We start the new year at the Strand with a recorded opera courtesy of Rising Alternative.
Mozart's The Magic Flute
Opera in two acts Sung in German From Bregenz Festival Recorded July 2013
Bregenzer Festspiele (Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in
Bregenz,
Austria.
Founded in 1946, the festival presents a wide variety of musical and theatrical events in several venues:
Seebühne (or floating stage), with its 7,000 seat open-air
amphitheatre , is the location for large-scale
opera or
musical performances on a stage over water on the shores of
Lake Constance.
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Opera or musical productions on the floating stage generally tend to come from the popular operatic repertoire, but often are extravagantly original and innovative productions/ stagings, frequently using the waters of the lake as an extension of the stage.
PRESENTATION Three enormous, 27-metre-high fire-spewing "dragon dogs", a Queen of the Night costume to break all records, three mythical creatures for the three ladies operated by puppeteers, and dozens of stunt artists rushing around the stage: in his staging for the Bregenz Festival, David Pountney offers "a spectacle of the highest caliber" (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), while providing new answers to the eternal questions surrounding The Magic Flute. The Kurier newspaper called it "a visually mind-blowing fairy tale", with Die Welt adding "a colorful as well as smart Magic Flute". The vocal ensemble leaves nothing to be desired either: Ana Durlovski (voted Singer of the Year by Opernwelt magazine) is captivating as the Queen of the Night with her "flawless coloraturas" (Der Standard), while Norman Reinhardt sings an "outstanding Tamino" (Deutschlandradio) and Eike Wilm Schulte is a deluxe casting as Second Knight. Patrick Summers conducts Mozart's score with the impeccable Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
CREATIVE TEAM Conductor Patrick Summers Director David Pountney Set Designer Johan Engels Costume and Puppet Designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca Lighting Designer Fabrice Kebour Chorus Prague Philharmonic Chorus Orchestra Vienna Symphony Orchestra ARTISTIC TEAM Sarastro Alfred Reiter Tamino Norman Reinhardt Königin der Nacht Ana Durlovski Pamina Bernarda Bobro Papageno Daniel Schmutzhard Papagena Dénise Beck BREGENZ FESTIVAL Founded in 1946, Bregenz Festival is a performing arts festival held every July and August. The main stage, named Seebühne (or floating stage) sits over the water on the shores of Lake Constance and has 7,000 seats. In this extravagant location, the lake often becomes an extension of the stage, leading to some of the world's most unique and innovative opera productions. David Pountney has been the artistic director of the festival since December 2003.
Join us at the Strand for this lavish presentation and a light buffet during intermission...
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