Arrangement from Thursday 5 to Monday 9 June 2025,
4 nights
Pentecote
Carmen is undoubtedly one of the most popular and most performed operas in the world. Its premiere in 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, however, was only a moderate success: The outrageous new realism, the brutality and vehemence in the actors’ actions, and not least the shady milieu, overwhelmed the conventional Parisian audience, which was stuck in old patterns of thought. The opera is set around 1820 in Seville, Andalusia, and is based on the novella of the same name by Prosper Merimée. The libretto was co-produced by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy (nephew of composer Jacques Fromental Halévy and also cousin of Georges Bizet’s wife). Shortly after its premiere, Carmen began its triumphal march across the world via Vienna and the rest of Europe, a triumph that continues to this day. The theme and plot of this opera inspired numerous artists to create independent works, and various (opera and dance) films as well as ballets were made. Georges Bizet (1838-1875), however, unfortunately did not live to see the triumph of his sensual and passionate masterpiece. Exactly three months to the day after the first performance, he succumbed to a fatal heart attack at the age of only 36.
Carmen♪ - G. Bizet, the 6
Marco Armiliato - Calixto Bieito
J’Nai Bridges, Florina Ilie, Freddie De Tommaso, Christopher Maltman
Staatsoper
Concert of the Wiener Philharmoniker, the 7, 15h30
J. Haydn : Symphonie n ° 52 en do mineur
G. Mahler : Symphonie pour deux voix solistes et orchestre "Das Lied von der Erde"
Franz Welser-Möst
Maestro Franz Welser-Möst, born in Linz in 1960, has now been working in the U.S. for almost 20 years as chief conductor and music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has never lost his ties to his home country of beautiful (Upper) Austria however. So he makes stops in Austria with his orchestra on world tours, but he also has a close partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs worldwide, but also at the legendary New Year’s Concert at the Vienna Musikverein. In addition, he is a summer guest at the traditional Salzburg Festival, performing concert repertoire as well as exciting opera literature. In 2018, for example, the performance of Strauss` ´Salome` with a magnificent Asmik Grigorian caused quite a stir. On his 60th birthday, Welser-Möst published his book ´Als ich die Stille fand` (´When I Found Silence`), which provides more intimate insights into his own sometimes bumpy path through life and conducting, about nature and soul, and which also criticizes the classical music scene, which in some cases ´sells out`.
Franz Welser-Möst♪Soliste :
Elīna Garanča
Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča was born in 1976 in Riga into a family of musicians. She began her musical studies at the age of 5 at the piano. In 1996, she studied singing at the Latvian Academy of Music, then moved to Vienna and the United States. While still a student, she made her stage debut in 1998 as a quick replacement to play Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Opera in Riga, Bucharest and Athens. Elīna Garanča then joined the Meiningen Theater troupe, then the Frankfurt one and finally the Vienna State Opera. In 2003 Elīna Garanča became known internationally by singing the role of Annio in Mozart’s La Clémence de Titus at the Salzburg Festival under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. On the strength of her success, she begins to do a series of roles.
Elīna Garanča♪, Daniel Behle
Musikverein
Siegfried - R. Wagner, the 8
Philippe Jordan - Sven-Eric Bechtolf
Anja Kampe
Anja Kampe studied at the universities of Dresden and Turin and has made a name for herself in the classical music scene, especially with her Wagner interpretations. Born in 1968, the soprano from Thuringia first attracted international attention when she appeared alongside Plácido Domingo in the role of Sieglinde at the Washington Opera. Kampe subsequently took her roles of Kundry, Brünnhilde, Senta or Isolde to the most renowned opera houses in the world, from the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Berlin State Opera to the legendary Bayreuth Festival. Furthermore, the soprano from Thuringia celebrated successes in the roles of Katerina Ismailova and Minnie (La Fanciulla del West), Leonore (Fidelio) or Lisa (Queen of Spades), among others. In 2018 the soprano was appointed Bavarian Chamber Singer. Kampe thus joins the ranks of successful artist colleagues such as Anja Harteros, Diana Damrau, Christian Gerhaher and Jonas Kaufmann.
Anja Kampe♪, Noa Beinart, Andreas Schager, Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Michael Laurenz, Iain Paterson, Kwangchul Youn
Staatsoper
