![]() But befitting Vienna’s heritage as the imperial capital of Northern Italy in the heyday of bel canto, there’s a substantial chunk of Italian repertoire. ![]() Another traditional number is Schenk’s Die Fledermaus, performed on New Year’s Eve as it is every year, with a surprise star guest at Prince Orlofsky’s ball. Richard Strauss – in his time a co-director of the Staatsoper – is much beloved, with Otto Schenk’s classic production of Der Rosenkavalier (“ as inescapably Viennese as Sachertorte”) a particular favourite. The season's other première, Daniele Abbado's staging of Il trovatore with Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna, won't be broadcast live, so you'll have to find your way to Vienna to see it.Īs you would expect, there’s plenty of German language opera in the programme, with a Ring Cycle performed every year (this year’s features Bryn Terfel as Wotan, the fine pairing of Stefan Vinke as Siegfried and Petra Lang as Brünnhilde and the fearsome Falk Struckmann as Hagen). Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande opens on June 18th, conducted by Alain Altinoglu and featuring Olga Bezsmertna, considered by the Staatsoper as one of their top rising stars. Fortunately, Hermanis will be on hand to give an introduction for online viewers. Our reviews of director Alvis Hermanis indicate that the staging is likely to be anything but traditional and require some level of decoding work on the part of the audience. In December, David McVicar directs a new Falstaff, with Zubin Mehta conducting and a strong cast led by Ambrogio Maestri, the foremost interpreter of the role, while Wagnerites will eagerly anticipate 30 March when Nina Stemme makes her role début as Kundry in Parsifal. Gluck’s Armide opened on 16 October, to general plaudits for Marc Minkowski’s musicianship and Gaëlle Arquez’s performance, albeit with mixed reactions to Ivan Alexandre’s trans-gender-infused staging. The frisson of anticipation, of course, is at its highest for new productions, of which the 2016-7 season sees five. Concessions to convenience are made, however: the start time is arranged to be prime time according to your time zone, and you have 72 hours from the performance time in which to watch it. The intention is to foster the same sense of occasion and frisson of anticipation that you get when going to an opera in the physical house, showcasing the productions and singers of the moment, rather than to give an experience of browsing a video library. Live at Home isn’t the first streaming opera service in the world – the Met on Demand service was launched in 2012 – but Christopher Widauer, the man in charge of the service, is clear about what makes it different: “It’s Live, Live, Live”. For a monthly fee of €15+VAT, 2016-17 subscribers get online access to 40 operas per year, plus four ballets and a gala concert with Plácido Domingo, filmed in state of the art quality. Since 2013, this has come in the form of “Wiener Staatsoper Live at Home”. ![]() With no possibility of increasing the number of performances (the house is also home to chamber concerts and the Vienna State Ballet) and with over 99% of its tickets sold, that leaves the Wiener Staatsoper with a problem: how to comply with the inevitable demand from patrons, sponsors and funders that they should increase their reach? It’s a problem that any opera house would like to have, but none the less one that demands a solution. The Vienna State Opera pushes the repertory system to its limits: its 2016-2017 season will comprise 216 performances of 53 different operas – that’s more different productions than in any other opera house in the world.
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