Today : world première of 'Genia' by Tscho Theissing in Vienna

Today, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna presents the world première of Genia, an opera composed by Tscho Theissing, with a libretto by Kristine Tornquist.

  

(c) Christoph Hellhake

It is the composer's first opera.

Ludwig van Beethoven is attending a rehearsal of one of his symphonies. His secretary Anton Schindler bustles around him tirelessly and subserviently. Beethoven is very unhappy with the rehearsal; his ideas about how fast an allegro should be are totally different from those of the orchestra. He is annoyed. But the solution to the  tempo problem appears in the persons of the inventors Johann and Leonhard  Maelzel. Whereas Beethoven believes in art, the Maelzels believe in technology. Their latest invention concerns both worlds: a timekeeping device called  “metronome”. This should make an end to quarrels between orchestras and composers. Beethoven, though, is more interested in the Maelzels’ talented assistant Elise. She is fascinated by the gruff genius, too. But Leonhard  Maelzel gets jealous because he wants to marry Elise himself. Despite this, the Maelzels develop a  mechanical orchestra for Beethoven with 259 instruments, the Panharmonicon. But  the composer and the inventor start arguing while Elise is trying to unite technology  and art. (reproduced from the Theater an der Wien website)

The cast includes baritone Kristjan Johannesson (Beethoven), soprano Jenna Siladie (Elise), bass Ivan Zinoviev (Johann Nepomuk Mälzel), tenor Quentin Desgeorges (Leonhard Mälzel), tenor Johannes Bamberger (Anton Schindler) and soprano Ilona Revolskaya (Genia). George Jackson conducts the Wiener KammerOrchester. Kateryna Sokolova directs.

The venue is the Kammeroper.

(The première was postponed from March 5 to March 10, because the director was ill).

Today : world première of 'Egmont' by Christian Jost in Vienna

Today, the Theater an der Wien presents the world première of Egmont, an opera in 15 scenes composed by Christian Jost, with a libretto by Christoph Klimke and the composer using works of Goethe.

It is the composer's 10th opera. His previous operas include Hamlet (Komische Oper Berlin, June 21st, 2009), Mikropolis (Komische Oper Berlin, October 30, 2011) and Rote Laterne (Zürich, March 8, 2015).

The Spanish Netherlands rise up against the rule of Philip II. They are demanding freedom of religion and greater autonomy for their country. Spain’s governor, Philip’s half-sister Margarete of Parma, repeatedly  tries to find compromises. The Dutch nobility hope that she will act as their ally in search for a diplomatic solution. In  particular, Prince Egmont of Gaure is one of those wishing to negotiate a satisfactory  and fair peace with her help. Philip II, however, sends the Duke of Alba, who has a reputation for ruthlessness, to his sister with the task of putting an end to all discussion through armed force. Egmont refuses to believe that Philip is so inflexible. But it quickly becomes clear how hopeless this all is: Alba secretly has Margarete  murdered. Now he has the imprudent Egmont arrested and the only hope the  prisoner and his beloved Clara have is Alba’s son Ferdinand who seems fascinated  by Egmont’s ideas of freedom: will he break the cycle of oppression and exploitation or will he only perpetuate it ? (reproduced from the Theater an der Wien website)

The cast includes tenor Edgars Montvidas (Egmont), soprano Maria Bengtsson (Clara), mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager (Margarete von Parma), bass baritone Karoly Szemeredy (Macchiavelli) and baritone Bo Skovhus (Herzog Alba). Michael Boder conducts the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Keit Warner directs.

The score is published by Schott.

New in my collection : programme book for 'Persinette' by Albin Fries in Vienna

Yesterday, I have received in the mail the programme book for Persinette, an opera composed by Albin Fries, first performed in Vienna on December 21st, 2019.

It is a 18 pages brochure. It contains :

- synopsis ;
- short biographies of the composer Albin Fries and the librettist Birgit Mathon ;
- Daten & Fakten, essential facts about the opera ;
- 3 questions to the composer Albin Fries ;
- interview with the stage director Matthias von Stegmann ;
- important notions about opera explained by conductor Guillermo Garcia Calvo ;
- several color photos of rehearsals.

I now have the programme books for 712 contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded the images on flickr.

I am cataloguing all the programme books I have on LibraryThing. I hope to complete the process before the end of April 2020.

Today : world première of 'Persinette' by Albin Fries in Vienna

Today, the Wiener Staatsoper presents the world première of Persinette, a children's opera composed by Albin Fries with a libretto by Miriam Mollard.

It is the composer's third opera after Nora (2011) and Tizian (2012).

The story follows this popular fairy tale about the girl with the long hair imprisoned in a tower. (reproduced from the Wiener Staatsoper website)

The cast includes soprano Olga Bezsmertna (Persinette), tenor Jinxu Xiahou (Prince), mezzo Monika Bohinec (Witch), soprano Regine Hangler (Mother) and baritone Samuel Hasselhorn (Father). Guillermo Garcia Calvo conducts the Stage Orchestra and the Opera School Chorus of the Vienna State Opera. Matthias von Stegmann directs.

Today : world première of 'Orlando' by Olga Neuwirth in Wien

Today, the Wiener Staatsoper presents the world première of Orlando, an opera in 19 scenes composed by Olga Neuwirth with a libretto by Catherine Filloux and Olga Neuwirth after Virginia Woolf's novel.

(C) Harald Hoffmann

It is the composer's fourth opera after Bählamms Fest (Vienna, June 19, 1999), Lost Highway (Graz, October 31, 2003) and American Lulu (Berlin, September 30, 2012).

Ever since I was a child I have been interested in everything from the arts to politics, from the sciences to human psychology (…) I have let myself be inspired by the small and big things that the world has to offer, by the wonderful diversity of life, and I see this reflected in Orlando. For it is a love of oddities, of the paradoxical, the grotesque, virtuosity, exaltation and exaggeration that are the essence of this fictional biography, which aims to create a new morphology of narration. At all times it is also about (…) a sophisticated and highly subtle form of sexual attraction that rejects being pigeonholed in any one gender. As well as about refusing to be patronised and treated in a condescending manner – something that continually happens to women, with no end in sight. (reproduced from the Wiener Staatsoper website)

The cast includes mezzo Kate Lindsey (Orlando), countertenor Eric Jurenas (Angel), soprano Agneta Eichenholz (Sasha) and baritone Leigh Melrose (Shelmerdine). Matthias Pintscher conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Vienna State Opera. Karoline Gruber directs.

The following orchestra is required (according to the Ricordi website) :

- 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons ;
- 3 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone ;
-  timpani ;
- strings (12.10.8.6.4).

The score is published by Ricordi.

Today : world première of 'Was ist los dei den Enakos ?' by Elisabeth Naske in Vienna

Today, the Wiener Staatsoper presents the world première of Was ist los bei den Enakos ? (What's up with the Enako family?), a children opera composed by Elisabeth Naske with a libretto by Ela Baumann.

Elisabeth Naske has already composed several stage works for children, including Die feuerrote Friederike (Vienna, 2004), Die Omama im Apfelbaum (Vienna, 2007), Das Städtchen Drumherum (Vienna, 2013) and Der Wunschpunsch (Lucerne, 2014).

The same thoughts, the same happiness, the same feelings : that’s how easy it is to govern a people ! But of course such equality is nothing less than limitation, dictatorship and oppression, as the people of Enakos discover. However, individuality suddenly flourishes in the state of uniformity once the people of Enakos realize that equality does not always achieve one’s objectives, and that proscribed equality has nothing to do with freedom. In the end, everyone discovers their personal uniqueness before uniting in the final chorus. (reproduced from the Wiener Staatsoper website)

Rick Stengårds conducts the Stage Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. Ela Baumann directs.

The requested orchestra is the following (according to the Schott Music website) :

- 2 flutes, 2 clarinets ;
- 2 horns ;
- percussion (3 players) ;
- strings (at least 1.1.1.1.1).

The venue is the Agrana Studiobühne. The performance should last about 1 hour. The score is published by Schott Music.

Programme book for 'Die Weiden' by Johannes Maria Staud in Vienna

This morning, I have received the programme book published by the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) for the world première performance of Die Weiden, an opera composed by Johannes Maria Staud with a libretto by Durs Grünbein, on December 8, 2018.

It is a 140 pages book. It contains :

- Inhaltsangabe and Ausführliche Inhaltsangabe ;
- several color photos of rehearsals ;
- technical details : complete cast with tessitura, litterature sources, location and time of the action, complete orchestral setting (with detailed percussion section and musicians on stage), duration, cast for the first performance ;
- detailed biography of the composer Johannes Maria Staud ;
- detailed biography of the librettist Durs Grünbein ;
- list of operas composed by Staud ;
- excerpt of Die Weiden by Algernon Blackwood ;
- excerpt of Das Herz der Finsternis by Joseph Conrad ;
- Andreas Lang : Ein Fluss als Protagonist ;
- Johannes Maria Staud : Anmerkungen über die Musik der Weiden ;
- excerpt of Der arme Spielmann by Franz Grillparzer ;
- Oliver Rathkolb : Die Todesmärche von Engerau ;
- Miklos Radnoti : Gewaltmarsch 1944 (poem) ;
- Peter Filzmaier : Die Welt der Demagogen und Populisten ;
- Franz Tumler : Sätze von der Donau (poem) ;
- Rotraud A. Perner : 'Aber vielleicht war all das nur Wahnsinn' ;
- Ilse Aichinger : excerpt of Unglaubwürdige Reisen ;
- Konrad Paul Liessmann : 'Dreitausend Jahre denken' ;
- Hans Dieter Schäfer : Die unsichtbare Tätowierung ;
- Andreas Lang : Aber Lea verkarpft nicht..., discussion with Johannes Maria Staud and Durs Grünbein ;
- Oliver Lang : Eine Oper zum Leben erweckt, dialogue with conductor Ingo Metzmacher ;
- Andreas Lang : Eine Oper als Interpretation der Wirklichkeit, dialogue with director Andrea Moses ;
- Urs Dürbein : epilogue of the libretto.

The book is entirely in German. The Vienna State Opera has also published an English version of this book.

I now have 607 programme books for contemporary operas. You can see all the scanned covers in this flickr folder.

The three libretti written by Durs Grünbein for Joahnnes Maria Staud (Berenice, Munich, 2004, Die Antilope, Lucerne, September 3, 2014 and Die Weiden) have been published in a single volume by Suhrkamp.

Today : world première of 'Die Weiden' by Johannes Maria Staud in Vienna

Today, the Wiener Staatsoper presents the world première of Die Weiden (The Willows), an opera in six parts, four passages, one prolog, one prelude, one interlude and an epilogue composed by Johannes Maria Staud with a libretto by Durs Grünbein.

It is the composer's third opera after Berenice (Munich, 2004) and Die Antilope (Luzern, 2014).

The opera is a journey 'into the heart of darkness' on a major river in Central Europe today, which can unquestionably be identified as the Danube. The events are fluctuating between a travel story of two lovers falling out with each other and a surreally distorted observation of the threatening developments today. We achieve this by means of pandemoniac hallucinations on the part of one of the protagonists, as well as by the transformation motif of a man-carp. (reproduced from the Breitkopf & Härtel website)

The cast includes mezzo Rachel Frankel (Lea), baritone Tomasz Konieczny (Peter), tenor Thomas Ebenstein (Edgar), soprano Andrea Carroll (Kitty), mezzo Monika Bohinec (Lea's Mother), tenor Herbert Lippert (Lea's Father), alto Zoryana Kushpler (Peter's Mother) and bass Alexandru Moisiuc (Peter's Father). Ingo Metzmacher conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Wiener Staatsoper. Andrea Moses directs.

The required orchestra is the following (reproduced from the publisher's website) :

- 3 flutes (doubling alto flute and piccolo), 3 oboes (doubling English horn and musette), 3 clarinets (doubling bassethorn and double bass clarinet), soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, 2 double bassoons ;
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba ;
- timpani and percussion (4 players) ;
- harp, piano ;
- strings (14.12.10.8.6).

The performance should last about 3 hours, including the intermission. The score is published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

Received this morning : programme book for Anno Schreier's 'Hamlet' in Vienna

This Saturday morning, I have received in the mail the programme book published by the Theater an der Wien in Vienna for the world première performance of Anno Schreier's Hamlet. The first performance was on September 14.

It is a 100 pages book. It contains :

- the complete cast and crew ;
- color photos of rehearsals (38 pages) ;
- synopsis ;
- Mythos Hamlet, by Jan Kott (from Shakespeare heute, 1970) ;
- "Das muss ein Ausweg sein !", Hamlet im Mikrokosmos, a dialogue with librettist Thomas Jonigk and director Christof Loy, by Karin Bohnert ;
- "Schönheit ist nicht nur Harmonie", a dialogue with composer Anno Schreier, by Karin Bohnert ;
- Vom Amleth zu Hamlet - Quellen und Vorformen, by Karin Bohnert ;
 - Er gehört der Ewigkeit - über Shakespeare, by Peter Kümmel ;
- Die Revision des Ich, by Harold Bloom ;
- biographies of the cast and crew, with color headshots ;

The book is entirely in German, but it contains an English synopsis of the opera at the end. I now have 431 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. All the covers are available in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'Hamlet' composed by Anno Schreier in Wien

Today, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna presents the world première of Hamlet, an opera in 25 scenes composed by Anno Schreier, with a libretto in German by Thomas Jonigk, based on the play by William Shakespeare, Historia Danica by Saxo Grammaticus and Histoires Tragiques by François de Belleforest.

It is the composer's seventh work of musical theatre. He has already composed two operas : Kein Ort. Nirgends (2006), after Christa Wolf and Möder Kaspar Brand (2011) after Edgar Allan Poe.

Hamlet, the old king, is dead, presumed poisoned. His widow Gertrude now plans to marry his brother, Claudius. She seems to have an over-affectionate relationship with her son, Hamlet. Presumably for this reason, and on grounds of decency, the son disapproves of her mother's remarriage so soon after his father's death. The young Hamlet feels that everything is becoming too much for him: his feelings towards his mother, his father's death and the looming prospect of one day succeeding him as king which would mean having to accept him or the new king, his uncle Claudius, as a role model. What is more he is sure that it was Claudius who killed his father. How should he react in this situation ? Gertrude is soon pregnant and convinced that the child will be a boy. Hamlet feels surplus to requirements and starts to suffer fits of depression. Gertrude engages Ophelia, a high-class prostitute who also bestowed her "favours" on the late king, as a distraction for Hamlet. However, the nature of her profession is also causing Ophelia to feel depressed. She and Hamlet realise that they have an emotional bond and fall deeply in love with each other. Gertrude now persuades Claudius to murder Ophelia. Once she is dead, Gertrude sets Hamlet against Claudius so she will be rid of him as well, but her plans go awry when Claudius stabs Hamlet to death. Claudius publicly expresses his regret at the death of the crown prince before securing family ties with the pregnant Gertrude. (reproduced from the Theater an der Wien website)

The required orchestra is the following :

- 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling English horn), 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon) ;
- 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones and 1 tuba ;
- percussions (2 players) ;
- harp, strings.

The cast includes baritone André Schuen (Hamlet), countertenor Jochen Kowalski (Dead Hamlet, former King, a spoken part), soprano Marlis Petersen (Gertrud, Queen) and baritone Bo Skovhus (Claudius) who recently performed the title role of Aribert Reimann's Lear in Paris. Michael Boder conducts the Symphony Orchestra of the Austrian Radio (ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien) and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Christof Loy directs.

The opera should last about 2 hours and 15 minutes. The first performance will be broadcast by Austrian Radio OE1 on Friday 16 September.

Two new program books in my collection !

This Thursday morning, I have received in the mail two program books :

- Johanna Doderer, Fatima, oder von den mutigen Kindern, Wien, December 23rd, 2015 ;
- Dominique Gesseney-Rappo, Carlotta ou la Vaticane, Fribourg, December 31st, 2015.

The first one is a 16 pages brochure. It is entirely in German. It contains :

- synopsis ;
- dates and facts (duration, characters, introduction by the composer) ;
- short biography of the composer ;
- 3 questions to the composer ;
- 3 questions to the stage director ;
- a glossary of the main opera terms explained to children ;
- colour photos of the production.

The second one is a 44 pages book. It is mainly in French. It contains :

- calendar of performances in Fribourg and Bulle ;
- complete cast and crew ;
- preface by the stage director (in French and German) ;
- detailed synopsis (in French and German) ;
- preface by the librettist ( in French and German) ;
- biographies of the artists (with black and white headshots), only in French ;
- several colour pictures from the Vatican City.

The covers of the 384 program books for contemporary operas I have in my collection are available in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of Johanna Doderer's 'Fatima' in Vienna

This morning, the new children opera composed by Austrian Johanna Doderer, Fatima oder von den mutigen Kindern, will be performed in Vienna, at the State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper).

The libretto is based on a children's story by the Syrian-German writer Rafik Schami :

Fatima is a clever and courageous young girl from a poor family who must take on a bet with the evil lord of the castle. Provided she wins, all the children’s dreams held captive in the castle will be set free. In the end she is even able to take the golden stardust home with her, putting an end to her family’s bitter poverty. (repoduced from the Wiener Staatsoper website)

The cast includes tenor Carlos Osuna (Hassan), soprano Andrea Carroll (Fatima) and bass baritone Sorin Coliban (feudal lord). Benjamin Bayl conducts and Henry Masson directs. The opera should last about 90 minutes.

Recently received in the mail

I have recently received the following items in the mail :

- Frankfurt, Alte Oper : October 2014 leaflet ;
- Giessen, Stadttheater : October 2014 leaflet
- Linz, Landestheater : September and October 2014 leaflets ;
- Ludwigshafen, Theater im Pfalzbau : Festspiele Ludwigshafen leaflet ;
- Magdeburg, Theater : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Montpellier, Opéra Orchestre National : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Trier, Theater : September and October 2014 leaflets ;
- Weimar, Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle : October 2014 leaflet ;
- Wien, Volksoper : October 2014 leaflet.

Received in the mail this Friday morning

This Friday morning, I have received the following in the mail :

- Amsterdam, Het Concertgebouw : July-August 2014 agenda and magazine ;
- Limoges, Opéra-Théâtre : 2014-2015 season program brochure ;
- Vichy, Opéra : Summer season brochure ;
- Wien, Wiener Staatsoper : October 2014 leaflet.

Received in the mail this Saturday

This Saturday,  I have received the following in the mail :

- Bremen, Theater : 2014-2015 season program ;
- Chemnitz, Theater : June 2014 leaflet ;
- Detmold, Landestheater : June 2014 leaflet ;
- Vienna, State Opera : September 2014 leaflet ;
- Paris, Cité de la Musique : Autumn 2014 program book ;
- Paris, Philharmonie : January to June 2015 program book.

Received in the mail this morning

This morning, I received the following items :

- program book for the world première performance of Andrea Molino's opera qui non c'è perché, that happened in Bologna last April 24th ;

- Theater Ulm : 2014-2015 season program ;
- Theater und Orchester Heidelberg : June 2014 brochure ;
- Volksoper Wien : June 2014 leaflet ;
- Staatstheater Darmstadt : June 2014 leaflet.

New Season 2014-2015 at the Volksoper in Vienna

This Wednesday morning, I received the program book for the 2014-2015 season at the Volksoper in Vienna.

As usual, the season consists of operas (13), operettas (6), musicals (6) and children opera (1).

The new productions (including a false one) are :
- Jacques Offenbach : La Vie parisienne (in German), conducted by Sébastien Rouland, directed by Michiel Dijkema ;
- Friedrich Cerha : Onkel Präsident, conducted by Alfred Eschwé, directed by Josef E. Köpplinger (Austrian première, world première production, from Munich, first performed there in June 2013) ;
- Gaetano Donizetti : Viva la mamma (in German), conducted by Kristiina Poska, directed by Rolando Villazon ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Cosi fan tutte (in German), conducted by Julia Jones, directed by Bruno Klimek (the same team was in charge of the same opera in Darmstadt in February 1996.

The revivals are :
- Johann Strauß : Die Fledermaus, original production by Robert Herzl, revived by Heinz Zednik (2006) ;
- Johann Strauß : Eine Nacht in Venedig, directed by Hinrich Horstkotte (première in December 2013) ;
- Paul Lincke : Frau Luna, directed by Peter Lund (première in June 2013) ;
- Franz Lehar : Die lustige Witwe, directed by Marco Arturo Marelli (première in Mai 2011) ;
- Emmerich Kalman : Gräfin Mariza, directed by Thomas Enzinger (première in March 2014) ;
- Giacomo Puccini : La Bohème (in German), directed by Harry Kupfer (première in 1984) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Zauberflöte, directed by Helmut Lohner (première in December 2005) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Il Trovatore, directed by Dietrich Hilsdorf (première in November 2013) ;
- Giacomo Puccini : Turandot, directed by Renaud Doucet and André Barbe (première in October 2006, originally from Montréal) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : La Traviata, directed by Hans Gratzer (première in June 2001) ;
- Engelbert Humperdinck : Hänsel und Gretel, directed by Karl Dönch (première in December 1991) ;
- Georges Bizet : Carmen (in German), directed by Guy Joosten (première in December 1995, originally from Brussels 1993) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Le Nozze di Figaro (in German), directed by Marco Arturo Marelli (first performed in November 1991) ;
- Benjamin Britten : Albert Herring (in German), directed by Brigitte Fassbaender (première in February 2014) ;
- Ludwig van Beethoven : Fidelio, directed by Markus Bothe (première in May 2014)

The following children operas will be performed :
- Mike Svoboda : Erwin, das Naturtalent, directed by Suasnne Sommer (première in February 2014)

The following musicals will also be performed : Harold Arlen's Der Zauberer von Oz, Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly !, Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls, Cole Porter's Kiss me, Kate, Fredrick Loewe's My Fair Lady, Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.

New Season 2014-2015 at the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera)

In the 2013-2014 season, the Vienna State Opera produced seven new productions, including a world première (Das Städtchen Drumherum, a children opera by Elisabeth Naske, in October 2013), three revivals and 41 repertoire productions.

In the 2014-2015 season, there will be one Austrian première (of a contemporary opera), 6 new productions, and 43 repertoire productions.

- Thomas Adès' The Tempest will be performed in June 2015, in the Robert Lepage production which premiered in Québec in July 2012 and was subsequently presented at the Met in New York the following October.

The new productions are :
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Idomeneo, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, directed by Kasper Holten ;
- Modest Mussorgsky : Khovanshchina, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, directed by Lev Dodin ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : Rigoletto, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, directed by Pierre Audi ;
- Richard Strauss : Elektra, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, directed by Uwe Eric Laufenberg ;
- Gaetano Donizetti : Don Pasquale, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos, directed by Irina Brook ;
- Albert Lortzing : Undine (in a version for children), conducted by Johannes Wildner, directed by Alexander Medem.

Repertoire operas are :
- Aida, Don Carlo, Nabucco, Simon Boccanegra and La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi ;
- Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano ;
- Anna Bolena, L'Elisir d'amore and Roberto Devereux by Gaetano Donizetti ;
- Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos, Der Rosenkavalier and Salome by Richard Strauss ;
- Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola and L'Italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Rossini ;
- Cardillac by Paul Hindemith ;
- La Bohème, La Fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini ;
- Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ;
- Eugene Onegin and Pique Dame by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ;
- Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven ;
- Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauß
- Der fliegende Holländer, Parsifal, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tannhäuser and Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner ;
- La Juive by Jacques Fromental Halévy ;
- Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Dmitri Shostakovich ;
- Manon and Werther by Jules Massenet ;
- I Puritani by Vincenzo Bellini ;
- Rusalka by Antonin Dvorak ;
- The Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janacek.

With 50 operas in 6 languages (English, Italian, Russian, German, French, Czech) by 21 composers, the Vienne State Opera remains one of the most active opera houses in the world.

Recently, the following opera received its world premiere performance at the Vienna State Opera :
- Aribert Reimann : Medea, in February 2010.

If the Vienna State Opera is not the most active opera house in giving birth to new works, it produces a great variety of performances every year. Among the 50 operas to be performed next season, 4 have been composed in the last 100 years.

Just received this Tuesday

I have just received the following in the mail :
- June 2014 leaflet from the Wiener Staatsoper ;
- Programma preliminare of the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.

This year, the program of the Rossini Opera Festival is the following :
- Armida, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, directed by Luca Ronconi
with Carmen Romeu, Randall Bills, Dmitry Korchak, Carlo Lepore, Antonino Siragusa
- Il Barbiere di Siviglia, conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti, in a semi-staged version
with Chiara Amaru, Felicia Bongiovanni, Paolo Bordogna, Alex Esposito
- Aureliano in Palmira, conducted by Will Crutchfield, directed by Mario Martone
with Lena Belkina, Raffaella Lupinacci, Jessica Pratt, Dempsey Crivera

It seems Aureliano in Palmira has been staged only twice since 1990 :
- in Savonne in October 1991 ;
- in Martina Franca in July 2011.

Just received this Monday

This Monday, I have received the following items :

- 2014-2015 program book from the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna ;
- May 2014 leaflet from Theater Ulm.