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PROGRAM DETAIL

Richard Strauss • Ariadne auf Naxos

Opera in one act, Op. 60
Text by Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929)

To be played after Le Bourgeois gentilhomme by Molière, adapted by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
In a version for the Salzburg Festival 2012 by Sven-Eric Bechtolf

New production
In German with German and English surtitles

Co-production with the Vienna State Opera

Print program (PDF)

LEADING TEAM

Daniel Harding, Conductor
Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Stage Director
Rolf Glittenberg, Marianne Glittenberg, Stage and Costume Design
Heinz Spoerli, Choreography
Ronny Dietrich, Dramaturgy
Jürgen Hoffmann, Lighting

CAST

Emily Magee, The Prima Donna/Ariadne
Elena Moșuc, Zerbinetta
Eva Liebau, Naiad/A Shepherdess
Marie-Claude Chappuis, Dryad/A Shepherd
Eleonora Buratto, Echo/A Singer
Jonas Kaufmann, The Tenor/Bacchus (29.7., 31.7., 3.8., 5.8., 8.8.)
Roberto Saccà, The Tenor/Bacchus (10.8. and 15.8.)
Gabriel Bermúdez, Harlequin
Michael Laurenz, Scaramuccio
Tobias Kehrer, Truffaldino
Martin Mitterrutzner, Brighella
Peter Matić, The Major-Domo
Cornelius Obonya, M. Jourdain
Thomas Frank, The Composer
Michael Rotschopf, Hofmannsthal
Regina Fritsch, Ottonie/Dorine
Stefanie Dvorak, Nicolina
Johannes Lange, Flunky
Vienna Philharmonic

Complementary program: Ariadne auf Naxos

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

The first opera premiere of the Vienna Philharmonic at the 2012 Salzburg Festival – conducted by Daniel Harding – will feature a familiar work in an unfamiliar guise: Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos had its world premiere in the original version one hundred years ago. The Salzburg Festival celebrates this anniversary as homage to the three founding fathers as well, since Strauss and Hofmannsthal dedicated this opera to Max Reinhardt.

Ariadne auf Naxos was the third collaboration by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, written directly after the great success of Der Rosenkavalier. Originally planned as a “divertissement with a small chamber orchestra”, the project expanded into a grand venture combining opera, drama and ballet – and was a flop at its world premiere in 1912. Now the Salzburg Festival pledges to fulfill “the still-wonderful dream of its creators: to bring together the different genres of theater, ballet, drama, music and singing.” Sven-Eric Bechtolf will direct this unconventional production, and has not only adapted Molière’s play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, which preceded the opera at the time, but has also reinstated the ballet music written for it subsequently. “A hundred years have passed since Hofmannsthal began to work on this tale with the fiercely practical and dramaturgically highly talented Strauss, one hundred years since the disastrous world premiere of Ariadne auf Naxos. We take this ‘anniversary’ as an opportunity to revisit the original version. And where would this make more sense than in Salzburg?” (Sven-Eric Bechtolf)

SALZBURG FESTIVAL BLOG

Daniel Harding to conduct Ariadne auf Naxos instead of Riccardo Chailly

13 MAR

by FESTSPIELKIEBITZ 18:03 h;
posted in: Opera

Because of health problems occurring over the past months, Riccardo Chailly’s doctors have advised him to take longer breaks between individual projects. The Salzburg Festival is happy to have engaged Daniel Harding, who led both Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festival during recent years, in Chailly’s stead as the conductor for the new production of Ariadne auf Naxos. However, Chailly will conduct the Gewandhaus Orchestra on August 30, 2012 in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 in A-Minor.