 2017, 7.30 P.M. 74 |
INTRODUCTION TO THE SEASON WITH HAIDE TENNER AND GUESTS
We are delighted that Dr Haide Tenner has again agreed to introduce the new opera projects of the Theater an der Wien and the Kammeroper at the beginning of the 2016/17 season together with guests and artists. Haide Tenner has a longstanding association with the Theater an der Wien as former manager of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Operagoers are familiar with the author and culture manager as former head of culture on Austrian state television, head of music at the radio station Ö1 and the creator of countless radio and television productions. We cordially invite you to discover the fascination of the „world of opera“ at the Theater an der Wien and the Kammeroper: You don’t need an opera guide! You shouldn’t listen to any analyses of works that drag on for hours, because this presentation aims to make you curious and increase your passion for musical theatre. Gain a detailed summary of the 2016/17 year of opera at the Theater an der Wien and the Kammeroper. Free admission for Theater an der Wien subscription holders, Friends of the Theater an der Wien and school classes taking part in Jugend an der Wien projects. Bookings taken for the presentation and tickets on general sale from 1 August 2016. Contact: Mag. Philipp Wagner, phone: +43 (0) 1 588 30-2015 E-Mail: philipp.wagner@theater-wien.at
The illustrations in this programme were designed for the Theater an der Wien by beyond.ag (Michael Huber & Thomas Riegler) and realised by the Berlin artist Mara Burmester. Mara Burmester was born in 1988 in Hanover. She studied communications design in Berlin where she continued living after graduation. She works as a freelance artist and illustrator as well as acting as an assistant from time to time at the Berlin Puppet Theatre for Adults. The absurd, the comic and the apparently meaningless play a central role in most of her works.
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SPECIAL PROJECTS
TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2016, 7.30 P.M. – 9 P.M.
AT THE „HÖLLE“
MEPHISTOS ERWACHEN Concept & director Set designer
Georg Wacks Stefan Fleischhacker
With
Elena Schreiber, Stefan Fleischhacker, Martin Thoma, Georg Wacks, Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz
Ensemble „Albero Verde“: Violin Cello Clarinet Piano
Barbara Klebel-Vock Rainer Ullreich Ruth Ferlic Reinhold Brunner Christina Renghofer
Exhibition
Marie-Theres Arnbom
A production of the Armin Berg Gesellschaft on behalf of the Theater an der Wien in cooperation with the Letzten Erfreulichen Operntheater (LEO).
PREMIERE: 2 NOVEMBER 2016, 8 P.M. Performances: 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 8 / 26 / 27 / 30 November 2016 2 December 2016, 8 p.m.
The legendary historical revues in the theatre and cabaret known as the „Hölle“ in the basement of the Theater an der Wien enter their eighth wondrous year accompanied by the enthusiastic acclaim of audiences and press alike. As the natural sequel to the wild celebratory revue Im siebenten Himmel (In the Seventh Heaven) in the „Hölle“ comes the fall of the angels and Mephistos Erwachen (Mephisto’s Awakening). After heavenly rapture, Georg Wacks now conceives – coinciding precisely with the 110th anniversary of the Jugendstil revue „Hölle“ – the wild and emotionally stirring programme Mephistos Erwachen. Remarkable performances of historical cabaret and variety numbers, moving songs sung in antique costumes, melancholy songs, international female metamorphoses, demonic dances and literary, humoristic gems bring the mood of the „Hölle“ back to life for two hours while the champagne flows freely and a hellishly throaty atmosphere reigns to guarantee an evening of devilish glee. The familiarly flamboyant and frankly overdone décor by Stefan Fleischhacker has been designed entirely on the theme of the 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch. Fritz Grünbaum, Joachim Ringelnatz, Georg Kreisler and William Shakespeare guarantee literature and humour of the highest standard. Songs by Béla Laszky, Jacques Offenbach, Ralph Benatzky and Erik Satie round the programme off. The cultured Albero Verde ensemble provides the music with their customary flawless playing. In the accompanying exhibition, which is dominated by the 100th anniversary of Dadaism, Marie-Theres Arnbom presents a new set of long-lost artefacts from past revues.
HÖLLE
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JUGEND AN DER WIEN
JUGEND AN DER WIEN At the Theater an der Wien, young people have the opportunity to see opera productions before everybody else and to express their opinions about them – even before the premiere audience have discussed them and journalists have published their reviews. This applies to those taking part in Jugend an der Wien school projects as well as to all the participants in Jugend macht Oper. Visits to dress rehearsals for school classes and other interested groups of young people generally take place two days before the premiere and cost ¤ 5.– (donation). To accompany these visits, Jugend an der Wien runs a wide range of complementary activities, which are free of charge and tailored to each school class. Besides the approach geared primarily to schoolwork, the Jugend macht Oper section of the programme offers a highly individual experience of stagecraft and music: the production of an opera by and with youngsters at the Theater an der Wien gives the participants a look behind the scenes and shows the audience opera from a different perspective. In addition, the Friends of the Theater an der Wien club gives young people and young adults aged up to 26 the chance to take advantage of special offers and concessions as youth members. This season, interested school groups from about the eighth grade up have the chance to see five productions on the main stage on Naschmarkt and two on the smaller stage on Fleischmarkt (the latter performed by the Young Ensemble of the Theater an der Wien). Those who feel the urge to act and sing have the opportunity to work on Faust from autumn 2016 and to perform in spring 2017 either on the stage or in the orchestra pit of the Theater an der Wien.
Facebook: Jugend an der Wien
BOOKINGS & CONTACT: Mag.a Catherine Leiter, MA jugendanderwien@theater-wien.at phone: +43 664 886 281 30
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The THEATER AN DER WIEN would like to thank all its partners, friends and sponsors
MAIN SPONSOR
Foto © Peter M. Mayr
Agrana
GOLDEN CIRCLE
SILVER CIRCLE
DS Automobiles Gewista ÖBB Jugend an der Wien: Barbara & Martin Schlaff
AirPlus Akris BDO ISPA Werbung Walla Druck Jugend an der Wien: Pat & Marcus Meier
SPONSORING KAMMEROPER
COOPERATIONPARTNER
BUWOG Production Sponsor Kammeroper: Raiffeisen Zentralbank
Doetsch Grether AG Kattus Le Méridien
If you are interested in sponsoring the Theater an der Wien and our young ensemble, please contact Ms. Sandra Risska, Head of Development Department on 01 588 30-1330.
vbw.at
GUIDED TOURS The Theater an der Wien ranks among the most beautiful theatres in Vienna and has one of the richest traditions. Take advantage of the unique opportunity to sample the theatrical atmosphere in a building that has enchanted audiences for over two centuries with its outstanding acoustics and authentic, intimate ambience. Groups taking part in guided tours are limited to thirty people. The meeting point is the main entrance where the group will be picked up in good time; the visitors then enter the theatre through the foyer. Tours are in German and last approximately one hour. The tour includes the foyer, the auditorium, the stage, the cellar and the dressing-room area. Visitors will learn about the building’s history, its programme of performances, the way it is organised and the technology used. It is of course also possible to book private tours (in other languages, for example, or at other times). If you require such a tour, please be sure to book your appointment in advance, either in writing or by phone. Special offer for school groups: during private tours for classes, special emphasis can be placed on topics covered in lessons (such as technology, fashion, music etc.). For the dates and times of guided tours, see the website of the Theater an der Wien (www.theater-wien.at), the theatre’s magazine and the bimonthly folder. See p. 89 for details of prices. Contact for all tours of the Theater an der Wien: Mag. Philipp Wagner, phone: +43 (0) 1 588 30-2015 E-Mail: fuehrungen@theater-wien.at
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INFORMATION TICKET SALES Tickets go on sale to the general public on 15 June 2016 at 10 a.m. for the performances until 31 December 2016, at the box office at the Theater an der Wien and the Wien-Ticket pavilion and can also be ordered by telephone on +43 (0)1 58885. Tickets for performances from 1 January 2017, go on sale to the general public on 1 September 2016, at 10 a.m. Cloak-room fees are included in the ticket price. Please note that no orders for individual tickets can be accepted before tickets go on general sale.
BOX OFFICE THEATER AN DER WIEN & KAMMEROPER Box office for both venues: Theater an der Wien, Linke Wienzeile 6, 1060 Vienna Opening hours: Mon – Sat, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.* Closed on Sundays, except for matinee performances (open from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.) and evening performances (open from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.)* Additional box office Kammeroper: Advance tickets for Kammeroper performances are also available with immediate effect from Hotel Post, Fleischmarkt 24, 1010 Vienna (hotel reception, daily from 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.)* Information and phone sales: +43 (0)1 58885 * Opening hours subject to change.
EVENING BOX OFFICE Ticketsale and pickup for the respective performance at Theater an der Wien: from 6 p.m. until curtain-up at der Kammeroper (address: Fleischmarkt 24, 1010 Vienna): from one hour before curtain-up For your convenience, please buy or pick up all tickets that are not for the next performance, and complete any subscription enquires (e.g. exchange) at the Theater an der Wien box office no later than 6 p.m. Please note that the box office at Theater an der Wien will be closed from 6 July to 15 August 2016.
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WIEN-TICKET PAVILION Tickets (except subscription tickets) are also available from the Wien-Ticket pavilion on Herbert von Karajan-Platz by the State Opera from 15 June and 1 September 2016 respectively. Open daily from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
BOOKING BY PHONE Tickets (except subscription tickets and other concessions) can also be ordered by phone every day from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. from Wien-Ticket on +43 (0)1 58885. Shipping charge*: within Austria: ¤ 5.90; abroad: ¤ 9.90.
INTERNET www.theater-wien.at | www.kammeroper.at Tickets can be purchased online by credit card from 16 June and 2 September 2016 respectively. Shipping charge*: within Austria ¤ 5.90; abroad ¤ 9.90. Print@home as well as arranging for advance tickets to be kept for collection at both box offices is free of charge. Arranging for purchased tickets to be left for collection from the evening ticket offices of the Theater an der Wien and the Kammeroper costs ¤ 1.50. The Theater an der Wien and Kammeroper newsletter can be subscribed to free of charge at www.theater-wien.at. Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheateranderWien and twitter: twitter.com/TheaterWien Videos at: www.youtube.com/user/theateranderwien * Shipping charges are subject to change.
GUIDED TOURS OF THE THEATER AN DER WIEN (see p. 84) Price: ¤ 7.–/5.– (concession)* | Groups of schoolchildren: ¤ 3.– Children under 6: free
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INFORMATION
* Concessions apply to school pupils, students up to age 26, persons in military/community service
GROUP BOOKINGS For bookings for groups of 11 or more people, please contact the Theater an der Wien sales department. phone +43(0)1 588 30-1440 or by e-mail: sales@vbw.at
VOUCHERS Vouchers for productions of the Theater an der Wien or the Kammeroper can be ordered by phone on +43 (0) 1 58885 or purchased at the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien box offices and the Wien-Ticket pavilion. Vouchers are not valid for non-Theater an der Wien and Kammeroper productions (e.g. Wiener Festwochen) held at those venues.
WHEELCHAIR SPACES/SPECIAL NEEDS PERSONS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY Wheelchair spaces can be reserved at the Theater an der Wien (also for an accompanying person if desired) up to a week before the performance for which tickets have been bought on +43 (0) 1 58885 or at our box offices. Price: ¤ 10,– (wheelchair space) with a 50 % concession for the accompanying person. Patrons with a disabled person ID are granted a 25 % reduction up to one week before the performance for which they have bought tickets. These concessions are available only at the theatre box offices on presentation of a disabled person ID (limited ticket availability). Please note that there are no lifts in the Theater an der Wien or the Kammeroper, and there are no wheelchair spaces in the Kammeroper.
STANDING ROOM Tickets for patrons wishing to stand at the Theater an der Wien are available at the box office at the theatre’s discretion and no earlier than one hour before curtain-up. Price: ¤ 7,–. No standing room is available in the Kammeroper.
TICKETS FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOOLCHILDREN Tickets for schoolchildren and students up to age 26 are available, at the theatre’s discretion and no earlier than 15 minutes before curtain-up, at the box offices of the Theater an der Wien and the Kammeroper on presentation of appropriate ID. Theater an der Wien: Opera: ¤ 15,– | Concert: ¤ 15,– Kammeroper: Opera/Concert: ¤ 10,– | Portrait Concert: ¤ 7,– 90 |
JUNIOR-TICKET Children or adolescents (under 16) who attend a Theater an der Wien production are granted a 35% reduction on ticket prices in the categories A – E at Theater an der Wien and in the categories A – D at Kammeroper. Available at all VBW ticket offices, the Theater an der Wien online shop and by phone from Wien-Ticket on +43(0)1 58885.
SAVE ON PARKING WHEN YOU VISIT THE THEATER AN DER WIEN Patrons of the Theater an der Wien can park in the Technical University’s WiPark garages for only ¤ 6.90 for the first five hours. Valid Mon-Sat, 5 p.m. – 8 a.m., Sundays and holidays. Pre-paid parking cards are available at the Theater an der Wien box office. Addresses: Garage Technische Universität | Operngasse 13 | 1040 Vienna Garage Lehárgasse | Lehárgasse 4 | 1060 Vienna
SAVE ON PARKING WHEN YOU VISIT THE KAMMEROPER Patrons of the Kammeroper can park in the BOE Garage on Franz-JosefsKai for ¤ 5,– per day. Valid Mon-Sun, 6 p.m. – 7 a.m. Pre-paid parking cards are available at the Kammeroper evening box office. Address: BOE Garage Franz-Josefs-Kai | Morzinplatz 1 | 1010 Vienna
Ö1 CLUB Ö1 club members receive a reduction of 10 % on a maximum of two tickets per performance. This reduction applies to all Theater an der Wien productions. No concessions are available on subscription tickets, tickets for standing room and events of the Wiener Festwochen. To obtain the Ö1 Club concession, please show your membership card or state your membership number.
Tickets for Wiener Festwochen events in May/June 2017 at the Theater an der Wien are available from the Wiener Festwochen only: www.festwochen.at; Festwochen service telephone +43 (0) 1 589 22 22. | 91
INFORMATION
WIENER FESTWOCHEN
PRICES THEATER AN DER WIEN MUSICAL THEATRE Prices in ¤ * Hamlet | Falstaff | Macbeth | Don Giovanni | The Fairy Queen Peer Gynt | Elisabetta | Elegy for Young Lovers a 148 b 126 c 99 d 89 e 68 f 48 g
25
Ghosts (Ballet) | Carmen (Ballet) a 98 b 84 c 68 d
14
52 e
40 f
28 g
CONCERT PERFORMANCES & SPECIAL PROJECTS 24.9.16 Dido and Cleopatra | 18.10.16 Les Horaces | 16.11.16 Zoroastre 23.11.16 Orpheus | 16.12.16 Adriano in Siria | 25.1.17 Juditha triumphans 28.2.17 Piramo e Tisbe | 22.3.17 Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria 30.3.17 Germanico in Germania | 12.5.17 Ariodante a 75 b 62 c 50 d 40 e 30 f 22 g 13 15. & 16.5.17 The Creation (scenic version) a 118 b 98 c 78 d 62 e
48 f
31 g
14
17.9.16 Il delirio amoroso a 98 b 84 c
40 f
28 g
14
29.1.17 The Magic Flute | 20.2.17 Fidelio | 25.3.17 Die Fledermaus a 51 b 43 c 35 d 30 e 25 f 17 g
11
68 d
52 e
INTRODUCTION TO THE SEASON 13 September 2016
7
CABARET AT THE „HÖLLE“ 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 8 / 26 / 27 / 30 November 2016, 2 December 2016 Mephistos Erwachen
INTRODUCTIONS
20 5
JUGEND AN DER WIEN-OPERA 10 May 2017, 6 p.m. / 11 May 2017, 12 a.m. Faust-Szenen
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Seating plan Theater an der Wien
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PRICES KAMMEROPER
PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL Concept / Cover image © beyond / michael huber, thomas riegler Inside cover image in back © Paul Ott
MUSICAL THEATRE Prices in ¤ * La Traviata | Hybris | Nemesis | Soma Der Kaiser von Atlantis | Oreste | The School of Jealousy The Flying Schnörtzenbrekkers a 51 b 40 c 29 d 19
PORTRAIT CONCERTS
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13.10.16 Matteo Loi 20.10.16 Anna Marshaniya 02.12.16 Carolina Lippo 22.01.17 Frederikke Kampmann 16.03.17 Florian Köfler 29.05.17 Thomas David Birch
INTRODUCTIONS
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BÜHNE LINKS
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Seating plan Kammeroper
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p. 8 / 9 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 12 / 13 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 16 / 17 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 20 / 21 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 24 / 25 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 28 / 29 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 32 / 33 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 36 / 37 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 40 / 41 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 44 / 45 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 48 / 49 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 51 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 59 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 69 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 77 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 81 © beyond I Mara Burmester p. 85 © Peter M. Mayr p. 86 / 87 © beyond I Mara Burmester
PUBLISHING DETAILS Theater an der Wien – Director Prof. DI Roland Geyer Publisher & Proprietor: Vereinigte Bühnen Wien Ges.m.b.H. – interim Managing director Mag. Lia Metchev-Herbst Theater an der Wien, Linke Wienzeile 6, 1060 Wien phone (+43/1) 588 30-1010 | Fax Ext. 99 2000 | oper@theater-wien.at | www.theater-wien.at Responsible for content: Director Prof. DI Roland Geyer Editorial office: Karin Bohnert, Jochen Breiholz, Renate Futterknecht, Sylvia Hödl, Johannes Penninger, Tina Reithofer, Herbert Schäfer, Markus Schemmel, Sabine Seisenbacher, Claudia Stobrawa, Ugo Varela, Georg Wacks, Philipp Wagner, Ksenija Zadravec Graphic design: Nadine Dellitsch Printing: TriSys DI Hans A. Gruber KG Subject to change | July 2016 | DVR 0518751
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SEASON
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