2016年4月アーカイブ

The Most Viennese Repertoire
Conducted by the World's Three Best Contemporary Conductors
The Finest Opera Performance to Come to Japan in Recent Years

Three prestigious operas will come to Japan from the music capital of Vienna. Three great conductors of this age are scheduled to conduct these operas: Marek Janowski, Adam Fischer, and Riccardo Muti.

Richard Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos has been performed twice in Japan, the first time in 1980 and the second in 2000, and it is the most Viennese of his works. Conductor Marek Janowski has inherited the orthodox music traditions of Germany; however, many years have passed since he last conducted an opera, and his two performances this year--of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival in the summer and of Ariadne auf Naxos during the Wiener Opernball Japan Tour--are the most anticipated performances in the opera world for 2016.

This ninth Japanese tour by the Wiener Staatsoper will be the first in which it performs Wagner's Die Walküre. The conductor for this performance will be the long-awaited and well-known Wagner specialist Adam Fischer. He convincingly won the hearts of theatergoers for his performances of the Die Walküre in Bayreuth, the land of Wagner's birth, and at the Wiener Opernball, so this performance is expected to be spectacular.

Riccardo Muti is scheduled to conduct Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Muti considers himself the definitive conductor of Mozart's operas. Mozart understood Italian as well as his own native language, so it is necessary to truly understand Italian to comprehend the deep meaning and nuances behind this work. For this reason, the production features young Italian singers who are active on the international stage. This should be the best performance of The Marriage of Figaro to date, combining the superb musical skills of Muti and the timeless renditions of Ponnelle.

Three maestro conductors will each conduct his favorite opera. This highly praised production features a meticulously selected group of singers and the world's best opera orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, whose elite members are selected from the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. These incredibly rich operas are the most moving operas in recent years and should not be missed.

Photo:Wiener Staatsoper / Michael Poehn

Marking the 100th Anniversary of Its Vienna Premiere This Year!

To date, the opera entitled Ariadne auf Naxos has been performed twice during a Japanese tour of Wiener Staatsoper. The performance brings mid-18th century Vienna to the stage and gives theatergoers a sense of the city at the time.

Ariadne auf Naxos was created as an opera within an opera, reminiscent of Molière's comedy Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. In the prologue in the first half of the opera, a millionaire living in Vienna is preparing to entertain guests. The prologue depicts the turmoil that takes place before the curtain is raised for an opera the millionaire is producing. The latter half of the production is when the millionaire's opera is staged. Following its premiere in Stuttgart, Ariadne auf Naxos was revised into an independent production in its current form. After the revision, the opera premiered in 1916 at the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna, and 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of this performance.

This production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf is staged in the style of a "Drama and Opera," which then flows into the "Revised Opera." In the summer of 2012, it was produced and staged in the style of a drama + opera as a memorial project at the Salzburg Music Festival for the 100th anniversary of its Stuttgart premiere. In December 2012, a premiere of the revised opera was performed at Wiener Staatsoper.

Marek Janowski to Conduct Ariadne auf Naxos in a Long-Awaited Appearance!

Director Sven-Eric Bechtolf is also an actor in this production. He says, "There are many similarities between the revised opera version and the drama + opera version, where the script and drama hold deep meaning, but each version also has significant differences. Each version has its own beauty, like two different but very charming sisters." The music is the main character in the revised opera version

In Ariadne auf Naxos, the character of Zerbinetta, which requires a coloratura virtuoso, makes the strongest impression. Daniela Fally, currently the leading expert in the role of Zerbinetta, appears in this performance. The costume of this extravagant character also creates a striking effect. The role of a composer who is to discover true love under the influence of Zerbinetta will be played by Stephanie Houtzeel. She has won great acclaim in the same production in Wienna. Gun-Brit Barkmin plays Zerbinetta's contrasting character role of Ariadne, who only wishes to die, but with the appearance of the character Bacchus, she chooses to live a new life of love. The role of Ariadne requires great depth in both singing ability and expression to represent this transformation. Barkmin's previous performance in Japan in Salome demonstrated her special talent for works by Richard Strauss. Stephen Gould who played the role of the tenor/ Bacchus in the premiere of the Production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf will also appear in Japan tour, in the same role.

One reason this performance of Ariadne auf Naxos is so special is the appearance of conductor Marek Janowski. Janowski has not appeared as a conductor of an operatic performance since 1990. All in all, this performance by a master of Richard Strauss's works on the famous stage of Wiener Staatsoper is a must see!

【This production】
◉Premiere : December 19, 2012
Conductor : Franz Welser-Möst

A First Time for Die Walküre during the Wiener Staatsoper Japan Tour

Since 1980, the Wiener Staatsoper has performed in Japan nine times, but this is the first time Der Ring des Nibelungen will be presented. The most popular act in this long-awaited four-part performance is Die Walküre. The emphasis in this work is not on the struggle for power but on the emotions of the characters. All the arias are tinged with the strongest human feelings, like love and suffering. The deep emotional impression it engenders is what makes it so popular with theatergoers.

This production is replete with grand dramatic devices. In the highlight, flames leap up around the bewitched Brünnhilde, and in the finale Wotan says goodbye to his daughter in his heart. The flames seem to explode out from the stage by the use of the projection mapping of a live flame.

A Specialist Conductor and Powerful Singing Ensemble Make For the Perfect Production

Of course, this production is not simply a visual spectacle; the conductor, Adam Fischer, is well-known as a Wagner specialist. He made his debut conducting Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival in 2001, where he took over after the sudden death of his master Giuseppe Sinopoli. Since then, Fischer has conducted Der Ring des Nibelungen many times at venues such as the Bayreuth Festival and in his place of birth, Budapest. He has said, "Der Ring des Nibelungen is filled with mysteries. One could spend an entire life trying to unravel those mysteries, and it still would not be enough." This conductor possesses the temperament of a craftsman, and he undertakes his craft with great sincerity.

Fischer's opinion is that the conductor is there to assist the singers, and when asked about the singers for this production, he answers with a single word: "mighty." Thomas Koniechuni, the well-known bass baritone playing the role of Wotan, has already earned a solid reputation as a Wagner specialist. Following Koniechuni, Nina Shutenme is easily recognized as the best in the world today and plays the role of Brünnhilde. Christopher Ventorisu has a lyrical and powerful voice and plays the role of Siegmund, and both Shutenme and Ventorisu have an established reputation for being powerful Wagner singers. Petra Lang plays Sieglinde and Michaela Schuster's role is Frigga, and both have proven their success in Bayreuth. With this lineup of "mighty" singers, there is no doubt this will be the promised perfect performance.

【This production】
◉Premiere : December 2, 2007
Conductor : Franz Welser-Möst

Is this the road from Rome?

In 2005, Riccardo Muti left the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary position as conductor for life at the Teatro dell' Opera di Roma. This honorary position eventually led to an actual position as music director. However, after a few months of performances in Japan in the spring of 2014, news of his departure from the Teatro dell' Opera di Roma came to light. Around this time, it was also reported that Muti would not conduct new productions of Aida and The Marriage of Figaro at the Teatro dell' Opera di Roma. This decision turned out to be a happy and fortuitous event for Japanese fans, because it led to Muti deciding to conduct The Marriage of Figaro during the 2016 Wiener Staatsoper Japan Tour.

In the fall of 2014, Muti selected promising young singers for a production of The Marriage of Figaro in Rome. Eleonora Bratt (Countess), Alessandro Luongo (Figaro), and Rosa Feora (Susanna) are all starring in The Marriage of Figaro in the May 2016 performance at the Teatro dell' Opera di Roma in Rome (Luongo will play the role of the Earl in Rome). These singers are not yet well-known in Japan, but they are already highly regarded on the international stage.

In addition, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, who will play the role of the Earl, is already a world-class baritone and has stated, "Muti taught me about Mozart's works."

During the 2016 Wiener Staatsoper Japan Tour, Muti's ability to spot talented singers, as well as his leadership, will become clear.

The Marriage of Figaro Is a Special Production for Muti

The Marriage of Figaro holds special meaning for Muti over the course of his career. It was Muti's debut production at Milan's Teatro alla Scala in 1980, and then a little over 10 years later he returned to the opera world at Wiener Staatsoper in 1993. Furthermore, it is well-known that Herbert von Karajan requested he conduct Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Salzburg Music Festival in 1982. At the time, Muti said to Karajan, "The only Mozart opera I have ever conducted is The Marriage of Figaro," to which Karajan replied, "That is precisely why I am asking you for this production." These memories most likely influence Muti's special passion for The Marriage of Figaro.

This tour de force rendition of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's timeless production of The Marriage of Figaro, which holds a special place in Muti's heart, is only scheduled to be performed in Japan, so this production is not to be missed.