Siemens Festival Nights

Gaetano Donizetti’s Belcanto opera Maria Stuarda (1835) retells the power struggle between two historical queens of the 16th century: Maria Stuart of Scotland and Elisabeth I. of England. A terrible fact binds these two women together for eternity: One of them has to die. The deadly enmity is enflamed by a single question: Whom does the English throne belong to? Donizetti’s Belcanto opera is based on Schiller’s tragedy Maria Stuart. However, it focuses even stronger on the emotional sides of both antagonists, compressed to the last 24 hours prior to the signing of the death sentence and Maria’s execution. During this short period of time they experience every conceivable emotional extreme: triumphant joy, depressive breakdowns, tormenting introspection, beckoning freedom and paralyzing fear of death. The new interpretation by Ulrich Rasche, which is characterized by radical form awareness, features two queens of song – Kate Lindsey and Lisette Oropesa – in the stellar roles of Maria Stuart and Elisabeth I.

Cast
Conductor: Antonello Manacorda | Director: Ulrich Rasche | Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic | Chor: Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus | Duration: 138 minutes | With: Kate Lindsey (Elisabetta), Lisette Oropesa (Maria Stuarda), Bekhzod Davronov (Roberto, Count of Leicester), Aleksei Kulagin (Giorgio Talbot), Thomas Lehman (Lord Guglielmo Cecil)

The unfinished “Singspiel” Zaide draws its enduring power from its deeply humanistic message. For the first time, Mozart created a musical and dramatic space to express what he believed was right and good: the fight against tyranny, the transformative power of true love, and above all, the essential human quest for freedom.
Five years after composing Zaide, Mozart reused music from his unfinished C minor Mass specifically the Kyrie and Gloria movements for another incomplete work, the cantata Davide penitente.
For the 2025 Salzburg Festival, Pygmalion and conductor Raphaël Pichon brought these rarely performed works together, weaving them with other treasures from Mozart’s repertoire into a humanistic mosaic. Here, the individual and the community engage in dialogue, while the timeless struggle between shadow and light is vividly reimagined in every moment.

Cast
Conception and Music Director: Raphael Pichon | Choreography: Evelin Facchini | Chor & Orchestra: Pygmalion | Duration: 99 minutes | With: Sabine Devieilhe (Zaide), Lea Desandre (Persada), Julian Prégardien (Gomatz), Daniel Behle (Soliman), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Allazim) sowie Tommy Cattin und Sabrina Rocha (dancers)

It was the sensation of the 2018 Salzburg Festival: Romeo Castelucci’s courageous production of Salome in the Felsenreitschule, with a wonderful imagery. A large number of brilliant singers acted in the magnificent setting, but were nevertheless overshadowed by another: The Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian as the titular heroine. She not only overwhelmingly debuted in the role, but also sang herself into the status of a new star. She dominated the evening with gestures, steps and “breathtaking vocal reserves”, and was correspondingly celebrated by the critics: The Spiegel wrote: “Her infinite, powerful goose-bumps-inducing voice that carries the orchestra portrayed the inner conflict and the spiritual torment of the meaning-seeking Salome in a touching, sensual manner. Added to this we have Grigorian literally exploding with artistic accents, which director Romeo Castellucci times precisely and to full effect. There is, however, no doubt: an individual such as Grigorian, who is filled to the brim with lively talent, cannot be steered in the millimeter-range.” Together with Franz Welser-Möst’s conducting they were rewarded ovation after ovation at the premiere.

Cast
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst | Director: Romeo Castellucci | Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic | Duration: 112 minutes | With: John Daszak (Herodes), Anna Maria Chiuri (Herodias), Asmik Grigorian (Salome), Gábor Bretz (Jochanaan), Julian Prégardien (Narraboth)

Puccinis Il trittico comprises three one-act operas that each portray individual fates from a world that seems to hold little hope. In Gianni Schicchi we meet a relative who asks the crafty Gianni Schicchi to help with a testament swindle and ends up being the scammed one. Il tabarro, set in the depressing Parisian harbor milieu, tells us the story of the young Giorgetta who starts a hopeless affair to escape her stifling marriage to Michele; and Suor Angelica leads us into a bleak nunnery, where Angelica is forced to atone for the out-of-wedlock birth of her son. With his composition Puccini anticipates modernity and bestows individual musical characteristics on each of his three one-act operas.

Cast
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst | Director: Christof Loy | Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic | Duration: 170 minutes | With: Misha Kiria (Gianni Schicchi), Asmik Grigorian (Lauretta/Giorgetta/Suor Angelica), Enkelejda Shkosa (Zita/Frugola/Suora Zelatrice), Alexey Neklyudov (Rinuccio), Roman Burdenko (Michele), Joshua Guerrero (Luigi), Karita Mattila (Zia Principessa), Hanna Schwarz (Badessa)

Hannes Rossacher’s film Jedermann Remixed. This is a performance of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s classic, which never existed in this form: The montage of multiple recordings from different decades results in an on-screen, unique Salzburg Jedermann ensemble. And while its famous members have all played at the Domplatz, they can only be viewed together in this daring montage of various scenes from across production history. This ORF production in the 2020 edition is a culture-historical puzzle, ranging from Alexander Moissi to Tobias Moretti. The specifically created soundtrack is supplied by the internationally renowned Blues and Roots musician Hans Theessink.