Isabella
This Wagner opera is rarely performed because of the scandals that engulfed the Magdeburg Theatre when it was performed in 1836 under the title The Novice of Palermo, and became known as a cursed opera from which the composer had to distance himself. Wagner's adaptation of the story reflects the rebellious mood of a Revolutionary Germany, vindicating sensual love and attack the fanatical repression of sexuality by a puritanical and hypocritical authority. As the prose says, "Shame to him whose cruel striking/Kills for faults of his own liking!". One of the most extraordinary musicals based on a text by Shakespeare, especially worthy of a new performance as it is four hundred years since the death of the Bard.
Chrysothemis
The richness and intensity of Richard Strauss's masterful one-act opera, in Herbert Wernicke's compelling production, vividly portrays the relentless pursuit and ecstatic realization of vengeance. Featuring Linda Watson, Jane Henschel, Manuela Uhl, Rene Kollo, and Albert Dohmen. The Philharmonia Chor Wien and Münchner Philharmoniker are conducted by Christian Thielemann
