2012-2013
New Productions:
September 2012: Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (opera by Helmut Lachenmann) [dir- David Hermann, cnd- Lothar Zagrosek, cast: Yuko Kakuta, Hulkar Sabirova]
October 2012: Parsifal [dir- Philipp Stölzl, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Markus Brück, Robert Holl, Klaus Florian Vogt, Evelyn Herlitzius...]
December 2012: L’Amour des Trois Oranges [dir- Robert Carsen, cnd- Steven Sloane, cast: Thomas Blondelle, Heidi Melton, Markus Brück, Burkhard Ulrich, Albert Pesendorfer...]
January 2013: Peter Grimes [dir- David Alden, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Christopher Ventris, Michaela Kaune, Markus Brück, Thomas Blondelle, ...]
April 2013: Rigoletto [dir- Jan Bosse, cnd- Pablo Heras-Casado, cast: Lucy Crowe, Andrzej Dobber, David Lomeli, ...]
Among Revivals:
January 2013: Rienzi [dir- Philipp Stölzl, cnd- Sebastian Lang-Lessing, cast: Torsten Kerl, Manuela Uhl, Daniela Sindram, Krzysztof Szumanski...]
February/March 2013: Lohengrin [dir- Kasper Holten, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Albert Pesendorfer, Michael König, Manuela Uhl, Waltraud Meier, ...]
February/March 2013: Les Troyens [dir- David Pountney, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Kurt Streit, Elina Garanca, Markus Brück, Ante Jerkunica, Ildiko Komlosi, ...]
February/March 2013: Otello [dir- Andreas Kriegenburg, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Peter Seiffert, Lucio Gallo, Adrianne Pieczonka, ...]
March 2013: Tristan und Isolde [dir- Graham Vick, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Michael König, Stephen Gould, Violeta Urmana, Samuel Youn, Jane Irwin...]
Komische Oper Berlin
A huge operatic season announced in Berlin. Barrie Kosky --new general direction of the Komische-- really wants to make a big turn with respect to the previous seasons under Andreas Homoki, and proposes very many novelties, lots of new artistic adventures.The house will also have the new Music Director - Henrik Nánási.
New productions:
September 2012: The Monteverdi Trilogy [dir- Barrie Kosky, cnd- Andre de Ridder, featuring more than 200 artists inclusing musicians from Mali, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Hungary; 12 hours long show!, cast- Christiane Oertel, Jens Larsen, Tom Erik Lie, Brigitte Geller, Karoline Gumos]
September 2012: American Lulu (a new opera by Olga Neuwirth) [dir- Kirill Serebrennikov, cnd- Johannes Kalitzke, cast: Marisol Montalvo, Claudio Otelli...]
October 2012: Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (a new opera by Taner Akyol) [dir- Matthias David, cnd- Kristiina Poska, cast: Jens Larsen, Tansel Akzeybek...]
November 2012: Die Zauberflöte (British troupe "1927") [dir- Barrie Kosky/Suzanne Andrade, cnd- Henrik Nánási, cast: Julia Noviova, Brigitte Geller, Peter Sonn...]
February 2013: Mazeppa [dir- Ivo van Hove, cnd- Henrik Nánási, cast: Robert Hayward, Ales Briscein, Agnes Zwierko, Asmik Grigorian...]
March 2013: Hänsel und Gretel [dir- Reinhard von der Thannen, cnd- Kristiina Poska, cast: Karoline Gumos, Maureen McKay...]
May 2013: Solaris (a new opera by Detlev Glanert) [dir- Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, cnd- Markus Stenz, cast: Olga Pasichnyk, Dietrich Henschel, Attila Jun...]
Jun 2013: Ball im Savoy (jazz-operetta by Paul Abraham) [dir- Barrie Kosky, cnd- Adam Benzwi, cast: Christoph Späth, Christianne Oertel...]
Opera in concert:
December 2012: Die Bajadere (operette by E. Kálmán) [cnd- Stefan Soltesz, cast: Nicole Chevalier, Tom Erik Lie...]
January 2013: Der Kuhhandel (operette by Kurt Weill) [cnd- Antony Hermus, cast: Ina Kringelborn, Christoph Späth, Christianne Oertel...]
Revivals:
January will be devoted to Kurt Weill, and May to Mozart -- both with numerous operas from the KOB repertoire
Among reruns, there will be (arguably the history best) Carmen by Sebastian Baumgarten (March/April 2013), Herheim's Serse (October-December 2012), Kosky's Le Grand Macabre (April-June 2013) and many more.
Staatsoper Unter den Linden (im Schiller Theater)
Wowza!
New Productions:
October 2012: Siegfried [dir- Guy Cassiers, cnd- Daniel Barenboim, cast: Lance Ryan, Juha Uusitalo, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Mikhail Petrenko, Anna Larsson. Iréne Theorin, Peter Bronder, Rinnat Moriah]
November 2012: La finta giardiniera [dir- Hans Neuenfels, cnd- Christopher Moulds, cast: Annette Dasch, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Joel Prieto...]
March 2013: Götterdämmerung [dir- Guy Cassiers, cnd- Daniel Barenboim, cast: Ian Storrey, Gerd Grochowski, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Mikhail Petrenko, Marina Poplavskaya, Iréne Theorin, Waltraud Meier,...]
April 2013: Der Fliegende Holländer [dir- Philipp Stölzl, cnd- Daniel Harding, cast: Michael Volle, Frank van Aken, Emma Vetter, Florian Hoffmann...] (this must be an import from Basel)
May 2013: Le vin herbé (by Frank Martin) [dir- Katie Mitchell, cnd- Franck Ollu, cast: Anna Prohaska, Evelin Novak, Matthias Klink...]
June 2013: Hanjo [dir- Calixto Bieito, cnd- Günther Albers, cast: Ingela Bohlin, Georg Nigl, Ursula Hesse von den Steinen]
June 2013: The Fairy Queen [dir- Claus Guth, cnd- Michael Boder, cast: Marlis Petersen, Bejun Mehta, Topi Lehtipuu, Roman Trekel, Tanja Baumgartner...]
In addition to plenty of brilliant revivals including The Rake's Progress, Agrippina, Don Carlo (!), Maria Stuarda...
Note that the full Cassiers Ring will be run during the Festtage in late March 2013 (you may already book your tickets here)
Semperoper Dresden
Here is another example of the superb operatic season and ever so healthy a change introduced by Ulrike Hessler. Great job and good luck! Will be coming for Orlando, for Wagner and more :)
New Productions
September 2012: Wir erreichen den Fluss (opera by Hans Werner Henze) [dir- Elisabeth Stöppler (Rebecca Ringst!), cnd- Erik Nielsen, local cast]
November - December 2012: Idomeneo [dir- Michael Schulz, cnd- Julia Jones, cast: Anke Vondung, Wookyung Kim, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Elena Gorshunova]
December 2012 - June 2013: Dorina e Nibbio [dir- Axel Köhler , cnd-Felice Venanzoni, cast: Lucia Ronchetti et al]
January - June 2013: Orlando [dir- Andreas Kriegenburg, cnd- Jonathan Darligton, cast: Georg Zeppenfeld, Barbara Senator, Christa Mayer, Carolina Ullrich, Gala El Hadidi]
March - June 2013: Manon Lescaut [dir- Stefan Herheim, cnd- Christian Thielemann, cast: Norma Fantini, Christoph Pohl...]
May - July 2013: La Juive [dir- Jossi Wieler & Sergio Morabito, cnd- Tomas Netopil, cast: Marcello Giordani, Liang Li, Nadja Mchantaf,...]
June - July 2013: Der fliegende Holländer [dir- Florentin Klepper, cnd- Constantin Trinks, cast: Marjorie Owens, Georg Zeppenfeld, Markus Marquardt ...]
Revivals:
Of many interesting revivals, listed on this link, I would like to draw your attention to the superb production of...
October 2012 - April 2013: Alcina [dir- Jan Philipp Gloger, cnd- Rainer Mühlbach, cast: Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Christa Mayer, Barbara Senator...]
Nikolaus Bachler and Kent Nagano will announce the content of their 2012-2013 operatic season on Wednesday (Marc 14th) at 10a.m. You can watch the live webcast of the press conference this link
New Production
November 2012: Babylon (new opera by Jörg Widmann) [dir- La Fura dels Baus (Carlus Padrisa), cnd- Kent Nagano, cast: Anna Prohaska, Rainer Trost, Willard White, Gabriele Schnaut...]
December 2012: Rigoletto [dir- Árpád Schilling, cnd- Marco Armiliato, cast: Joseph Calleja, Franco Vassallo, Patricia Petibon, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Nadia Krasteva]
February 2013: Boris Godunov [dir- Calixto Bieito (Rebecca Ringst), cnd- Kent Nagano, cast: Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Yulia Sokolik, Eri Nakamura, Heike Grötzinger, Gerhard Siegel, Markus Eiche, Anatoli Kotscherga, Sergey Skorokhodov...]
March 2013: Hänsel und Gretel [dir- Richard Jones, cnd- Tomáš Hanus, cast: Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester, Janina Baechle, Rainer Trost...]
June 2013: Simon Boccanegra [dir- Dmitri Tcherniakov, cnd- Bertrand de Billy, cast: Krassimira Stoyanova, Zeljko Lucic, Vitaly Kovalyov, Ramon Vargas...]
June 2013: Il Trovatore [dir- Olivier Py, cnd- Paolo Carignani, cast: Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufman, Kwangchul Youn, Alexey Markov...]
+ Many very high standard revivals!
Oper Frankfurt
Pelléas and Idomeneo - must see!
New Productions:
Vanessa [dir- Katharina Thoma, cnd- Jonathan Darlington, cast: Kurt Streit, Charlotta Larsson, ...]
Königskinder [dir- David Bösch, cnd- Sebastian Weigle, cast: Daniel Behle, Amanda Majesk, Nikolay Borchev, Julia Juon, ...]
Pelléas et Mélisande [dir- Claus Guth, cnd- Friedmann Layer, cast: Christian Gerhaher, Christiane Karg, Paul Gay, Hilary Summers, ...]
Giulio Cesare in Egitto [dir- Johannes Erath, cnd- Erik Nielsen, cast: Michael Nagy, Brenda Rae, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, ...]
Der Spieler (Igrok) [dir- Harry Kupfer, cnd- Sebastian Weigle, cast: Frank van Aken, Clive Bayley, Anja SiljaBarbara Zechmeister, ...]
Idomeneo [dir- Jan Philipp Gloger, cnd- Julia Jones, cast: Roberto Saccà, Elza van der Heever, Juanita Lascarro, Martin Mitterreutzner,...]
Landschaft mit der Entfernten Verwandeten (opera by Heiner Goebbels) [dir- Heiner Goebbels, cnd- Franck Ollu, cast: Holger Falk, David Bennent]
La Fanciulla del West [dir- Richard Jones, cnd- Sebastian Weigle, castL Eva-Maria Westbroek, Carlo Ventre, Balint Szabo,...]
Teseo [dir- Tilmann Köhler, cnd- Felice Venanzoni, cast: Gaêle Arquez, Juanita Lascaro, Jenny Carlstedt,...]
Les vêpres siciliennes [dir- Jens Daniel Herzog, cnd- Pablo Heras-Casado, cast: Alfred Kim, Elza van den Heever,...]
Rappresentazione di Anima e di Corpo (opera by Emilio de’ Cavalieri) [dir- Hendrik Müller, cnd- Michael Form, cast: Sebastian Geyer,...]
wow - what a volume of new productions!
Among revivals I'd point out their recently completed Ring directed by Vera Nemirova, with Sebastian Weigle conducting, that will be given in two cycles in the last week of January and the first week in February.
Staatsoper Hamburg
New Productions:
September 2012: Prince Igor [dir- David Pountney, cnd- Simone Young, cast: Andrzej Dobber, Veronika Dzhioeva, Tigran Martirossian...]
November 2012: Madama Butterfly [dir- Vincent Boussard (Christian Lacroix), cnd- Alexander Joel, cast: Alexia Voulgaridou, Cristina Damian, Teodor Ilincai...]
February 2013: La Traviata [dir- Johannes Erath, cnd- Patrick Lange, cast: Ailyn Perez, Stefan Pop, George Petean, ...]
March 2013: Gloriana [dir- Richard Jones, cnd- Simone Young, cast: Amanda Roocroft, Robert Murray, Rebecca Jo Loeb, Alfredo Daza...]
June 2013: Seven Angels (new opera by Luke Bedford) [dir- Heiko Hentschel, cast: Mélissa Petit, Solen Mainguené, Ida Aldrian, Sergiu Saplacan, Manuel Günther, Szymon Kobylinski, Thomas Florio]
Note also:
January 2012: Rienzi in concert with Ricarda Merbeth, Christian Franz, Eike Wilm Schulte...
February 2013: Eloise und die Vampire (opera by Karl Jenkins ) [dir- Kerstin Steeb, with children from schools in Hamburg]
And they will rerun their Ring des Nibelungen produced between 2008 and 2010 by Claus Guth. It will be conducted by Simon Young and the cast looks good on paper:
Rheingold - May 26, 2013 [cast: Falk Struckmann, Christian Franz, John Wegner, Peter Galliard, Christa Mayer, Katja Pieweck...]
Die Walküre - May 28, 2013 [cast: Falk Struckmann, Michelle DeYoung, Catherine Foster, Peter Rose, Christian Franz, Yvonne Naef...]
Siegfried - May 31, 2013 [cast: Christian Franz, Peter Gaillard, Falk Struckmann, John Wenger, Catherine Foster, Christa Mayer...]
Götterdämmerung - June 2, 2013 [cast: Christian Franz, John Wegner, Atilla Jun, Robert Bork, Catherine Foster, Anna Gabler, Micheala Schuster, Christa Mayer...]
Staatsoper Hannover
New Productions:
September 2012: L’OPERA SERIA (opera by Florian Leopold Gassmann) [dir- Mark Rohde, cnd- Michiel Dijekma, cast: local]
October 2012: LADY MACBETH VON MZENSK [dir- Frank Hilbrich, cnd- Karen Kamensek, cast: Robert Künzli, Kelly God, ...]
December 2012: COSÌ FAN TUTTE [dir- Alexander Charim, cnd- Karen Kamensek, cast: local]
February 2013: OREST (opera by Manfred Trojahn) [dir- Enrico Lübbe, cnd- Gregor Bühl, cast: local]
April 2013: EUGEN ONEGIN [dir- Ingo Kerkhof, cnd- Ivan Repušić, cast: Sara Eterno, Brian Davis, Philipp Heo...]
June 2013: DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG [dir- Benedikt von Peter, cnd- Karen Kamensek, cast: Albert Pesendorfer, Stefan Adam, Robert Künzli,...]
Revivals:
Christof Nel's production of Don Carlo; La Traviata premiered this year and directed by Benedikt von Peter; Il trittico produced by Sebatian Baumgarten
After the long negotiations with the city authorities Mr. Laufenberg announced the next season in Cologne, slashed the planned production of Il Trittico and decided to quit after the next season.
Just when Cologne became one of the most interesting operatic sites in Europe... :(
New Productions:
La forza del destino [dir- Olivier Py, cnd- Will Humburg, cast: Adina Aaron, Liang Li, Dirk Aleschus, Patrick Carfizzi, ...]
Fidelio [dir- Ingo Kerkhof & Anne Neuser, cnd- Markus Poschner, cast: Erika Sunnegardh, Franz-Josef Selig, Franco Farina, Samuel Youn,... ]
L'Artaserse [dir- ??, cnd- Diego Fasolis, cast: Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cencic, Franco Fagioli, Yuriy Mynenko,... ]
Anna Bolena [dir- Tobias Hoheisel & Imogen Kogge, cnd- Alessandro De Marchi, cast: Gidon Saks, Olesya Golovneva, Regina Richter, David Lomeli,... ]
Parsifal [dir- Uwe Eric Laufenberg, cnd- Markus Stenz, cast: Boaz Daniel, Matti Salminen, Marco Jentzsch, Silvia Hablowetz...]
Die Gezeichneten [dir- Patrick Kinmonth, cnd- Markus Stenz, cast: Stefan Vinke, Nicola Beller Carbone,...]
Revivals:
The Turn of the Screw [dir- Benjamin Schad, cnd- Raimund Laufen, cast: John Heuzenroeder , Claudia Rohrbach, Ji-Hyun An, Helen Donath, Adriana Bastidas Gamboa]
Le nozze di Figaro [dir- Uwe Eric Laufenberg, cnd- Konrad Junghänel, cast: Maria Bengtsson, Mark Stone, ...]
La clemenza di Tito [dir- Uwe Eric Laufenberg, cnd- Konrad Junghänel, cast: Olesya Golovneva, Anna Palimina, Mirko Roschkowski, Regina Richter...]
Die Entführung aus dem Serail [dir- Uwe Eric Laufenberg, cnd- Konrad Junghänel, cast: Anna Palimina...]
Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf/Duisburg
New Productions:
Elektra [dir- Christof Nel, cnd- Axel Kober, cast: Linda Watson, Morenike Fadayomi, Hans-Peter König, Renée Moroloc...]
Xerxes [dir- Stefan Herheim, cnd- Korad Junghänel, cast: Terry Wey, Valer Barna-Sabadus...]
The Rake's Progress [dir- Sabine Hartmannshenn, cnd- Wen-Pin Chien, cast: Jussy Myllys, Anke Krabbe, James Bobby...]
Tannhäuser [dir- Burkhard C. Kosminski, cnd- Axel Kober, cast: Daniel Frank, Elena Zhidkova, Elisabet Strid, Markus Eiche...]
Luisa Miller [dir- Carlos Wagner, cnd- Giordano Bellincampi, cast: Olesya Golovneva, Susan Maclean, Thorsten Grümbel, Giancarlo Monsalve...]
Der Zwerg/Eine florentinische Tragödie [dir- Barbara Klimo/Immo Karaman, cnd- Jonathan Darlington, cast: Corby Welch, Janja Vuletic, Anke Krabbe, ...]
SehnSuchtMEER oder Vom Fliegenden Hollände (opera by Helmut Öhring) [dir- Claus Guth, cnd- Axel Cober, cast:local]
Notable Revivals:
Salomé [dir- Tatjana Gürbaca, cnd- Georg Fritzsch, cast: Morenike Fadayomi, Susan Maclean, Tomasz Konieczny, Wolfgang Schmidt...]
Carmen [dir- Carlos Wagner, cnd- Christoph Altstaedt, cast: Isabelle Druet, Sergey Khomov, Tomasz Konieczny, Brigitta Kele...]
Die Frau ohne Schaten [dir- Guy Joosten, cnd- Axe Klober, cast: Morenike Fadayomi, Scott MacAllister, Susan Maclean, Tomasz Konieczny, Linda Watson...]
Dialogues des Carmélites [dir- Guy Joosten, cnd- Axe Klober, cast: Sylvia Hamvasi, Brigitta Kele, Renée Marloc, Iulia Elena Surdu...]
Rigoletto [dir- David Hemann, cnd- Wen-Pin Chien, cast: Boris Stasenko, Andrey Dunaev/Stefan Pop, Anna Virovlansky/Olesya Golovneva,...]
Il Barbiere di Siviglia [dir- Claus Guth, cnd- Christian Schmidt, cast: Jose Manuel Zapata, ...]
New Productions:
Pelléas et Mélisande [dir- Nikolaus Lehnhoff, cnd- Stefan Soltesz]
Ariadne auf Naxos [dir- Michael Sturminger, cnd- Stefan Soltesz]
Parsifal [dir- Joachim Schloemer, cnd- Stefan Soltesz]
I Masnadieri [dir- Dietrich W. Hilsdorf, cnd- Srboljub Dinic]
Among revivals:
Die Entführung aus dem Serail [dir- Jetske Mijnssen, cnd- Christoph Poppen]
Tristan und Isolde [dir- Barrie Kosky, cnd- Stefan Soltesz]
New productions:
Tannhäuser [dir- Aron Stiehl, cnd- Justin Brown, cast:???]
Die Drei Musketiere (operette by Ralph Benatzky) [dir- Berndt Mottl, cnd- Markus Bieringer, cast:???]
La vestale (opera by Gaspare Spontini) [dir- Aron Stiehl, cnd- Johannes Willig, cast:???]
Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno [dir- Sam Brown, cnd- ???, cast:???]
La fille du régiment [dir- Aurelia Eggers, cnd- Johannes Willig, cast:???]
Die Passagierin [dir- Holger Müller-Brandes, cnd- Christoph Gedschold, cast:???]
Peter Grimes [dir- Christopher Alden, cnd- Justin Brown, cast:???]
Revivals:
Les Troyens [dir- David Hermann, cnd- Justin Brown]
Rigoletto [dir- Jim Lucassen, cnd- Johannes Willig]
Alessandro [dir -Alexander Fahima]
Carmen [dir- Achim Thorwald]
New productions:
September 2012: Murderer, Hope of Women - The Nusch-Nuschi - Sancta Susanna (by Paul Hindemith) [dir- Klaus Weise, cnd- Stefan Blunier]
October 2012: Norma [dir- Florian Lutz, cnd- Robin Engelen]
January 2013: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [dir- Philip Himmelmann, cnd- Robin Engelen]
April 2013: Tristan und Isolde [dir- Vera Nemirova, cnd- Stefan Blunier]
Among several interesting revivals we note that La Traviata directed by Andreas Homoki will be rerun in February 2013.
Festspielhaus in Baden Baden
Anna Netrebko going Regie!
New Productions:
July 2012: Boris Godunov [dir- Graham Vick, cnd- Valery Gergiev, cast -- Mariinsky-Theater from St.Petersburg]
March April 2013: Die Zauberflöte [dir- Robert Carsen, cnd- Sir Simon Rattle, cast: Simone Kermes, Dimitry Ivashenko, Pavol Breslik, Kate Royal, Michael Nagy, Chen Reiss, Annick Massis, Magdalena Kožená, Nathalie Stutzmann, José van Dam...]
May 2013: Le nozze di Figaro [dir- Philipp Himmelmann, cnd- Thomas Hengelbrock, cast: Anna Netrebko, Erwin Schrott, Luca Pisaroni, Mojca Erdmann, Katija Dragojevic...]
2011-2012
New productions:
- October: The Cunning Little Vixen [dir- Andreas Homoki, cnd- Alexander Vedernikov, cast: Brigitte Geller, Andreas Conrad, Jens Larsen...]
- Mikropolis (new opera by Christian Jost) [dir- Nadja Loschky, cnd- Christian Jost]
- November: Carmen [dir- Sebastian Baumgarten, cnd- Stefan Blunier, cast: Stella Doufexis, Timothy Richards, Ina Kringelborn...]
- January: Der Freischütz [dir- Calixto Bieito, cnd- Patrick Lange]
- March: Le cheval de bronze (a rarely performed opera by Aubert) [dir- Frank Hilbrich, cnd- Maurizio Barbacini]
- May: Xerxes [dir- Stefan Herheim, cnd- Konrad Junghänel, cast: Stella Doufexis, Brigitte Geller, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Karolina Gumos, Katarina Bradic]
revival of Les dialogues des Carmélites (directed by Bieito, to be premiered in June 2011) as well as his engaging Enführing aus dem Serail, the only intelligent production of Rigoletto ever (dir- Barrie Kosky -- his Rusalka will be back on too), two superb productions by Neuenfels (Lear and La Traviata), and several revivals of the operas staged by 'le maître' (Andreas Homoki), such as Rosenkavalier, La Bohème, Love of 3 oranges, Mahagonny, The Bartered Bride, Meistersinger
New productions:
- Al gran sole carico d'amore by Luigi Nono (a very peculiar production that I saw in Salzburg in summer 2009) [dir- Katie Mitchell, cnd- Ingo Metzmacher, cast: Virpi Räisänen, Elin Rombo, Silke Evers, Tanja Andrijic, Christopher Purves...]
- The Bartered Bride [dir- Balász Kovalik, cnd- Karl-Heinz Steffens, cast: Anna Samuil, Florian Hoffmann, Burkhard Fritz, ]
- Dionysos [dir- Pierre Audi, cnd- Ingo Metzmacher, cast: Mojca Erdmann, Georg Nigl, Virpi Räisänen, Matthias Klink...]
- Don Giovanni [dir- Robert Carsen, cnd- Daniel Barenboim, cast: Anna Netrebko, Dorothea Röschmann, Anna Prohaska, Giuseppe Filianoti, Christopher Maltmann]
- Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno [dir- Jürgen Flimm, cnd- Marc Minkowski, cast: Sylvia Schwartz, Charles Workman, Delphine Galou]
- Lulu [dir- Andrea Breth, cnd- Daniel Barenboim, cast: Mojca Erdmann, Deborah Polaski, Thomas Piffka, Michael Volle, Georg Nigl, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke]
- Orphée aux enfers [dir- Philipp Stölzl, cnd- Christoph Israel]
- Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo [dir- Achim Freyer, cnd- René Jacobs, cast: Marie-Claude Chappuis, Johannes Weisser]
It seems I'm about to find my new fave opera house :)
New productions (watch this!):
- October: Les Troyens [dir- David Hermann, cnd- Justin Brown, cast:]
- November: Rigoletto [dir- Jim Lucassen, cnd- Johannes Willig, cast:]
- December: Barbe-Bleue (by Offenbach) [dir- Aron Stiel, cnd- Marcus Bieringer, cast:]
- February: Romeo and Juliet in the village (by Frederick Delius) [dir- Arila Siegert, cnd- Justin Brown, cast:]
- April: Lohengrin [dir- Benedikt von Peter, cnd- Justin Brown, cast: Lance Ryan]
- July: Wallenberg (by Erkki-Sven Tüür) [dir- Tobias Kratzer, cnd- Johannes Willig cast:]
Go Joschka Schaback (Operndirektor)!
Great program with Jan Bosse's La Calisto and Vec Makropulos produced by Richard Jones stand on the top of my "must see" productions next year.
New productions:
- September: Penthesilea (an opera by Othmar Schoeck (?)) [dir- Hans Neuenfels, cnd- Alexander Liebreich, cast: Marion Ammann, Hilary Summers, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner,...]
- October: L'Étoile [dir- David Alden, cnd- Henrik Nánási, cast: Guy de Mey, Paula Murrihy...]
- November: Siegfried [dir- Vera Nemirova, cnd- Sebastian Weigle, cast: Lance Ryan, Terje Stensvold, Susan Bullock...]
- December: Otello [dir- Johannes Erath, cnd- Sebastian Weigle, cast: Frank van Aken, Zeljko Lucic, Elza van der Heever...]
- December/January: La Calisto [dir- Jan Bosse, cnd- Christian Curnyn, cast: Christiane Carg, Luca Tittoto, Jenny Carlstedt, Brenda Rae, Daniel Schmutzhard ]
- February: Götterdämmerung [dir- Vera Nemirova, cnd- Sebastian Weigle, cast: Lance Ryan, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Stephen Milling, Susan Bullock...]
- March: Adrianne Lecouvreur [dir- Vincent Boussard, cnd- Carlo Montanaro, cast: Micaela Carosi, Frank van Aken...]
- April: Vec Makropulos [dir- Richard Jones, cnd- Friedemann Layer, cast: Susan Bullock, Paul Groves, Johannes Martin Kränzle...]
- May: The Rake's Progress [dir- Axel Weidauer, cnd- Constantinos Carydis, cast: Paul Appleby, Brenda Rae, Simon Bailey...]
- June: Wasser (creaton of a new opera by Arnulf Herrmann) [dir- Florentine Klepper, cnd- Hartmut Keil]
To that add L'amico Fritz in concert with Calleja and Das Liebesverbot with Christiane Libor, and many revivals of which the Reimann's Lear should be great show to see (Tomas Tomasson in the title role) as well as Dellapiccola's Il Prigioniero - both shows directed by Keith Warner.
New productions:
- February: Ariadne auf Naxos [dir- Philippe Arlaud, cnd- Christian Thielemann, cast: René Fleming, Sophie Koch, Jane Archibald, Robert Dean Smith, Eike Wilm Schulte, Nikolay Borchev...]
- May: L'elisir d'amore [dir- Rolando Villazon, cnd- Pablo Heras-Casado, cast: Rolando Villazon, Miah Persson, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo...]
- July: Boris Godunov [dir- Graham Vick, cnd- Valery Gergiev, cast: Mariinsky]
New productions:
- October: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [dir- Richard Jones, cnd- Constantinos Carydis, cast: Diana Damrau, Rolando Villazón ]
- December: Turandot [dir- Carlus Padrissa - La fura dels baus, cnd- Zubin Mehta, cast: Jennifer Wilson, Marco Berti, Ekaterina Scherbachenko]
- February: Das Rheingold [dir- Andreas Kriegenburg, cnd- Kent Nagano, cast: Johan Reuter, Thomas Blondelle, Stefan Margita, Wolfgang Koch, Sophie Koch...]
- March: Die Walküre [dir- Andreas Kriegenburg, cnd- Kent Nagano, cast: Klaus Florian Vogt, Juha Uusitalo, Anja Kampe, Katarina Dalayman, Sophie Koch,...]
- May: Siegfried [dir- Andreas Kriegenburg, cnd- Kent Nagano, cast: Lance Ryan, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Juha Uusitalo, Catherine Naglestad, ...]
- June: Götterdämmerung [dir- Andreas Kriegenburg, cnd- Kent Nagano, cast: Hans-Peter König, Nina Stemme, Michaela Schuster, Eri Nakamura, Stephen Gould, Iain Paterson...]
There will also be a revival of Warlikowski's (not so good) Eugene Onegin, Kusej's Macbeth (with Franco Vassalo!), Don Carlo with Kwiecien, Papé, Kaufman and Harteros, and finally I Caouleti e i Montecchi with Anna Netrebko.
The list of new productions is available but for more details we should wait for a couple of weeks more:
- Un ballo in maschera [dirElisabeth Stöppler cnd-Carlo Montanaro, cast: Wookyung Kim, Marco Vratogna, Marjorie Owens, Tichina Vaughn,...]
- Simplicius Simplicissimus [dir-Manfred Weiß, cnd-Erik Nielsen, cast: Valda Vilson, Timothy Oliver, Tom Martinsen,...]
- Alcina [dir-Jan Philipp Gloger, cnd-Rainer Mühlbach, cast: Amanda Majeski, Barbara Senator...]
- La dirindina [dir-???, cnd-Felice Venanzoni, cast: Christa Mayer...]
- Švanda dudák [dir-Axel Köhler, cnd-Constantin Trinks, cast: Christoph Pohl, Marjorie Owens,...]
- L'elisir d'amore [dir-Michael Schulz, cnd-Riccardo Frizza, cast: Nadja Mchantaf, Giorgio Berrugi, Christopher Magiera,...]
- La clemenza di Tito [dir-Bettina Bruinier, cnd-Tomás Netopil, cast: Steve Davislim, Amanda Majeski, Elena Gorshunova, Anke Vondung...]
- Lulu [dir-Stefan Herheim, cnd-Cornelius Meister, cast: Gisela Stille, Christa Mayer, Markus Marquardt, Jürgen Müller...]
Note that Herheim's Rusalka will be on the program twise in 2011-2012 with a brilliant cast. If you can make it to Dresden to see this great show, do
New productions:
- Sept-Oct 2011: War and Peace [dir- Nicolas Brieger, cnd- Michael Sanderling, HUUGE cast with Johannes Martin Kränzle, Olesya Golovneva, Adriana Bastidas Gamboa, Matthias Klink, Igor Bakan, Miljenkoo Turk...]
- Oct-Nov 2011: La Clemenza di Tito [dir- Uwe Eric Laufenberg, cnd- Konrad Jughänel, cast: Reiner Trost, Adina Aaron, Anna Palimina...]
- Dec 2011: Ariadne aud Naxos [dir- Uwe Eric Laufenberg, cnd- Markus Stenz, cast: Barbara Haveman/Anne Schwanewilms, Daniela Fally/Anna Palimina, Regina Richter, Marco Jentzsch/Lance Ryan, Johannes Martin Kränzle...
- Feb-Mar 2012: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria [dir- Berndt Mottl, cnd- Konrad Jughänel, cast: Nino Surguladze...]
- Mar-Apr 2012: Rigoletto [dir- Katharina Thalbach, cnd- Alain Altinoglu, cast: Dmitry Korchak, Markus Brück/Zeljko Lucic, Anna Palimina...]
- May 2012: Der Fliegende Holländer [dir- Dietrich Hilsdorf, cnd- Markus Poschner, cast: Thomas Piffka, Erika Sunnegårdh, Samuel Youn...]
- May-June 2012: Tosca [dir- Thilo Reinhardt, cnd- Markus Stenz, cast: Takesha Meshé Kizart/Anja Harteros, José Cura/Brandon Jovanovich, Thomas Johannes Mayer/Green Grimsley]
- June 2012: Alcina [dir- Ingo Kerkhof, cnd- Peter Neumann, local cast]
Note also that they plan a revival of their Meistersinger in April/May with Thomas Johannes Mayer as Sachs, Marco Jentzsch as Walther, and Barbara Havemann as Eva, in addition to L'incoronazione di Poppea with Maria Bengtsson and Franco Fagioli.
To that add 6 nights in November with Requiem by Verdi and with the cast: Takesha Meshé Kizart, Jovita Vaskeviciute, Joseph Calleja, Dimitry Ivashchenko, PLUS Norma in concert in January (with Edita Gruberova and Zoran Todorovich)
New productions:
- Don Carlo [dir- Marco Arturo Marelli, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Anja Herteros/Adrienne Pieczonka, Anna Smirnova, Massimo Giordano/Yonghoon Lee, Boaz Daniel/Markus Brück, Roberto Scandiuzzi/Alastair Miles, Ante Jerkunica/Kristinn Sigmundsson]
- Tancredi [dir- Pier Luigi Pizzi, cnd- Alberto Zedda, cast: Alexey Dolgov, Krzysztof Szumanski, Patrizia Ciofi]
- Jenufa [dir- Christof Loy, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Michaela Kaune, Jennifer Larmore, Will Hartmann, Joseph Kaiser, Hanna Schwarz]
- Lohengrin [dir- Casper Bech Holten, cnd- Donald Runnicles, cast: Marco Jentzsch, Ricarda Merbeth, Petra Lang, Gordon Hawkins, Albert Dohmen]
Rienzi will be back with Torsten Kerl and this time with Daniela Sindram as Adriano. G. Vick's Tristan will be back too but with the best Bragäne -- Ekaterina The Great Gubanova.
Puccini fans should enjoy La Boheme with Svetlana Ignatovich (arguably the best singer around right), Vittorio Grigolo and the phenomenal Markus Brück!
New productions:
- Rheingold [dir- Regine Elzenheimer, cnd- Dan Ettinger]
- Lucia di Lammermoor [dir- Christian Pade, cnd- Joseph Trafton]
- Stiffelio [dir- Regula Gerber, cnd- Alois Seidlmeier]
- Die Walküre [dir- Regine Elzenheimer, cnd- Dan Ettinger]
- Temistocle [dir- Achim Freyer, cnd- ???]
New productions:
- La Traviata [dir- Benedikt v Peter, cnd- Gregor Bühl, cast: Nicole Chevalier...]
- Ariadne auf Naxos [dir- Ingo Kerkof, cnd- Karen Kamensek, cast: Brigitte Hahn...]
- Il barbiere di Siviglia [dir- Alexander Charim, cnd- Ivan Repusic]
- Die Teufel von Loudun (a superb opera by Penderecky) [dir- Balázs Kovalik , cnd- Stefan Klingele]
- Il Trittico [dir- Sebastian Baumgarten, cnd- Karen Kamensek]
Note that (only) one run of The Ring staged by Barrie Kosky will be given in June 2012.
Program can be found here
New productions:
- Les contes de Hoffmann [dir- Dietrich Hilsdorf, cnd- Stefan Soltesz, cast:]
- Die Fledermaus [dir- Gil Mehmert, cnd- Stefan Soltesz, cast:]
- Eugene Onegin [dir- Michael Sturminger, cnd- Stefan Soltesz, cast:]
- Die Entführung aus dem Serail [dir- Jetske Mijnssen, cnd- ??, cast:]
To the above add a huge Wagner program that will start with a rerun of Der fliegende Holländer produced by Barrie Kosky, followed by Tannhäuser directed by Hans Neuenfels, Tristan und Isolde by Barrie Kosky, and The Ring (directed by 4 different directors, namely Tilman Knabe, Dietrich Hilsdorf, Anselm Weber, and Barrie Kosky, respectively)
New production:
- Don Giovanni [dir- Doris Dörrie, cnd- Simone Young, cast: Elza van den Heever , Wolfgang Koch et al]
- Lear by Reiemann [dir- Karoline Gruber, cnd- Simone Young, cast: Bo Skovhus et al]
- Manon Lescaut [dir-Philipp Himmelmann, cnd- Marco Armiliato, cast: Norma Fantini, Lauri Vasat, Carlo Ventre...]
- Ariadne auf Naxos [dir- cnd- Simone Young, cast: Anne Schwanewilms, Johan Botha, Ha Young Lee...]
In September they will rerun Faust by Homoki that was premiered this year (with Giordani, Mosuc, Patean), Lucia in October with Nino Machaidze and Massimiliano Pisapia, or Holländer with Adrianne Pieczonka, Lucio Gallo and Marco Jentzsch. In December they will rerun the Konwitschny's production of Don Carlos (in French) with Andrew Richards in the title role. They will rerun twice their Ring produced by Claus Guth. In March The Queen of Spades directed by Willy Decker (with Marjana Lipovsek, Angela Denoke, Andrew Richards, Andrzej Dobber, and then Guy Joosten's La Boheme with Angela Gheorghiu and Giuseppe Filianoti. In June, Macbeth with Franco Vassallo...
2010-2011
New productions:
- Die Mesitersinger auf Nurenberg [dir Andres Homoki] this is one of the must see productions next season!!! Patrick Lange will conduct - I bet it will be very passionate scenically and musically. In the cast I notice Tomas Tomasson, Dmitry Ivashchenko, Marco Jentzsch, Ina Kringelborn etc.
- The Snowhite [dir Anisha Bondi (a girl who created the sets for the Neuenfels' Traviata at the Komische] Aurélien Bello will conduct (new opera)
- Im Weißen Rößl an opera by Ralph Benatzky, directed by Sebastian Baumgarten
- Rusalka [dir Barrie Kosky] with Patricck Lange conducting and a very good cast including wonderful Dimitry Ivashchenko & Jens Larsen, and Ina Kringelborn
- Salome [dir Thilo Reinhardt] Alexander Vedernikov will conduct
- Idomeneo [dir Benedikt von Peter] Patrick Lange to conduct, plus a very good cast: Rainer Trost, Stella Doufexis, Brigitte Geller, Erika Roos
- Dialogues des Carmelites [dir Calixto Bieito] Stefan Blunier (?) will conduct, and Maureen McKay will sing Blanche de La Force
Currently this is my absolute favorite opera house. Just see the repertoire: there will be this fantastic production of Fidelio, Don Pasquale will be back too, Bieito's Armida, as well as his Abduction, Le Nozze directed by Barrie Kosky and his Rigoletto, then Homoki's Trois Oranges and La Boheme, then Hans Neuenfels' Traviata and Lady Machebth of Mzensk... Just plain awesome!
New productions:
- Rusalka [dir Martin Kusej] with Nina Stemme and Klaus Florin Vogt
- Fidelio [dir Calixto Bieito ] Daniele Gatti conducting and Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Kampe and Franz-Jo Selig singing
- L'enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Magic Spells) / Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) [dir Grzegorz Jarzyna ??] Kent Nagano will conduct and among singers I see Paul Gay, Camilla Tilling and Nicolay Borchev
- I Capuleti e i Montecchi [dir Vincent Boussard + Christian Lacroix] with Eri Nakamura and Vesselina Kasarova
- Der Rosenkavalier [vintage production by Otto Schenk, renovated by Jürgen Rose] with Anja Harteros, Kate Aldrich and Lucy Crowe
- Saint François d'Assise [dir Hermann Nitsch] conducted by Kent Nagano and with Christine Schafer, Paul Gay et al.
finally in May 2011 Elisir d'Amore with Anna Netrebko and Matthew Polenzani
New productions [excellent program]:
- Medea [dir Marco Arturo Marelli] is a production premiered last month at the Staatsoper in Vienna (new opera by Aribert Reimann)
- Les Contes de Hoffmann [dir Dale Duesing]
with Peter Mattei among others - Die Walküre [dir Vera Nemirova] the Frankfurt Ring continues lead by Sebastian Weigle. Cast: Eva-Maria Westbroek and Sandra Bullock as Sieglinde and Brunnhilde respectively (!!!)
- Dido and Aeneas/Herzog Blaubarts Burg [dir Barrie Kosky] Barrie The King!
- Tosca [dir Andreas Kriegenburg] conducted by Kirill Petrenko and with Erika Sunnegardh (Takesha Meshé Kizart), Jason Howard, and Aleksandrs Antonenko (Alfred Kim)
- Die Fledermaus [dir Christof Loy] Sebastian Weigle will conduct
- Assassinio nella cattedrale [dir Keith Warner] with John Tomlinson
- Kullervo, an opera by Aulis Sallinen [dir Christof Nel]
- Médée [dir David Hermann] with Andrea Marcon conducting and Anne Sofie von Otter among the soloists
- Luci mie traditrici, an opera by Salvatore Sciarrino [dir Christian Pade]
New productions:
- Luisa Miller [dir Marcus Dietz] Thomas Søndergård will conduct
- Die Fledermaus [dir Philipp Stolzl] Manfred Honeck to lead the local cast and his orchestra
- Dialogues des Carmelites [dir Thomas Bischoff] Manfred Honeck will conduct and in the cast we note Juliane Banse, Sunhae Ihm and Rosalind Plowright
- Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno [dir Calixto Bieito] Sebastien Rouland to conduct, and I see Charles Workman and Marina Prudenskaya in the cast
- Fremd [dir Anna Viebrock] conducted by Johannes Kalitzke
- La voix humaine [dir Calixto Bieito] Stefan Schreiber
This wonderful opera house will also have on their program some of the all time best productions, such as Der Rosenkavalier --produced by Stefan Herheim-- premiered this season, as well as the memorable Parsifal directed by Calixto Bieito. Calixto's Fliegende Hollander will be back and the two productions by Jossi Wieler too: La Juive and Kat'a Kabanova.
New productions:
- Daphne [dir Torsten Fischer] with Camilla Nylund and Robert Dean Smith
- Gisela! oder: Die denk- und merkwürdigen Wege des Glücks [dir Elisabeth Stöppler ] a new Henze opera (?)
- Rusalka [dir Stefan Herheim] conducted by Tomáš Netopil
- L’incoronazione di Poppea [dir Florentine Klepper] and conducted by Diego Fasolis with Franco Fagioli , Christa Mayer et al
- Street Scene [dir Bettina Bruinier ] an opera by Kurt Weill
- Il Tutore [dir Manfred Weiss]
New productions:
- Don Giovanni [dir Roland Schwab] with Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Marina Rebeka, Ruxandra Donose and two young and very good DOB-locals: Krzysztof Szumanski and Ante Jerkunica
- Les Troyens [dir David Puntney] conducted by Donald Runnicles, and a superb cast includes Kate Aldrich, Ian Storey, Petra Lang et al.
- Die Liebe der Danae[dir Kirsten Harms] with Andrew Litton conducting (!!) and Mark Delavan
- Tristan und Isolede [dir Graham Vick] Donal Runnicles will conduct and Peter Seiffert with Petra Maria Schnitzer (sic!) will sing. Note that the magnificent Eike Wilm Schulte will sing Kurwenal
- Samson et Dalila [dir Patrick Kinmonth] with Alain Altinoglu conducting and José Cura, Vesselina Kasarova and Laurent Naouri singing.
- Macbeth [dir Robert Carsen] with Carlos Alvarez, Pavol Breslik et al
New productions:
- Elektra [dir Gabriele Rech] (production presented at Teatro Massimo in February 2010) with René Kollo, Edith Haller and Samuel Youn
- Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail [dir Uwe Eric Laufenberg, also Intendant of the Cologne Opera] with Konrad Junghänel conducting (presented in Potsdam a year ago)
- Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny[dir Katharina Thalbach] with Lothar Königs conducting and the cast includes a very good young tenor, Marco Jentzsch
- Wozzeck [dir Ingo Kerkhoff] and Florian Boesch is supposed to sing the title role (sic! - never would I imagine him singing Wozzeck)
- L'Incoronazione di Poppea [dir Dietrich Hilsdorf] with Konrad Junghänel conducting and Sandrine Piau & Franco Fagioli singing Poppea & Nerone resp.
- Die Zauberflote [dir René Zisterer] with magnificent Mojca Erdmann as Pamina
- Aida [dir Johannes Erath] with Hui He, Laura Brioli, Scott MacAllister, and Samuel Youn
New productions:
- Cosi fan tutte [dir Philipp Himmelmann] conducted by a superb Teodor Currentzis, cast Mojca Erdmann, Véronique Gens, Silvia Tro Santafé
- Salome [dir Nikolaus Lehnhoff] with Angela Denoke, Robert Gambill, Doris Soffel, Alan Held, Marcel Reijans
- Don Giovanni in concert with Diana Damrau, Elina Garanca, Rolando Villazon (?), Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Mojca Erdmann, Luca Pisaroni, Thomas Quasthoff and Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting them all as well as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra
New productions in an otherwise highly interesting program for 2010-2011:
- Bliss [dir Ramin Gray] with Simone Young conducting. This is a new opera by Brett Dean
- Götterdämmerung [dir Claus Guth] the last opera of the Ring Cycle this fine house started in 2007. Deborah Polaski and John Tomlinson are among the cast members
- Faust [dir Andreas Homoki] with Giuseppe Filianoti, George Petean and Alexia Voulgaridou
- La Cenerentola [dir Renaud Doucet] with Maxim Mironov and Maite Beaumont
- Palestrina [dir Christian Stückl] the show from Munich found its way to Hamburg, We commiserate ;)
Do you know when Oper Koln will be announcing their season? I've loved their Robert Carsen productions, and frequently make pilgrimages there. And just across the German border, Opera National du Rhin? This is a terrific blog--thanks for all the updates you're providing for fellow pilgrims on 2010-11 season announcements.
ReplyDeleteThanks Trevor. Good question. I am playing with an idea of going to Cologne in June to see at least a part of their Ring (Robert Carsen's production). Many big singers started their career in Cologne. Makes you want to keep an ear open about what's going on there. Will double check!
ReplyDeleteOpera National du Rhin is fantastic and they will soon have a press conference to announce their new season. Will keep you posted. Cheers
Hi guys! Next Cologne Opera season is avaivable at http://www.operkoeln.com/ and will take place out of the usual theater.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks ;)
ReplyDelete