Bavarian State Opera Explained

Bayerische Staatsoper
Bavarian State Opera
Formation:1653
Location:Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Leader Title:Intendant
Leader Name:Serge Dorny

The Bavarian State Opera is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra.

History

The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Electress consort Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, when Giovanni Battista Maccioni's L'arpa festante was performed in the court theatre.[1] In 1753, the Residence Theatre (Cuvilliés Theatre) was opened as a major stage.[2] While opera performances were also held in the Prinzregententheater (completed in 1901),[3] the company's home base is the Nationaltheater München on Max-Joseph-Platz.[4]

In 1875, the Munich Opera Festival took place for the first time. Sir Peter Jonas became the general manager in 1993,[5] the first British general manager of any major German-speaking opera house. In 2008, Nikolaus Bachler became Intendant (general manager) of the opera company, and Kirill Petrenko became Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in 2013. In 2014, the Bavarian State Opera received the Opernhaus des Jahres (opera house of the year) award from Opernwelt magazine.[6] In October 2015, the company announced the extensions of the contracts of Bachler and of Petrenko through August 2021.[7] [8] Both Bachler and Petrenko stood down from their respective posts at the close of the 2020–2021 season.[9]

In March 2018, the company announced the appointments of as its next general manager, and of Vladimir Jurowski as its next GMD, both effective with the 2021–2022 season.[10] In June 2024, the company announced the extension of Dorny's contract as Intendant through 2031, and of Jurowski's contract as GMD through the close of the 2027-2028 season, at which time Jurowski is expected to stand down as GMD.[11]

The company received the "Opera Company of the Year" award at the 2018 and 2023 International Opera Awards.[12] [13]

Intendant

Generalmusikdirektor

World premieres

DateOperaComposerLibrettoLocation
Catone in UticaFerrandiniMetastasio
La finta giardinieraMozart(?)Salvator Theatre
IdomeneoMozartResidence Theatre
SemiramideSalieriMetastasioResidence Theatre
Iphigenie in AulisResidence Theatre
Abu HassanWeberResidence Theatre
Jephtas GelübdeMeyerbeerResidence Theatre
Tristan und IsoldeWagnerWagnerNational Theatre
Die Meistersinger von NürnbergWagnerWagnerNational Theatre
Das RheingoldWagnerWagnerNational Theatre
Die WalküreWagnerWagnerNational Theatre
Die FeenWagnerWagnerNational Theatre
Königskinder (Melodrama)HumperdinckNational Theatre
Sarema, Arnold SchoenbergNational Theatre
Der BärenhäuterNational Theatre
Le donne curioseWolf-Ferrari (German by Hermann Teibler)Residence Theatre
I quatro rusteghiWolf-Ferrari (German by Hermann Teibler)National Theatre
Das Christ-ElfleinPfitzner and Ilse von StachNational Theatre
Il segreto di SusannaWolf-Ferrari (German by Max Kalbeck)National Theatre
Der Ring des Polykrates / ViolantaKorngold and Julius Korngold / Hans Müller-EinigenNational Theatre
PalestrinaPfitznerPrinzregententheater
Die VögelBraunfels (play by Aristophanes)National Theatre
Friedenstag and Stefan ZweigNational Theatre
Der MondOrffNational Theatre
CapriccioStrauss and Clemens KraussNational Theatre
Die Harmonie der WeltHindemithPrinzregententheater
LearNational Theatre
Ubu RexPendereckiPenderecki and Jerzy Jarocki (play by Alfred Jarry)National Theatre
Das Gesicht im SpiegelCuvilliés Theatre
Alice in WonderlandNational Theatre
Die Tragödie des TeufelsNational Theatre
BabylonNational Theatre

Recordings

Bavarian State Opera has issued numerous recordings under record labels such as Deutsche Grammophon. In May 2021, it launched its own recording label, Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings (BSOrec).[14]

Among the company's noted recordings are the 1989 video recording of Wagners' Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, which won Best Video in the 1993 Gramophone Classical Music Awards.[15] The 1973 recording of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, conducted by Carlos Kleiber and released in 2008, was highly acclaimed and selected as Editor's Choice in the April 2009 issue of Gramophone Magazine.[16]

At International Opera Awards, the Bayerische Staatsoper won the 2018 the Opera Company Award.[17] Their recording of Handel's Agrippina, directed by Barrie Kosky from the Royal Opera House, has been shortlisted for the 2018 Opera Awards.[18]

In 1977, a recording by the Bavarian State Opera was selected by NASA to be included on the Voyager Golden Record, a gold-plated copper record that was sent into space on the Voyager space craft. The record contained sounds and images which had been selected as examples of the diversity of life and culture on Earth. In the recording, soprano Edda Moser sings "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute, conducted by Sawallisch.[19] [20] [21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. [John Warrack|Warrack, John]
  2. News: Brug . Manuel . 16 June 2008 . München hat ein neues Rokoko-Prachtstück . . Hamburg . de . 7 September 2017.
  3. News: Frank . Werner . 10 March 2001 . Klein-Bayreuth an der Isar . . Hamburg . de . 7 September 2017.
  4. News: Schönbauer . Sina . 15 June 2016 . Die Bayerische Staatsoper ist die drittgrößte Bühne Europas . . de . 7 September 2017.
  5. News: Spahn . Claus . 19 November 1993 . Die Droge Oper . . Hamburg . de . 7 September 2017.
  6. 30 September 2014 . Bayerische Staatsoper ist Opernhaus des Jahres . Munich . . dpa . 6 September 2017.
  7. Kirill Petrenko und Nikolaus Bachler verlängern ihre Verträge . Bavarian State Opera . 13 October 2015 . 14 October 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171213010916/https://www.staatsoper.de/presse/presseinformationen/presse-infos-oper/mitteilung/news/kirill-petrenko-und-nikolaus-bachler-verlaengern-ihre-vertraege-1.html . 13 December 2017 . dead.
  8. News: Matthias Wulff . Kirill Petrenko kommt später als erwartet nach Berlin . Berliner Morgenpost . 13 October 2015 . 14 October 2015.
  9. News: The 'Prince of Opera' Bids Munich Farewell . The New York Times . Joshua Barone . 7 July 2021 . 12 July 2021.
  10. News: An Opera Powerhouse, Munich, Picks Its Next Leaders . The New York Times . Michael Cooper . 6 March 2018 . 7 March 2018.
  11. Verträge mit Staatsintendanten Serge Dorny, Generalmusikdirektor Vladimir Jurowski und Ballettdirektor Laurent Hilaire verlängert – Startschuss für externen Beratungsprozess und strukturelle Reformen . Bavarian State Opera . 17 June 2024 . 2024-07-02.
  12. Web site: Winners 2018 . International Opera Awards . 9 October 2023.
  13. Web site: Winners 2023 . International Opera Awards . 26 November 2023.
  14. Web site: Recordings . Bayerische Staatsoper . Bayerische Staatsoper . 4 May 2021 . en.
  15. Web site: Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen . Gramophone . 4 May 2021 . en.
  16. Web site: Strauss, R: Der Rosenkavalier . Presto Classical . 4 May 2021 . en.
  17. Web site: 2018 . Opera Awards . 4 May 2021 . 29 January 2018.
  18. Web site: 2020 . Opera Awards . 4 May 2021 . 5 February 2020.
  19. Web site: Voyager – Music on the Golden Record . voyager.jpl.nasa.gov . 4 May 2021 . en.
  20. Web site: Late Junction: The songs they sent to space . www.bbc.co.uk . . 4 May 2021.
  21. Book: Sagan . Carl . Murmurs of Earth . 2 April 2013 . Random House Publishing Group . 978-0-307-80202-6 . en.