Conductor
A captain is cursed to sail the seas of the world forever, only allowed to make landfall once every seven years. Will he find the love of a faithful woman to break the curse? Richard Wagner came across the legend of The Flying Dutchman in 1838 through Heinrich Heine’s From the Memoirs of Herr von Schnabelewopski. After a stormy voyage from Riga to London – Wagner was again on the run from creditors – he chose the material for his next opera and began to compose it, with the unpredictable power of the sea still fresh on his face. Against the backdrop of this wild nature, Wagner exposes in Holländer his utopia of a love that transcends, offered as an antidote to the 19th century zeitgeist of pounding industrialisation and economic growth. Roger Vontobel’s new production from Mannheim is streamed live on the opening night and audiences around the world can share in some of the most rousing music written in opera.
Conductor
The Marschallin is relishing time with her young lover, when her cousin’s sudden arrival ignites a comic chain of events. With honour at risk, social status bartered and happiness illusive, the Marschallin accepts time cannot be stopped and she must set young love free. Exquisite music, poignant comedy and fairy tale romance: Der Rosenkavalier has it all. For its Garsington premiere, Bruno Ravella transposes what is perhaps Richard Strauss’s most famous opera to the glamorous 1950s. Jordan de Souza conducts the excellent Philharmonia Orchestra and a bravura cast. ‘Garsington is back with a show that’s a joy to the ears, and a feast for the eyes.’ Mail on Sunday
Conductor
Barrie Kosky peers into the abyss of the human soul and tackles one of the most important Symbolist masterpieces in the operatic repertoire.
Conductor
In the cold of winter, an exuberant poet lives in poverty with his three bohemian flatmates. His heart is warmed when he falls in love with his fragile neighbour, but then her illness takes a turn for the worse. In this new production, Barrie Kosky stages a portrait of life caught between art, unrequited love and modern isolation in the face of death. German soprano and Komische Oper Berlin Ensemble member Nadja Mchantaf plays Mimì alongside the young Austrian-Australian tenor Gerard Schneider as Rodolfo.
