WIENER STAATSOPER IN FEBRUARY

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by Opera Charm Team

January 28, 2024

Animal Farm, the new commissioned work by Alexander Raskatov, which will premiere in Amsterdam in 2023 as a co-production of the Wiener Staatsoper with the Nederlandse Opera & Ballet Amsterdam, the Teatro Massimo Palermo and the Finnish National Opera & Ballet Helsinki, will have its world premiere at the Haus am Ring in February – the audience can expect an opera based on Orwell’s classic dystopia about a failed struggle for liberation.

The 66. Wiener Opernballs (8 February 2024) next month will also feature a varied programme: classics of the operatic repertoire such as Tosca, Herbert Fritsch’s fast-paced production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, but also the second series of performances of Tatjana Gürbaca’s new production of Puccini’s Il trittico. The Wiener Staatsballet will present its popular productions of Giselle and Don Quixote.

This year, Elīna Garanča, Piotr Beczała and the young soprano Serena Sáenz, conducted by Bertrand de Billy, will perform the artistic opening programme of the 66. Wiener Opernballs on 8 February. The Wiener Staatsballett will perform a choreography by Alexei Ratmansky.

The following day, there will be two performances of The Magic Flute for children, this year for the first time with Rolando Villazon as Papageno and Serena Sáenz as Queen of the Night, conducted by Philippe Jordan.

The 2.30 pm performance is reserved for school classes, while free tickets for the 5 pm performance will be available from 1 December due to the semester break in Vienna.

The Wiener Staatsoper will also give a concert performance of Don Giovanni at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on 5 February 2024. Christian Van Horn (Don Giovanni), Peter Kellner (Leporello) and Slávka Zámečníková (Donna Anna) will sing under the baton of Philippe Jordan.

TOSCA by Giacomo Puccini

Musical direction Bertrand de Billy
Production by Margarethe Wallmann
Starring Elena Stikhina (Floria Tosca), Piotr Beczała (Mario Cavaradossi), Erwin Schrott (Baron Scarpia)

Under the musical direction of Bertrand de Billy, Elena Stikhina (Tosca), Piotr Beczała (Cavaradossi) and Erwin Schrott (Scarpia) will appear in three performances.

Dates
2, 5 & 10 February 2024

IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA by Gioachino Rossini

Musical direction Diego Matheuz
Production Herbert Fritsch
Starring Lawrence Brownlee (Count Almaviva), Fabio Capitanucci (Bartolo), Patricia Nolz (Rosina), Adam Palka (Don Basilio), Adam Plachetka (Figaro), Jenni Hietala (Marzellina / Berta)

Under the musical direction of Diego Matheuz, who conducts the Vienna State Opera Orchestra for the first time, Fabio Capitanucci as Bartolo and Adam Palka as Basilio make their role debuts at the Haus am Ring. Other singers include Lawrence Brownlee (Count Almaviva), Patricia Nolz (Rosina) and Adam Plachetka (Figaro).

Dates
13, 16, 19 & 22 February 2024

IL TRITTICO by Giacomo Puccini

Musical direction Philippe Jordan
Production by Tatjana Gürbaca with, among others, Carlos Álvarez (Michele), Elena Stikhina (Giorgetta), Joshua Guerrero (Luigi) | Elena Stikhina (Sister Angelica), Michaela Schuster (The Princess), Monika Bohinec (The Abbess) | Carlos Álvarez (Gianni Schicchi), Florina Ilie (Lauretta), Michaela Schuster (Zita), Bogdan Volkov (Rinuccio)

The first new production of the 2023/24 season, Puccini’s Il trittico, returns to the Vienna State Opera programme in February under the baton of first conductor Philippe Jordan. Audience favourite Carlos Álvarez makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera as Michele (Il tabarro) and as Gianni Schicchi; Elena Stikhina makes her debut as Giorgetta (Il tabarro) and in the title role of Sister Angelica. The cast also includes Joshua Guerrero as Luigi (Il tabarro), Michaela Schuster as the Princess (Sour Angelica), Florina Ilie as Lauretta, Michaela Schuster as Zita and Bogdan Volkov as Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi).

Dates
14, 17, 20 & 24 February 2024

DON PASQUALE by Gaetano Donizetti

Musical direction Francesco Ivan Ciampa
Production by Irina Brook
Cast includes Misha Kiria (Don Pasquale), Xabier Anduaga (Ernesto), Michael Arivony (Malatesta), Rosa Feola (Norina)

Under the musical direction of Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Misha Kiria will sing Don Pasquale and Rosa Feola Norina for the first time at Haus am Ring. Irina Brook’s production also features Xavier Anduaga as Ernesto and Michael Arivony as Malatesta.

Dates
21, 23 & 26 February 2024

PREMIERE ‘ANIMAL FARM’ by Alexander Raskatov

Musical direction Alexander Soddy
Production by Damiano Michieletto
Starring, among others, Gennady Bezzubenkov (Old Major), Wolfgang Bankl (Napoleon), Michael Gniffke (Snowball), Andrei Popov (Squealer), Holly Flack (Mollie)

Under the musical direction of Alexander Soddy, the Austrian premiere of Alexander Raskatov’s opera Animal Farm, based on the classic book by George Orwell, will take place on 28 February. The visually stunning production by Damiano Michieletto, which had its world premiere in Amsterdam on 4 March, features Gennady Bezzubenkov as Old Major, Wolfgang Bankl as Napoleon, Michael Gniffke as Snowball, Andrei Popov as Squealer and Holly Flack as Mollie, among others (detailed broadcast to follow).

Dates
Premiere: 28 February 2024
Repeats: 2, 5, 7 & 10 March 2024

Wiener Staatsballett

GISELLE

Music Adolphe Adam

Musical direction Wolfgang Heinz
Choreography by Elena Tschernischova after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Peitpa with, among others, Liudmila Konovalova / Elena Bottaro (Giselle), Masayu Kimoto / Davide Dato* (Duke Albrecht)

In February, the Vienna State Ballet presents two performances of the 1993 version of Giselle created by Elena Tschernischova. The dancers include Liudmila Konovalova and Elena Bottaro as Giselle and Masayu Kimoto and Davide Dato* as Duke Albrecht. Wolfgang Heinz is on the podium.

Dates
11 / 12 February 2024

DON QUIXOTE

Music by Ludwig Minkus arranged by John Lanchbery

Musical direction Wolfgang Heinz
Choreography Rudolf Nureyev with, among others, Ioanna Avraam / Kiyoka Hashimonto* (Kitri), Arne Vanderwelde / Alexey Popov* (Basil), Gala Jovanovic / Hyo-Jung Kang* (Queen of the Dryads)

The Vienna State Ballet will present five performances of the virtuosically choreographed ballet classic Don Quixote in February 2024, with alternating casts including Ioanna Avraam and Kiyoka Hashimoto* as Kitri, Arne Vanderwelde and Alexey Popov* as Basil and Gala Jovanovic and Hyo-Jung Kang* as the Queen of the Dryads. Wolfgang Heinz conducts.

Dates
15, 18, 25, 27 & 29 February 2024

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE A L'OPÉRA DE PARIS

October 2024

OPERA CHARM TEAM

PREMIERE OF ‘DON CARLO’ AT WIENER STAATSOPER

September 2024

Opera Charm Team

Alice Lechner

Alice Lechner comes from a music-loving family. Her first encounter with the opera universe was at the tender age of six. The grandeur of the stage productions and costumes, the backstage chatter, and last, but definitely not least, the music left her in awe, beginning with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The overall feeling that opera awakens in anyone who gets a glimpse into this part of artistic eternity, that each and every day passes the test of time, was what drew her to stay and be a part of this world. The Opera House of Brașov became her second home, and the people who worked there were her second family.

Since then, Alice has devoted her spare time to maximising her musical knowledge through instrumental studies, studying both piano and violin for a short time. In the following years, her number one passion stepped out of the limelight and graciously gave way to Law Studies.
Since 2018 she has been studying Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Her passion for opera, even if it is no longer her top professional priority in terms of career, it has most definitely become her priority during her free time. Wanting to experience the best of both worlds and extend her musical horizons, she regularly attends opera performances throughout Romania and abroad.
With OPERA Charm Magazine, Alice aims to nurture her creative side to help it flourish and bloom and to discover, alongside the magazine’s readers, the fascinatingly complex world of opera.

Currently, she is an LL.M. in Business Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Oana Zamfir

Oana Zamfir is a second year MA student at the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, at the Department of Musicology.

She studied violin for 12 years at the “Stefan Luchian” High School of Art in Botosani, later focusing on the theoretical aspects of music. In 2019 she completed her bachelor studies in Musicology as a student of the National Academy of Music “Gheorghe Dima” in Cluj-Napoca. Her research during 2018-2019 brought to the forefront elements of the archaic ritual within works of composers who activated during the communist period, giving her the opportunity to start a research internship at the “Carl von Ossietzky” University in Germany. In this context, she recorded conversations with members of the Sophie Drinker Institute in Bremen, and had access to documents directly from the Myriam Marbé archive.

Since 2019 she has been a teacher of Music Education and Theoretical Music Studies, making full use of interactive methods in the musical training of students and working, at the same time, with the children’s choir founded in the first year of her activity.

Her interests include pursuing a degree in interior design in 2020.

Alexandru Suciu

Alexandru Suciu inherited his passion for art growing up in a family of several generations of musicians. He began his musical studies at the “Augustin Bena” School of Music in Cluj, where he studied piano and guitar. Even though his main study direction was philological, his passion for music prevailed. He began his academical journey at the Faculty of Letters of the “Babeș-Bolyai” University, studying Comparative literature and English. He continued by studying Opera Singing at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy. He also graduated the Musical Education section, followed by Artistic Directing at the Musical Performing Arts department.

His multidisciplinary education opened the doors towards research, which is seen both through his participation in national and international conferences and symposia, such as the Salzburg Easter School PhD-forum, organized by the Salzburg Universität or the Silesian Meeting of Young Scholars, organized by the Institute of English at the University of Silesia, as well as the collaboration with Opera Charm Magazine.

During his student years, he won several prizes, including the Grand Prize at the “Paul Constantinescu” National Musical Interpretation Competition, the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union Prize at the same competition, the First Prize and the Schubert Prize at the “Ada Ulubeanu” Competition.

He further developed his artistic skills by specializing in courses and masterclasses held by personalities such as Vittorio Terranova, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Marian Pop, Ines Salazar, Riccardo Zanellato, Paolo Bosisio, Valentina Farcaș and Manuel Lange in contexts such as the Internationale Sommerakademie für Operngesang Deutschlandsberg, Corso Internazionale di Canto Lirico I.M.C. Licata or the Europäische Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst Montepulciano. Besides his activity on-stage, he currently teaches Opera Singing Didactics, and Pedagogical Practice within the Department for Teacher Education and Training at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy.

Cristina Fieraru

Cristina is a 24 year-old Romanian soprano & a student at the National University of Music Bucharest, where she pursues the MA program in Vocal Performance.

She made her debut in Pamina from “Die Zauberflöte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at only 19 years old at the Bucharest National Opera House, as a member of the Ludovic Spiess Experimental Opera Studio. Over the years she made her debut in roles such as Contessa d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Mimì & Musetta (La Bohème), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte) in her university’s opera productions.
Her passion and experience extends in the field of choral music, too.

She has been part of our dream team since the fall of 2021. For a good period of time she took care of OPERA Charm’s social media and took you on the monthly journey through the history of opera through our Legends rubric – and a few times through the Theaters around the World rubric.

Her little soul rubric – from 2021 to present – is definitely the Conductors of the Future, where, every month, she gives you the chance to meet a young star of the world of conducting and, of course, to find out what’s the most charming feature of opera in these artists’ views.

BIANCA L. NICA

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