Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) – the 2024/25 Season's Presentation, April 28th, 2024.
Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) – the 2024/25 Season's Presentation, April 28th, 2024.
Once more as in the last years: What a lovely treat to spend a Sunday late Morning/Early Afternoon.
One shouldn't underestimate the effect and resultant repercussions of a (general) „Presentation" to the public and press. Clever Marketing skills which are, ultimately efficacious.
Charmingly (when I say „charming" I mean dynamic, extremely professional, and with wit) moderated by the State Opera's director, Mr Bogdan Roščić, this „event" took the audience through a short tour of next Season's Highlights.
Starting with excerpts from „Carmen" (which I considered a bit too „exaggeratedly" vivacious), we were led into the first discussion with Musical director Philippe Jordan, a man of fabulous insight.
From then on the public was blessed with a more or less unlimited display of information: Federica Lombardi's touching, crystal clear „Casta Diva", Barbora Horáková's sensitive person (which filled the big room of the Opera with warmth) talking about her upcoming director work in Mozart's „The Magic Flute" (Première January 27th, 2025), and Georg Zeppenfeld and his distinctive bass voice which seemed to have gained even more nuances while interpreting Magic Flute's „In diesem heil'gen Hallen"...
Then, perhaps the Highlight of the performance: Xabier Anduaga's „Ah, mes amis!" (La fille du régiment) with its 9 (yes, NINE!) High Cs brought the House down. It is always a phenomenon to witness that unique, precise and special moment when „A Star is born" - and, I tell you: Write down his name for you will surely hear lots of him in the future. By the way, he was the only Artist to be called back on stage – the audience did not seem to want to let him go and deep inside, would have wished an „encore".
„Down to Earth" and informal, the very pleasant Evgeny Titov made us even more curious about his direction work in Tchaikowsky's „Iolanta" (Première March 24th, 2025).
The State Ballet was, unfortunately, badly represented with Martin Schläpfer's „The Sleeping Beauty".
I won't go into details as the critiques in the past have already, practically unanimously, destroyed the piece. Hyo-Jung Kang and Marcos Menha, a more contemporary dancer, did the best they could with this very questionable Pas de deux between Aurora and Prince Désiré. But the material does not leave much place for improvement. I wonder why this particular piece was chosen to be shown at this event. A matter of occupancy optimization?
Nevertheless, there was good news: Christopher Wheeldon's „The Winter's Tale" premieres on November 19th, 2024 and a triple-Bill Evening (Première April 9th, 2025) which will also present Balanchine's „Divertimento no.15" (Mozart). The unusual evening's composition (with works by Merce Cunningham and Schläpfer!?!?!) proves once more that this is not this direction's „Forte" as it was, naturally, in Manuel Legris' direction period.
“Public's Darling„ Anna Netrebko gave a beautiful, emotional reading of Ponchielli's „La Gioconda" („Suicidio!") managing to give us shivers of darkness that brought us the composer's desired sombre mood and tones.
Austro-American Lydia Steier (whose “Candide” at the Theater a.d. Wien was a big hit) did not reveal much about her next direction's work („Tannhäuser") but managed to make us extremely curious about it (Première May 22nd, 2025). I wonder how she is going to surprise us, for she surely will!
The performance ended with the (for Viennese Audiences) more than well-known Clock duet from „Die Fledermaus" sung by Slávka Zámečníková and Georg Nigl and „Dich teuer Halle" („Tannhäuser") delicately sung by Sonya Yoncheva.
An exquisite „treat" which ended with the best news in years:
The upcoming Opening of another Opera House in Vienna, a „Dependance" not very far away from the Opera with around 250 Seats and which will mainly concentrate its Artistic work on Children, Youth and Families. This means that besides „The State Opera", the „Volksopera", and „Theater a.d. Wien", Vienna will have a 4th Opera House! Let's drink to that!
Ricardo Leitner
Vienna, April 28th, 2024
