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You are here: Home Leisure Arts & Culture The Klassical Junkie: Salzburgmania

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02/08/2009The Klassical Junkie: Salzburgmania

The Klassical Junkie: Salzburgmania Expatica reviewer Sumi Somaskanda cheats a little and jumps borders to the classical haven of Austria.

August is upon us—the long, hazy afternoons and warm evening strolls will soon be replaced by brisk breezes and changing leaves. But before you pack up the picnic baskets, there’s one more classical music festival (yes, yet another one) that you should have marked on your calendar long ago. This time I’m going to cheat a little and take you to a city just beyond Germany’s borders: Salzburg. Not only is the charming Austrian city the home of Mozart himself, it also plays host to one of the world’s grandest and most prominent music and theater festivals.

The Salzburg Festival spans about five weeks, from July 25 through August 30, and offers nothing but the best performances in music, opera and drama. Several works are performed more than 5 or 6 times -- that means everyone has a chance to catch their favorites in action. You can head to the festival’s website to find the list of dates for each show, but tickets won’t last much longer so hurry!

Here are some of the opera highlights to look for:

Mozart: “Cosi fan tutte”
The masterful Vienna Philharmonic, led by Adam Fischer, plays second fiddle to the lead performers -- a list of vocalists including Mia Persson, Florian Boesch and Patricia Petibon. The opera is one of Mozart’s silliest and strangest, but also one of my favorites. It’s an intricate tale of love and betrayal, set against some outrageous costumes. Even if you’re not a huge opera fan, you’ll love this one.



Mozart: “The Marriage of Figaro”
This opera, composed in 1786, is without a doubt one of Mozart’s best: The music is brilliant and complex. The plot unfolds a battle of the classes, an especially daring theme for Mozart’s time (France banned any performances of the work). This performance happens to feature two spectacular leads as count and countess: Canadian baritone Gerald Finley and German soprano Dorothea Röschman, who debuted at the Salzburg Festival in 1995 in the same opera.

Beethoven: Fidelio
This is sure to be the highlight -- well, at least in my opinion. Beethoven’s only opera scores on every level -- both musically and dramatically. The storyline is famous: courageous Leonore disguises herself to save her husband, Florestan, from death in prison. Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra support a top-notch cast of vocalists, including Simon O’Neill and Waltraud Meier.

Of course there’s an even longer list of classical music highlights in this festival but here’s a short rundown of some must-see special ensembles:

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
The orchestra starts out in a supporting role for Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio” but they’re also booked for a few solo performances. The concept behind this ensemble is just as powerful as the musicians. Founded in 1999, the group is made up of young, talented musicians of Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese descent. Although it began as a cultural experiment, the orchestra has been a smashing success -- culturally and musically. Try to get up close with a ticket to the Master Class, including Barenboim and the entire orchestra, on August 15. If that evening is sold out, catch them in a series of chamber music concerts, featuring works by Boulez, Berg, Mendelssohn, and Schoenberg.

Photo © Luigi Caputo

London Symphony Orchestra
The LSO is only in town for one concert on August 26 so make sure to buy tickets for this date in plenty of time. There’s no better conductor to lead Shostakovich’s 8th Symphony in C Minor than Valery Gergiev, a proud Russian patriot (and principal conductor of the LSO). The ensemble then performs Debussy’s enchanting “La Mer,” a series of three symphonic sketches drawn from the French composer’s own seaside memories.
    
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
Which orchestra could possibly top the Berlin Philharmonic on the list of the world’s best orchestras? The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, of course (according to Gramophone). Astonishingly enough, there are still tickets available to the ensemble’s one concert on August 29. Mariss Jansons will conduct two very different pieces: Haydn’s “Military Symphony” and Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony in E Minor.
Get your ticket—and fast!

You can check out any additional info, including descriptions of the drama performances, online at www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/


Sumi Somaskanda/Expatica


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