Jenůfa Opening Night

Janáček’s “Jenůfa” opens tonight at Staatstheater Wiesbaden! Toi toi toi to everyone for one of my favourite operas ever!

Conductor: GMD Patrick Lange
Director: Ingo Kerkhof
Stage Designer: Gisbert Jäkel
Costume Designer: Sonja Albartus
Lighting Designer: Andreas Frank
Chorus Master: Albert Horne

Grandmother Buryjovka: Anna Maria Dur
Laca Klemeň: Daniel Brenna
Števa Buryja: Aaron Cawley
Kostelnička: Dalia Schaechter (Dal Ia)
Jenůfa: Sabina Cvilak
Foreman at the Mill: Daniel Carison
Mayor of the Village: Hans-Otto Weiß
The Mayor’s Wife: Annette Luig, Sopran
Karolka: Shira Patchornik
Jano Stella: Stella An
Barena: Eka Kuridze
Shepherdess: Anna Jean McDougall

Chor des Hessischen Staatstheaters Wiesbaden,
Hessisches Staatsorchester Wiesbaden

(Photos: Karl & Monika Forster)

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Opening Night!

Opening Night of Wagner’s
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg tonight, directed by Bernd Mottl and conducted by GMD Patrick Lange. Toi toi toi to the wonderful cast, and ESPECIALLY to my amazing Opera Chorus – I couldn’t be prouder of them!!

Conductor: Patrick Lange
Director: Bernd Mottl
Stage & Costume Designer: Friedrich Eggert
Chorus Master: Albert Horne
Lighting Designer: Klaus Krauspenhaar
Dramaturgy: Regine Palmai

Hans Sachs: Oliver Zwarg
Veit Pogner: YoungDoo Park
Eva: Betsy Horne
Magdalena: Margarete Joswig
Walther von Stolzing: Marco Jentzsch
Sixtus Beckmesser: Thomas de Vries
David: Erik Biegel
Fritz Kothner: Benjamin Russell
Kunz Vogelgesang: Ralf Rachbauer – Tenor
Konrad Nachtigal: Florian Kontschak
Balthasar Zorn: Rouwen Huther
Ulrich Eislinger: Reiner Goldberg
Augustin Moser: Andreas Karasiak
Hermann Ortel: Daniel Carison
Hans Schwarz: Filip Meia
Hans Foltz: Wolfgang Vater
Nightwatchman: Tuncay Kurtoglu
Apprentices: Istvan Balota, Mia Dehler, Grégoire Delamare, Marvin Gauger-Schmidt, Hyemi Jung, Hyunwoo Kim, Scott Ingham, Luca Leonardi, Florian Löffler, Maike Menningen, Karolina Michel, Paul Sutton

Chor & Extrachor des Hessischen Staatstheaters Wiesbaden

Hessisches Staatsorchester Wiesbaden

 

(Photos: Karl & Monika Forster)

 

“Sing Sistah Sing!” at the 2016 Internationale Maifestspiele

Really excited to collaborate with Andrea Baker at the 2016 International May Festival on her award-winning show, “Sing Sistah Sing!” on 2 May at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden!trenner

In “Sing Sistah Sing!”, British-American mezzo-soprano Andrea Baker celebrates the extraordinary sound of famous Afro-American female voices, accompanied by Albert Horne at the piano. While many of these legendary singers turned to Jazz and Blues to express their deepest emotions, some also became exceptional interpreters of opera and art song.  Just like the famous protagonists, Andrea Baker has a special connection with the songs of the plantation workers – the music of her forefathers. baker__fotograf_john_needAmong them were many courageous pioneers, both in the civil rights movement and in the arts. As such, “Sing Sistah Sing!” is a monument to them: singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Leontyne Price, Donna Summer, Marian Anderson, Eleanora Fagan and Billie Holiday, who all rose to international fame.

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Staatstheater Wiesbaden releases 2016/17 season schedule

Staatstheater Wiesbaden’s 2016/2017 season has been announced! Very excited to be conducting a new production of Peter Grimes (with Lance Ryan and Johanni van Oostrum), some La Bohème performances, as well as the final Symphony Concert of the Season (featuring the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story). Also looking forward to preparing the Opera Chorus for La Traviata, Die Fledermaus, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die Zauberflöte, Verdi Requiem, La Bohème, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Peter Grimes, Eugene Onegin and Der Ring des Nibelungen (including an Anja Harteros Sieglinde and Evelyn Herlitzius Brünnhilde!), as well as Le Nozze di Figaro and Tosca (at least I don’t have to worry about Scarlatti’s La Giuditta and Hänsel & Gretel!). Busy times ahead!!!

Check out the Opera season booklet below:

Opening night of Alcina

Opening night of Ingo Kerkhof’s production of Alcina. Toi toi toi to the wonderful cast – Heather Engebretson, Franziska Gottwald, Katharina Konradi, Silvia Hauer, Benedikt Nawrath and Wolf Matthias Friedrich! Also to the orchestra, expertly conducted by Konrad Junghänel, as well as to my beautiful Chorus!

(Photos by Paul Leclaire)

 

Madama Butterfly opens at Staatstheater Wiesbaden on 19 Feb 2016

Really excited to be conducting Opening Night of Madama Butterfly tonight!! Toi-toi-toi to the gorgeous cast (Sun Hyung Cho, Ric Furman, Chris Bolduc, Marta Wryk, Benedikt Nawrath, YoungDoo Park, Frederik Bak, Celeste Haworth & John Holyoke), my beautiful Opera Chorus, as well as to the wonderful Orchestra of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden!!!

(Photos: Sven-Helge Czichy)

 

OPERA, n. A play representing life in another world, whose inhabitants have no speech but song, no motions but gestures and no postures but attitudes. – Ambrose Bierce

Opening of Katya Kabanova tonight!

Opening of Katya Kabanova tonight!
Toi-Toi-Toi everyone! Mirko Roschkowski, Sabina Cvilak, Dalia Schaechter, Wolf Matthias Friedrich, Benedikt Nawrath, Silvia Hauer, Aaron Cawley.

(Photos: Paul Leclaire)

Così fan Tutte opening night

Così fan Tutte opening tonight!
Toi-toi-toi to my Chorus, as well as Ioan Hotea, Chris Bolduc, Wolf Matthias Friedrich, Heather Engebretson, Silvia Hauer, and Gloria Rehm!

(Photos: Monika und Karl Forster)