Vienna State Opera 2014 - 2015 season is out

This morning the Vienna State Opera put their entire 2014-15 season on sale at the same time they announced it, in case you were wondering why their website's been slow or completely down all day. Well done, Wieners.

The chaos disguises an average 5% price increase, which Intendant Dominique Meyer says is necessary to compensate for the static public subsidy. Unlike standard UK practice, the price rise is helpfully weighted towards the more expensive tickets.

As usual, it's a busy season, with 223 staged opera performances, few of which are even 20th century, let alone modern. There will be six new productions: 

• Idomeneo 5 October 2014 c: Christoph Eschenbach, d: Kasper Holten, with Michael Schade, Margarita Gritskova, Maria Bengtsson, Chen Reiss 
• Khovanshchina 15 November 2014 c: Semyon Bychkov, d: Lev Dodin, with Ferruccio Furlanetto, Christopher Ventris, Herbert Lippert, Andrzej Dobber, Ain Anger, Elisabeth Kulman, Norbert Ernst
• Rigoletto 20 December 2014 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Pierre Audi, with Piotr Beczala, Simon Keenlyside, Valentina Nafornită, Elena Maximova 
• Elektra 29 March 2015 c: Franz Welser-Möst, d: Uwe Eric Laufenberg, with Anna Larsson, Nina Stemme, Anne Schwanewilms, Falk Struckman 
• Don Pasquale 26April 2015 c: Jesús López-Cobos, d: Irina Brook, 
 with Michele Pertusi, Juan Diego Flórez, Alessio Arduini, Valentina Nafornită
• The Tempest (Austrian premiere) 14 June 2015 c: Thomas Ades, d: Robert Lepage, with Adrian Eröd, Audrey Luna, Stephanie Houtzeel, David Daniels

Vienna maintains its reputation for attracting the top conductors, with an Ariadne auf Naxos from Christian Thielemann, and a couple of Ring cycles from Simon Rattle. Kirill Petrenko conducts a Rosenkavalier with Soile Isokoski and Alice Coote, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin a fliegende Holländer revival featuring Bryn Terfel.

Vienna wouldn't be Vienna without a sprinkling of stardust, and it welcomes Juan Diego Florez in L'Elisir d'Amore and La Cenerentola, Domingo as Nabucco, Anna Netrebko as Anna Bolena and Angela Gheorghiu (together with Ramon Vargas and Ludovic Tézier) in Werther.

My casting pick however is a revival of Claus Guth's Tannhäuser. Myung-Whun Chung conducts the unbeatable line-up of Kwangchul Youn, Robert Dean Smith, Christian Gerhaher, Camilla Nylund and Iréne Theorin.

Detailed dates, casts and everything else you might want to know are already (yay!) on the website.

They've even got a list of the shows which will be livestreamed (€€€ applies).

Comments

[Renata P.]

Why the hell did Gheorghiu say in February that she's thinking about Norma and Desdemona, when by then she surely knew that her next new role is Charlotte? I understand that she's not allowed to divulge details, but she could have just said "I am thinking of doing Charlotte - but don't know yet where and when".

In the big scheme of things, the new role shouldn't surprise because she recorded it years ago - but nonetheless, people - me included - are surprised. I think some of us gave up hope that she would attempt any new role at all, as she's quickly approaching her 50s.

Too bad it's not with Kaufmann, but Vargas instead...

[fragendefrau]

A sad lack of Kaufmann in that schedule.

[Nik]

She probably had a memory lapse and got the names confused.

What have you got against Vargas? He's a very good Werther.

[Nikolaus Vogel]

Charlotte used to be sung by sopranos as well as mezzos: Ninojn Vallin and Victoria de los Angeles for example, both made excellent recordings.

[Annette]

Dear me! It must be so hard to please everyone! Personally as a Gheorghiu fan I was thrilled when she recently dropped hints about singing Desdemona, though a studio recording was what she reportedly said. Presumably since you took the time to read AG's interview you're a fan? That being the case aren't you pleased she's extending her repertoire? As for me, I will be thrilled to see her sing Charlotte in Vienna especially with Vargas and Tėzier by her side. Three fabulous talents on stage together. Well done Vienna! March can't come soon enough for me.

[regkarpf]

No Kaufmann, but three operas with Florez, of which one (Don Pasquale) a new production and one (Cenerentola) his first time in Vienna. He has never sung three operas in one season in one house before. And Roméo in Feb 2016 to look forward to as well.

[Siggy]

Only three performances though! Still, its a new role and I'd be interested to hear it, so a revival of the ROH Werther in the future can't be too far off surely? Vargas is also a fine tenor as Werther...Florez would have been interesting too now that he has decided to take up the role.

As for lack of Kaufmann in Vienna, there's a rumoured Cav/Pag in the Salzburg Easter Festival 2015 so I'm guessing something in the schedule had to give...looks like it was Vienna.

[inter mezzo]

More than a rumour

[Alexander]

Vienna is always chic ....

[Michael]

Anybody know when we can expect the 2014/2015 ROH season to be announced? Why so late? Are they still in shock all frozen in time trying to get over the fact that Netrebko cancel her Marguerite?

And by the way why is everybody complaining that Kaufmann will not be signing in Vienna. Are you all moving there in the next year?

The big surprise in the Vienna season is Netrebko singning Anna Bolena again. Looking forward to see if the ROH missed the boat on that one also...and decided to offer her another role that won't be suited for her voice next year...

[Vecchio John]

from which direction is she approaching her 50s?

[Nikolaus Vogel]

They are announcing on Monday. I can remember them announcing in April in seasons past, as ENO will. It includes an Idomeneo with a slightly better cast than the one in Vienna. What a dreary season at the Staatsoper - Stemme's Elektra could be interesting, although based on my experience of her rather matronly Salome, I won't be betting on it. And directed by Uwe Eric Laufenberg? Another provincial name. He's the Intendant in Wiesbaden! The Rattle Rings are intriguingly cast with Volle making what must be his role debut as Wotan/Wanderer in all three operas. If you go to the second cycle you could also see Stemme as Fidelio. Netrebko as Bolena and Gheorghiu as Charlotte would also be worth travelling for. Most of the casting of the repertoire performances makes Covent Garden look pretty good, I'd say. But we'll have to wait and see until Monday. There's a lot more TBA in Vienna than one would expect from one of world's allegedly great opera houses. Presumably Dominique Meyer will be spending a lot of time at singing competitions in the next four or five months.

[Nik]

Re: repertoire casting - you're not comparing like with like, since the ROH just doesn't play repertoire to the extent that Vienna does. I've never understood why the Staatsoper has to put *something* on for every night of the season, by hook or by crook. No wonder they end up with some shockingly pedestrian casts, many of whom perform unrehearsed.

[inter mezzo]

Vienna can fill all their seats every single night - I'm sure there'd be tons of complaints if the cut the number of shows to increase rehearsal time.

And while the casts may sometimes be 'no-name', that doesn't mean they're rubbish. I saw a routine revival of Falstaff there a few years ago. The cast - Ambrogio Maestri, Saimir Pirgu and Elisabeth Kulman amongst them - were pretty much unknowns at the time, but look now.

[regkarpf]

Anyone thinking of booking for Cenerentola to hear Florez may want to know that, in spite of what the Staatsoper website says, he will not be singing any of the performances. This according to his manager.