Opera Chic

Damiano Michieletto's Poliuto Teaser at Opernhaus Zürich

Gaetano Donizetti’s story of Christian martyrs, Poliuto, opens on Sunday at the Zurich Opera House with Damiano Michieletto's new production. The Venice-born, 37-year-old opera director, who spoke to us in February for OC's weekly column on Grazia.it, said that his conception was an atmospheric industry where men live underground like mice and religion's viewed as something that can give valor to human life against mass consumption. Whoaaa high concept. Conducted by Nello Santi, Massimiliano Pisapia sings the title role.

This summer, Michieletto will premiere an already-sold-out La Boheme (Netrebko as Mimì, natch) at the Salzburger Festspiele, conducted by Daniele Gatti in August. He's the first Italian opera director since Strehler and Ronconi to bring a new opera to the Austrian festival and already revealed that it'll be a carefree version.

Opernhaus Zürich's 2012-13 Season

Opernhaus Zürich announces its 2012-13 season in a slick, new packaging under Intendant Andreas Homoki and Music Director Maestro Luisi, a mix of eclectic and standard works.

OC's standouts include Robin Ticciati's Don Giovanni (May 2013 with Peter Mattei in the title role) and Nello Santi's Ballo (November 2012) and Falstaff (April 2013).

Browse the super-slick season catalog here for the entire 2012-13 setlist.

Graham Vick's Verdi Otello at Opernhaus Zürich Premieres Thomas Hampson's Iago

Thomas Hampson turned to the dark side last week with his first Iago in Verdi's Otello. The American baritone rolled out the role premiere at Opernhaus Zürich in a new production of Verdi's Otello directed by Graham Vick. The British opera director's provocative, politically-polarizing production cast Fiorenza Cedolins as Desdemona, Jose Cura as Otello, and Daniele Gatti as the Conductor lol, all who exited to a rave review. Photos above and below are from a dress rehearsal earlier this month.

<

Cedolins and Cura

Opernhaus Zürich 2010/11: Villazon Sings Mozart and Mosuc Premieres Norma.

Opernhaus Zürich has released their 2010/11 season (download a .pdf here), and it's full of win. There's a crapload of very cool ballet! Falling Angel with music by Steve Reich & choreography by Kylián; Jerome Robbins' In The Night; and Il giornale della necropoli with music by Sciarrino.

Opera is also well-balanced with Marc-André Dalbavie's modern Gesualdo (the composer will be conducting), Verdi's I masnadieri will be heard for the first time in Zurich; Rossini's Le Comte Ory with Cecilia Bartoli as La Comtesse Adèle and Javier Camarena in the lead; Bellini's Norma with Vittorio Grigolo as Pollione and Elena Mosuc in her Norma debut; Verdi's Falstaff with Daniele Gatti, Leo Nucci in the lead and and Barbara Frittoli as Alice; Verdi's Un ballo in Maschera conducted by Nello Santi; Claus Guth's Parsifal conducted by Daniele Gatti; and Il re pastore conducted by William Christi with Rolando Villazon singing Alessandro.

Next season will be fellow Inter fan Daniele Gatti's second season as Principal Conductor.

 

Daniele Gatti Makes Elektra Electrifiying for Zurich Opera (And a Cameo by Agnes Baltsa Isn't so Bad Either!)

(Above: Irène Friedli, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sen Guo, Liuba Chuchrova. Photo: Hans Jörg Michel.)

The New Music Director of the Zurich Opernhaus, Daniele Gatti, led the premiere of Strauss's Elektra in Martin Kusej's 2003 reprised production which opened last night.

The Milanese Maestro held firm the poduim, conducting the Orchester der Oper Zürich in the insanely taxing, expressionist work last heard at the Opernhaus Zurich seven years ago in the same production (with Christoph von Dohnányi conducting his Yamamotos off).

Eva Johansson sings the lead. Greek mezzo and former big playa in Herbie von Karajan's scarily awesome circle of singers, Agnes Baltsa, sings Klytämnestra. Sassy American soprano Emily Magee rounds-out the cast as Chrysothemis.

We're happy to hand Gatti his Elektra victory by his adoring Swiss fans, which is only made sweeter by last night's massacre at San Siro where Internationale FC handed Milan AC their collective a$$es on a platter in a 2-0 triumph. Although Gatti may call Zurich his new home, he'll never stop cheering for gli azzurri.

(Above: Eva Johansson. Photo: Hans Jörg Michel.)  

 

(Above: Emily Magee. Photo: Hans Jörg Michel.) 

You'll have to click the link below to see photos of the fabulous Ms. Agnes Baltsa. Are you ready?

Opera Chic Exclusive: Fabio Luisi To Be Named General Music Director of Opernhaus Zürich

Maestro Fabio Luisi (OC's pick for 2008 Conductor of the Year) will succeed Daniele Gatti as General Music Director of Opernhaus Zürich.

Luisi, who's been rawking the Lederhosen off the Staatskapelle Dresden & Staatsoper as Chief Conductor/Music Director since 2007, will start Zürich for the 2012/13 season. He will take the baton from Daniele Gatti, who will leave Opernhaus Zürich after his 3-season contract expires.

It's bittersweet, unlucky news for Staatskapelle & Staatsoper Dresden & Dresden's audiences, but lucky news for Luisi's pugs, who will be full of fresh, clean Swiss air!

Anna Netrebko's Iced-Out, Blinged-Out Appearance at Opernhaus Zürich

Opera Chic is lucky to have so many well-connected friends from all around Europe who keep her in-the-loop of so many wonderful, operatic happenings. So it is from a lovely friend from Switzerland that OC heard the first report of Anna Netrebko's Violetta premiere for Opernhaus Zürich, and she is gracious to pass on the report. Pictures above and below also provided by her thoughtful friend.

Anna's return to the Opernhaus Zürich was "a gathering of local and international celebrities", and our source tells us that, inevitably, spotted among the crowds were retired bank magnates & moguls, and well-heeled (and well-plastic-surgeried) socialites. And continuing:

"In a performance more mature than her 2005 Salzburg Violetta, there were high expectations, and those expectations were fully met. Anna Netrebko's immaculate singing paired with fine acting made her Violetta very natural and convincing."

"Piotr Beczala as Alfredo also was very fine , although a bit tense in the top notes. He has a wonderful vocal tone which matches very well with Anna's, hence their duets were nothing short of gorgeous."

"Marco Armiliato led a rousing (if here and there a bit wobbly) orchestra with ample pace and fervor."

But the best bit:

"The evening was sponsored by Chopard where Anna Netrebko, as we know, is under contract. So in the lounge you could admire the latest jewelery collection presented in glass showcases guarded by security men, and in Act II Scene 2 Violetta showed off a six figure necklace and matching earrings - recognizably one of the pieces on display in the lounge."

Brand ambassador!

Anna Netrebko Shows Up for Traviata Rehearsals in Fashion

Here's a behind-the-scenes clip of a giggling Anna Netrebko rehearsing with Piotr Beczala shot by SF1, Switzerland's national TV. The two took the stage last night as Violetta & Alfredo in Anna's Opernhaus Zürich Traviata premiere.

Anna talks, rocking a pair of Gucci sunglasses and a beaded Escada top. And we're mentally making out with the camerman for zooming in on her iced-out, Swarovski-covered BlackBerry flip on top of her Traviata manuscript. ~Living the dream~ Someone needs to introduce her to Christian Audigier/Ed Hardy already.

Anna Netrebko's Traviata in Zürich

Netrebko madness has descended on Switzerland, as tomorrow evening she'll take the Opernhaus Zürich stage for the first time as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata. The three performances (April 22, 26 & 29) of Jürgen Flimm's production have been sold-out for ages. She's like the wii of opera singers.

After Zürich, she's off to Wiener Staatsoper in May for three more performances of Violetta, and then stateside at the San Francisco Opera in June for five more Violettas.

Tomorrow night in Zürich, Anna will be lead by Marco Armiliato on the podium, Piotr Beczala as Alfredo, and Juan Pons as Germont.

Zürich released a few pictures:

~*~

~*~

~*~

Jens-Daniel Herzog's "La Fedeltà Premiata", With Bin Laden as Melibeo

The current production of Haydn's  "La fedeltà premiata"@ Opernhaus Zürich seems to have a pretty disturbing guest star -- a Melibeo that suspiciusly looks like Osama Bin Laden, with video messages and -- a red halo? fire? -- burning behind him -- included.

An interview with director Jens-Daniel Herzog and conductor Adam Fischer is here.

This production boasts dear Eva Mei as Amaranta; still, as an expat New Yorker Opera Chic is still creeped out by that kind of stuff, so OC might opt for the CD version, Bin Laden-less and nicely sung by la Ciofolina, instead.

More images after the jump, just click the link below.

Thomas Hampson Poised to Debut Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca at Opernhaus Zürich

 

(Above: ~Hampson is like the fire to our earth, wind & water~. photo: Simon Fowler)

American baritone Thomas Hampson embraces the dark side of ~The Force~ as he prepares to make his career debut as the villainous Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca at the Opernhaus Zürich on March 29, 2009. The shiny-new Robert Carsen production will be conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi, and stars Emily Magee as Tosca & Jonas Kaufmann as Cavaradossi.

Puccini's ~Go Big or Go Home~ opera interpreted by Carsen should be awesome for all the right reasons: the rape scene extra rapey, the stab scene extra stabby, and somehow, he'll manage to incorporate an orgy (we're thinking for the Te Deum). And if anyone can get Hampson to show off his arsenal for art's sake, it's Carsen.

Use the ~Sith Force~, Hampson!

Cecilia Bartoli Keeps Us Warm in Zürich for Händel's Semele

Kicking off the Georg Friedrich Händel celebration year of 2009 (the 250th anniversary of Händel's death), it was pretty easy to pick the revival of Semele at the Opernhaus Zürich however wedged between a bevy of current Italian superstar productions (mainly, Teatro Comunale di Bologna's I Puritani with our two favorite leading men, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Juan Diego Florez). But after running a few linear algebraic equations, where la Ceci + La Scintilla + Carsen + Händel x Starbucks = EPIC, Zürich it the clear winner.

Next time under the dry, biting, ruthless winds of wintertime Zürich, O.C. will wrap herself in a few more layers of cashmere. This time, her Celine patent leather black booties, Jil Sander black pod cashmere dress, and Prada cropped black jacket just weren't enough to lock out the chill. We consider ourselves duly warned for next time...but at least this time we warmed-up with endless cups of (ummm, seriously marked-up) Starbucks.

We've already gushed about William Christie's elegant and gratifying sound with period-piece ensemble, La Scintilla -- and 48 hours later, those stripped-down tones still haunt us. La Scintilla, which principal concertmaster of the Orchester der Oper Zürich's Ada Pesch founded together with Oper Zürich, is an ensemble of young musicians who finger and blow (omg) gorgeously historical instruments, coloring a catalog of mainly Baroque works. We were reeling under their enchanting, purified sound of understated woodwinds, precise strings, and a smattering of buffered horns. Maestro Christie conducted with such sparkle and enthusiasm and elegance that even boring old George H. would have clapped his hands like crazy, and forgiven director Carsen for that scene with Juno brandishing a giant glitter dildo. O hai! La Scintilla will perform Händel's Agrippina in May -- we're soooo there (and before that, Carsen's Alcina comes to la Scala).

We had high expectations of hearing la Bartoli on the opera stage, after falling under her spell a few months ago when we caught her in live recital (also with la Scintilla) at Torino's Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli @ Lingotto. And we have a weakness for Semele, that beautiful work of compelling drama -- the cautionary tale of the bad things that will happen to you, mere human, if you decide to mingle with the gods -- a most British tale of the steely nature of social order that premiered, appropriately, in Haendel's adoptive city, London.

Director Robert Carsen painted the priestess in particularly human shades, tainted with vices and weakness shared by mortals -- mainly vanity, which was fully executed during her memorable aria, "Myself I shall adore." Bartoli made it easy work convincing us of Semele's giddy vanity, completely overcome with her own bejeweled reflection. She suffused key parts of William Congreve's English libretto with her delicious, light humor and brought a bit of spark to Robert Carsen's toned-down direction. "Endless pleasure, endless love" was a highlight, as la Ceci pranced around the stage weightless, barefoot, and wrapped temptingly in a bed sheet -- she just soars. Her trademark coloratura set the house on fire and provoked a few spontaneous applause sessions throughout the evening. Gorgeous ornaments and agile passages having no problems projecting through the small shoebox that is the Opernhaus, la Ceci, as always, melded with the orchestra as easily as a spoken dialogue -- her good humor is infectious.

Canadian director Robert Carsen's send-up of the British royal family was overt and gleeful, although it has been apparently toned down since the death of Princess Diana (Carsen's Semele production has been around since 1996, where it premiered at the Festival d'Aix en Provence). Our former love/hate (more love than hate) relationship with the monstrously talented Carsen has expanded into a new gray mousy areas, as we were impressed by his direction of Semele (the merciless grabbybutt habits of Jupiter a humorous high point of the evening), but not blown away as we were in March 2008 with his Salome in Torino. When he's on point, Carsen's witty and biting and perfectly sarcastic, pulling in classic pop icons and lambasting them appropriately. Not to mention his unabashed and unflinching, well, eroticism that breathes so much s3xiness into his visions. We can always count on Carsen to shake it up and make us sweat.

Friday night at Zurich we were slightly crushing on Carsen again...his simple sets and clever direction left us appropriately breathless (especially the scene with twinkling stars and twilight, la Ceci balancing an illuminated globe -- Chaplin-like --in her outstretched arms). And we understand how hard it is to compete with the Zurich opera house's gilded rococo cream and gold interior, gorgeous oils depicting pastoral scenes painted on the ceiling. This historic theater -- which hosted the premiere of Berg's Lulu in 1937 and Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aron in 1957 -- is endearingly intimate and refreshingly historic (you almost expect the incandescent glow of limelight illuminating the singers), and the theater retains a miniature dollhouse feel (the orchestra is really just so tiny, even compared to Scala's moderate layout).

Semele's sister, Ino, was sung convincingly and expertley as Liliana Nikiteanu. But more captivating was Birgit Remmert's Juno. In homage to Queen Elizabeth II (to la Ceci's Diana), Remmert's zest was inertia, a zaftig goddess straight from Mel Brooks's casting genius. Delightful comic relief was extended by Rebeca Olvera's Iris, a pint-sized messenger depicted as a bumbling, nebbish secretary who experienced her own s3xual awakening when she was lustily ambushed by Anton Scharinger's Somnus. We were awed by Charles Workman's Jupiter, who exhibited well against la Ceci, peppered with believable chemistry and passion. Thomas Michael Allen as Athamas also held his role well on stage. We also applauded perfect English diction from the entire cast. Chor der Oper Zürich sang brilliantly and adhered to Carsen's always-entertaining expectations of the chorus as an organic, high-visibility element.

What remains with you, in the end, is the way Carsen's concept -- his satire on celebrity culture and on the inherently heartless laws of high society -- you just can't win with those people can you -- and his biting wit and talent for little clever sight gags -- mixed beautifully with Christie's delicately nuanced reading of the score; and it's interesting to note how you basically need two geniuses to stop Bartoli from running away with the show, she's generally so unstoppable.

(Above: Opernhaus Zürich puts out trays of free Ricola cough drops! How sweet is that?)

(Above: Opernhaus Zürich)

(Above: a composite shot of Opernhaus Zürich)

Zurich's Semele: William Christie Takes You To Mt. Olympus (And La Ceci Was There, Too)

The only possible way for Opera Chic to begin this Haendel year in an appropriate manner was to go to Zurich. Not simply to Starbucks -- even if the Swiss town flaunts the closest Starbucks to OC's adoptive city of Milan, an uneasy 200 miles away (and OC necessarily supports Starbucks as a show of patriotism -- freedom coffee!). Not simply to Starbucks for gallons of gingerbread latte, but on to the Opernhaus -- that pretty little mousetrap of a theater -- amid the usual paparazzi frenzy -- where Opera Chic checked out Robert Carsen's already classic production of Haendel's "Semele", with the sparkling Scintilla orchestra conducted by Uncle Bill, aka Maestro William Christie, Membre de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, honorary French citizen with a cool Legion d'Honneur to show for it, helluva guy.

That's what Opera Chic did last night. A full review is forthcoming, if you behave.

But since Semele was Cecilia Bartoli (the DVD of this production, recorded in 2007 during its first run in Zurich, is coming out next month: but the cool kids -- OC among them -- had already watched the satellite broadcast on Arte TV last year) la Ceci, having the pop-art tendency to paint everything around her in the brilliant rainbow of her coloratura -- and the review will have to be mostly about her and her explosion of talent -- that's what divas do, face it -- the least we can do now is to dedicate a small separate post to the musical engine of the evening: Maestro Christie, la Scintilla's Konzertmeister aka the flawless Ada Pesch, and the professori of Scintilla's period instrument orchestra.

Christie's greatness -- what makes him so radically, even anthropologically different from so many unworthy prophets of the HIP movement, peddler of a scorched sound -- is that he's not only a scholar -- he knows Rameau better than old Jean Philippe knew his own stuff -- but that he infuses every work he tackles with a delicate, elegant sound, as natural as breathing. Nothing to do with the hard strings, jarring brass, unsubtle phrasing and threadbare sound of so many HIP conductors. Christie's magic lies in the fact that he can be witty or sad, but he's always so elegant, and deeply human.

Beethoven studied Haendel -- the greatest composer who ever lived, he said -- respectfully trying to "unravel" his mysteries. Maestro Christie (in the photo below, his workstation in the pit at the Opernhaus last night) attacks Haendel's secrets with a smile: and we thank him, and la Scintilla, for this. 

Opera For The People: La Traviata In Zurich's Central Train Station, Live on ARTE TV

Only in Switzerland you can orderly stage an opera in the middle of the city's central station the way Opernhaus Zurich did tonight. Eva Mei, Vittorio Grigolo, the Zurich Opera Orchestra conducted by Paolo Carignani have brought Traviata to the people, using various parts of the station as sets, while in an example of controlled chaos people walked by, stared at the madness of it all, took the singers' photos (the orchestra -- obviously the only static element of the production -- was placed on a platform in the middle of the center hall, while singers and the chorus moved around).

The audience/travelers reaction at the end of the show? Massive, unabashed enthusiasm and a never ending ovation that was still going on many minutes after the last note, when the broadcast ended -- each and every one of those people in the train station blissfully unaware of the much-discussed death of classical music, difficulty to understand opera, and general aloofness of nineteenth century musical theater.

Arte TV, probably the best TV station in the world, broadcast it live.

Opera Chic watched it, and you didn't.

More later, by0tches.

~*~

Plasma screenshots: