Acting
Jeanine, an earnest theatre director, has been given the task of remounting her former mentor’s most famous work, the opera Salome. Haunted by dark and disturbing memories from her past, she allows her repressed trauma to color the present as she re-enters the opera world after so many years away.
When the most voluptuous, sought-after courtesan in the world meets an ascetic monk whose life is devoted to God, you know erotic sparks are going to fly. And when the clash takes place in a glorious, but rarely performed, opera by Massenet, it’s a delight to the ear just as much as to the eye. Renée Fleming is every inch the glamorous Thaïs, swathed in elegant gowns designed by Christian Lacroix. Thomas Hampson is Athanaël, the tortured man of God. This production by John Cox, which premiered in December 2008, brilliantly sets the stage for a confrontation as old as civilization itself.
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Fierrabras of 1823 is the last of Franz Schubert’s stage works. Rarely performed to this day, this heroic-romantic opera has now been staged for the first time ever at the Salzburg Festival by famous director Peter Stein. Based on an old French 12th-century epic, the plot depicts the military conflict between Christians and Moors at the time of Charlemagne – as a backdrop to stories of love and friendship that prove to be stronger than war and hatred of otherness. The strong cast includes the “marvellously expressive miracle Dorothea Röschmann” (Die Zeit) and “Michael Schade, who exudes his exceptional tenor in Fierrabras’s heroic arias” (Der neue Merker). Under the energetic baton of lngo Metzmacher, the Vienna Philharmonic unfold “the melos, the poetry, the sweetness and the dramatic force of Schubert’s highly refined and atmospheric sound worlds” (Kleine Zeitung) in highly romantic fashion.
When Joseph Haydn completed his fourth and final oratorio at the beginning of 1801 the 69-year-old composer was famous throughout Europe. Born in 1732 as the son of a humble wheelwright, Haydn grew up in a rural, peasant environment. That such a child should make his way eventually to the position of court composer was an extremely rare occurrence. Even in his days at royal courts, however, Haydn still felt a close and intimate attachment to Nature and to life in the countryside. When Baron Gottfried van Swieten, then, presented to Hadyn a libretto on the theme of The Seasons, he found in the old composer a worthy partner in his own veneration for Nature.
Described by librettist Charles Jennens with typical English understatement as “a fine entertainment”, Handelʼs Messiah was initially controversial as a biblical oratorio written for secular theatres. Within years it was however being “received with universal applause” and its composerʼs purpose in delighting and charming his listeners has made this masterpiece an international favourite ever since. This eye-catching, audiovisual recording of Handelʼs masterpiece with its cast of renowned soloists captures the 2016 Easter concert in the impressive baroque Basilica of Klosterneuburg, Austria.
Richard Strauss' last stage work is an opera about opera as an art form, depicting the creation of a music drama in a wise and witty way. Which came first the words or the music? That is the question Strauss and his librettist Clemens Krauss address through the story of a Countess torn between a composer and a poet.
Wagner’s Meistersinger is a festive opera in its own right, but at the unforgettable performances of the work at the Vienna State Opera in January 2008 the festive spirit literally leapt out into the audience as well. Vienna’s dailies exploded with praise: “a feast of singers” (Der Standard), “grandiose” (Die Presse) and “close on six hours of pure enjoyment” (Der Kurier). The plaudits applied to all the singers from Hans Sachs to the nightwatchman as well as to the chorus and orchestra.
Arthaus presents a truly new way of looking at La clemenza di Tito with this famous and star-studded production from the Salzburg Festival 2003. Here Nikolaus Harnoncourt, renowned for his analytical approach to the search for the core of the music, interprets Mozart’s last opera. Martin Kušej, who is acclaimed for his theatre productions directs the production. Nikolaus Harnoncourt identifies with Mozart’s score as both an extremely knowledgeable musician and a conductor who invariably plays an active part in helping to shape the drama. Together with the Vienna Philharmonic, he savours the miracles of Mozart’s late work, bringing out its instrumental colours and effects and at the same time stimulating his singers while proving a solicitous accompanist.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni is performed live at the Theater an der Wien in this 1999 production starring Carlos Alvarez in the title role and featuring the music of the Choir and Orchester der Weiner Staatsoper performing under the guiding wand of conductor Riccardo Muti.
Daphne is based on the Greek myth of the nymph and her transformation into a laurel tree to escape the god Apollo.
Mozart's 1790 classic recorded live at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, 1996.
Distinguished conductor Lorin Maazel leads the fifth annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2013. This year’s gala concert revolves around the works of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi, both of whom would have celebrated their 200th birthday this year, and features German Canadian tenor soloist Michael Schade.
Claudio Abbado leads the Berlin Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Choir in a performance of Mozart's Requiem at the Salzburg Cathedral to commemorate the 10th anniversary of renowned Austrian conductor Herbert Von Karajan's death. Featuring soloists Rachel Harnisch, Karita Mattila, Sara Mingardo, Bryn Terfel and Michael Schade, this solemn evening is a fitting tribute to one of the 20th century's most influential musical personalities. Live from Salzburg Cathedral on July 16th, 1999.
The 1791 La Clemenza di Tito (or 'The Clemency of Titus') marked Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's final opera seria. With a libretto by Metastasio (edited slightly by Caterino Mazzolà ), the work dramatizes the palace intrigues surrounding emperor Titus's attempts to coronate a new bride and the envious Vitellia's attempts to have Titus assassinated (with the help of Titus's friend Sextus) following the deposition of Vitellia's emperor father. Stage director Martin Kušej mounted Tito in August 2003, at the Felsenreitschule in Salzburg; a film of that live performance now appears in this home video release. The cast includes Michael Schade as Titus, Vesselina Kasarova as Sextus and Dorothea Roschmann as Vitellia. The Wiener Staatsopernchor, under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, provides musical accompaniment; Jens Kilian designed the sets.
Riccardo Muti leads the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper in this performance of Mozart's opera, recorded live in 1996. The performers include Barbara Frittoli, Angelika Kirchschlager, Angelika Kirchschlager and Michael Schade.
