At 7pm, Grosses Festspielhaus :

CAPRICCIO, by R. Strauss

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Christian Thielemann: Music director

Elsa Dreisig: The Countess

Bo Skovhus: The Count, her brother

Sebastian Kohlhepp: Fleming, a musician

Konstantin Krimmel: Olivier, a poet

Mika Kares: La Roche, the theatre director

Ève-Maud Hubeaux: Clairon, an actress

Jörg Schneider: Monsieur Taupe

Regula Mühlemann: An Italian singer

Josh Lovell: An Italian tenor

Torben Jürgens: The butler

Capriccio is Richard Strauss’s last opera. Inspired by an idea by Stefan Zweig, the work focuses on the very heart of opera: the relationship between words and music. Set in Paris circa 1775, it portrays the rivalry between the poet Olivier and the Flemish musician, both of whom are courting the Countess Madeleine. Strauss himself regarded Capriccio as his testament, and the Countess’s final monologue as “the best conclusion to his theatrical work”. This lyrical masterpiece is performed here in concert version by the sublime Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Christian Thielemann. The cast naturally includes the immense Countess, played by the Franco-Danish Elsa Dreisig, a worthy heir to the role’s greatest incumbents.

At 5pm, on the Domplatz (Cathedral Square):

JEDERMANN, by H. von Hofmannsthal

Robert Carsen: Director

Dominik Dos-Reis: Death

Philipp Hochmair: Jedermann

Christoph Luser: The Good Companion/Devil

Kathleen Morgeneyer: A poor neighbor/Les Bienfaits

Nicole Beutler: The creditor’s wife

Deleila Piasko: Paramour

Christoph Krutzler: Fat Cousin

Daniel Lommatzsch: Thin Cousin

Kristof Van Boven: Mammon

Julia Windischbauer: Faith

Andrea Jonasson: Jedermann’s mother

Joseph Lorenz: Creditor

Did you know that on August 22, 1920, the Salzburg Festival opened with Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Jedermann? Since then, the Austrian event has regularly presented this magnificent play, a sublime reflection on life and death. For the current edition, the Festival called on one of the wizards of contemporary opera: Robert Carsen. The Canadian director has shown in the past what an immense interpreter of Richard Strauss he is (his Chevalier à la rose and Femme sans ombre, from a libretto by Hofmannsthal, are benchmarks), and this theatrical event will carry all the delicious quintessence of early 20th-century Vienna.

At 9pm, Grosses Festspielhaus:

IGOR LEVIT RECITAL

Igor Levit : Piano

– J.S. Bach: Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903

– J. Brahms: Six piano pieces, Op. 118

– L. van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, piano version by F. Liszt

Igor Levit is one of the leading pianists of our time. Although relatively unknown in France, the German-Russian pianist is an absolute star in German-speaking countries. A committed artist, he provokes debate and is fully in tune with our modern society. But above all, he is an exceptional pianist with an eloquent touch. Following his performance of the complete Beethoven sonatas, Levit returns to the Salzburg Festival with a program worthy of him. In addition to Bach and Brahms, his favorite composers, his recital program includes Beethoven’s irresistible Symphony No. 7, a whirlwind of rhythms and dances magnified by Franz Liszt’s transcription.

At 11am, Grosses Festspielhaus:

VIENNA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA / H. BLOMSTEDT

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Herbert Blomstedt: Music Director

Vienna Singverein: Choir

Johannes Prinz: Choirmaster

Christina Landshamer: Soprano

Elsa Benoit: Soprano

Tilman Lichdi: Tenor

– J. Brahms: Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) for choir and orchestra, Op. 54

– F. Mendelssohn: Lobgesang (Song of Praise), op. 52 – a symphony-cantata on verses from the Holy Bible

In the 19th century, choral compositions with orchestral accompaniment enjoyed an essential position with German audiences and musicians alike. Three years after Un Requiem allemand, Brahms set to music an excerpt from Friedrich Hölderlin’s novel Hyperion. Some commentators have compared this Song of Destiny Op.54 (Schicksalslied in German) to a mini-Requiem, due to its philosophical scope and gravity. Mendelssohn was only 31 when he presented his Second Symphony in Leipzig. Called the Lobgesang (Song of Praise), the work irresistibly evokes Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. At the helm of the Vienna Philharmonic, the legendary Herbert Blomstedt conducts this major milestone of the choral symphony, situated between Beethoven and Mahler.

At 6pm, Grosses Festspielhaus:

DON GIOVANNI, by W.A. Mozart

Orchestre Utopia

Teodor Currentzis: Music Director

Romeo Castellucci: Stage Director

Davide Luciano: Don Giovanni

Dmitry Ulyanov: The Commander

Nadezhda Pavlova: Donna Anna

Julian Prégardien: Don Ottavio

Federica Lombardi: Donna Elvira

Kyle Ketelsen: Leporello

Ruben Drole: Masetto

Anna El-Khashem: Zerlina

In Castellucci’s staging, a bare, desacralized church becomes Don Giovanni’s space. With the brilliant director, Don Juan becomes the one who wants to destroy everything, a child expressing his frustration at not being able to obtain the object of his desire. For Castellucci, Mozart turns out to be a stubborn feminist composer. Blinded by his narcissism, Don Giovanni is incapable of perceiving women as unique individuals. For Act II, Castellucci invited a large number of women living in Salzburg to occupy the Grosses Festspielhaus stage. Add an exceptional cast and the direction of Teodor Currentzis, and you have a Don Giovanni of today, for the times of tomorrow.

At 7:30pm 19h30, at the Haus für Mozart:

CANTO LIRICO / L. DESANDRE / ENSEMBLE JUPITER

Ensemble Jupiter

Thomas Dunford: Musical Director

Thomas Dunford: Luth
Léa Desandre: Mezzo-soprano

– J. Dowland:

Extracts from The First Booke of Songes or Ayres – Come againe, sweet love doth now invite (XVII); Go crystall teares (VIII); Now, o now, I needs must part (VI); Can she excuse my wrongs (V); Frogg Galliard;

Extracts from Lachrimæ, or Seaven Teares, Lachrimæ antiquæ (I) ; The Earle of Essex Galiard (XII) ; Semper Dowland semper dolens (VIII), The King of Denmark’s Galiard (XI) ;

Excerpts from The Second Booke of Songes or Ayres; Sorrow, stay FII/12; Flow my tears

– H. Purcell :

Excerpts from the semi-opera The Fairy Queen Z 629; Air ‘If love’s a sweet passion’; Chaconne; Air ‘O let me weep’; Air ‘Now the night is chas’d away’, ‘Strike the viol’ from Orpheus Britannicus I Z 323,5; O solitude, my sweetest choice Z 406; Now that the sun hath veiled his light – An evening hymn Z 193;

Excerpt from the opera Dido and Aeneas Z 626, Overture, Air ‘Ah Belinda’, Echo dance of the furies, Air ‘Thanks to these lonesome vales’, The witches’ dance, Air ‘When I am laid in earth’.

Impetuosity, vitality and virtuosity are the hallmarks of Ensemble Jupiter concerts. Under the leadership of its founder, lutenist Thomas Dunford, the ensemble has forged a highly flattering reputation among Baroque ensembles. This growing success triumphs in this program at the prestigious Salzburg Festival. Mezzo Léa Desandre, an inseparable member of the Ensemble Jupiter, has established herself not only as one of the most sought-after young French singers on the international scene, but also as the interpreter of choice for the most lyrical Baroque repertoire, as this recital dedicated to 17th and 18th century amorous passion vividly demonstrates.