After several days of thinking and rethinking I have finally decided on what shows I would like to go to this year, and there are two words that basically sum up the list: Tchaikovsky and opera. Considering the ticket buying frenzy, I grouped everything in 4 sections and sorted them in the order I’m going to buy the tickets (full schedule here).
 

The first section includes the performances I absolutely want to see. Firstly, I want to hear the Berlin Philharmonic playing the Tchaikovsky Symphony and the recital given by Bryn Terfel is a must in my book.

  1. 19:30 01. Sept – Grand Palace Hall – BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

-KIRILL PETRENKO conductor

-PATRICIA KOPATCHINSKAJA violin

*Schoenberg Violin Concerto op. 36

*Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 5 in E minor op. 64

  1. 16:30 12 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – Special program with Sir Bryn Terfel GARETH JONES conductor ORCHESTRE PHILHARMONIQUE DE MONTE-CARLO

*Wagner Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin

*Wagner “Was duftet doch der Flieder” from Die Meistersinger

*Wagner “Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre

*Wagner “Magic Fire Music” &“Wotan’s Farewell” from Die Walküre

*Orchestral Overture TBA

*Arrigo Boito “Son lo spirito che nega” from Mefistofele

*Weill “Moritat von Macke Messer” from Die Dreigroschenoper

*Rodgers & Hammerstein Overture from Oklahoma

*Rodgers & Hammerstein “Oh what a beautiful morning” from Oklahoma

*Lerner & Loewe “How to handle a woman” from Camelot

*Bock “If I were a rich man” from Fiddler on the roof


The second section includes shows I would very much like to go, but only after I make sure I got tickets for the first two. These selections are more centred around the people on the stage than the works themselves. There’s two violin performers I’m curious about: Julia Fischer and Maxim Vengerov. I look forward to hearing Joyce DiDonato singing Handel and Anna Caterina Antonacci is among the first sopranos I noticed and liked (in a “Carmen” performance with Jonas Kaufmann) so I’m excited to hear her live.

  1. 19:30 05 Sept – Grand Palace Hall – RUNDFUNK-SINFONIEORCHESTER BERLIN

– VLADIMIR JUROWSKI conductor

– CHOIR OF THE “GEORGE ENESCU“ PHILHARMONIC

– ION IOSIF PRUNNER conductor of the choir

– JULIA FISCHER violin

*Britten Violin Concerto op. 15

*Enescu Symphony no. 3 in C major op. 21

  1. 17:00 02 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – JOYCE DIDONATO Mezzo-Soprano & DAVID ZOBEL piano

*Works by Mozart, Rossini, Berlioz and Händel

  1. 17:00 11 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – ORCHESTRE PHILHARMONIQUE DE MONTE-CARLO

– MAXIM VENGEROV conductor

*Enescu Ballade for Violin and orchestra

– MAXIM VENGEROV violin

*Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile in B major

– GAUTIER CAPUÇON cello

*Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme op. 33

– GAUTIER CAPUÇON cello

*Tchaikovksy Symphony no. 6 in B minor op. 74, “Pathétique”

  1. 22:30 06 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

– LAURENCE CUMMINGS conductor

– ANNA CATERINA ANTONACCI Iphigénie (mezzo-soprano)

– CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN Oreste (baritone)

– TOBY SPENCE Pylade (tenor)

– ANDREW FOSTER-WILLIAMS Thoas (bass)

– MARY BEVAN Diane (soprano)

*Gluck “Iphigénie en Tauride”, opera in concert version


The third section is all about the 18th century, with operas by Gluck, Handel, Vivaldi and Beethoven.

  1. 22:30 20 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – LES TALENS LYRIQUES 

– CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET conductor

– KARINA GAUVIN Cleopatra (soprano)

– ANN HALLENBERG Sesto (soprano)

– CHRISTOPHER LOWREY Giulio Cesare (countertenor)

– KACPER SZELĄŻEK Tolomeo (countertenor)

– EVE-MAUD HUBEAUX Cornelia (mezzo-soprano)

– ASHLEY RICHES Achilla (bass)

*Händel Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV 17 (opera in concert version; short version of 1725 without Nireno nor Curio)

  1. 22:30 13 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – FREIBURGER BAROCKORCHESTER & ZÜRCHER SING-AKADEMIE choir

– RENÉ JACOBS conductor

*Beethoven “Leonore” (opera in concert version)

– TORBEN JÜRGENS Don Fernando, king’s minister (bass)

– JOHANNES WEISSER Don Pizarro, governor of the prison (baritone)

– MAXIMILIAN SCHMITT Florestan, a prisoner (tenor)

– JOHANNA WINKEL Leonore, his wife (soprano)

– ARTTU KATAJA Rocco, gaoler (bass)

– ROBIN JOHANNSEN Marzelline, his daughter (soprano)

– JOHANNES CHUM Assistant of Rocco (tenor)

  1. 22:30 14 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – ARMONIA ATENEA ORCHESTRA 

– GEORGE PETROU conductor

– MAX EMANUEL CENĆIĆ Arminio

– SANDRINE PIAU Tusnelda

– ALEKSANDRA KUBAS-KRUK Sigismondo

– RUXANDRA DONOSE Ramise

– SEBASTIAN MONTI Varo

– PAVEL KUDINOV Segeste

*Händel “Arminio” (concert version)

  1. 22:30 19 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – laBarocca

– RUBEN JAIS conductor

– ROBERTA MAMELI soprano

– SONIA PRINA mezzo-soprano

– LUIGI DE DONATO bass

*Händel “Aci, Galatea and Polifemo”

  1. 22:30 21 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – LES TALENS LYRIQUES 

– CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET conductor

– KARINA GAUVIN Poppea (soprano)

– ANN HALLENBERG Agrippina (soprano)

– CHRISTOPHER LOWREY Ottone (alto)

– KACPER SZELĄŻEK Nerone (countertenor)

– EVE-MAUD HUBEAUX Narciso (mezzo-soprano)

– ASHLEY RICHES Pallante (bass)

– DOUGLAS WILLIAMS Lesbo (bass)

– ETIENNE BAZZOLA Claudio (bass)

*Händel “Agrippina” HWV 6 (opera in concert version)

  1. 22:30 07 Sept – Romanian Athenaeum – ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

– LAURENCE CUMMINGS conductor

– IESTYN DAVIES Orfeo (countertenor)

– LYDIA TEUSCHER Euridice (soprano)

– ROWAN PIERCE Amore (mezzo-soprano)

*Gluck “Orfeo ed Euridice” (opera in concert, viennese version)


Lastly, I wanted to try a British opera, so if there are any tickets left I’m going to check out “Peter Grimes” by Britten.

  1. 19:30 15 Sept – Grand Palace Hall – ROMANIAN NATIONAL RADIO ORCHESTRA & RADIO ACADEMIC CHOIR

– PAUL DANIEL conductor

– CIPRIAN ŢUŢU conductor of the choir

*Britten “Peter Grimes”

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