Misha Aster

Last updated

Misha Aster is a Canadian producer, director, writer and educator specialising in opera and classical music.

Contents

Biography

Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1978, Aster studied violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and history, politics, dramaturgy and musicology at McGill University, the London School of Economics, King's College London, the Moscow Art Theatre School, Berlin's Free University and at Harvard University, where he also held a teaching fellowship. [1] He has taught opera and drama at the University of Victoria and Concordia University (Canada) and directed numerous theatre and opera productions on both sides of the Atlantic, including Carmen and Wozzeck in Canada, Cosi fan tutte (Czech Republic), Falstaff (Netherlands), Madama Butterfly (Austria) [2] and Krenek's Dark Waters at the Konzerthaus in Berlin. [3]

From 2004–06 Aster served as Staff Director at the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, Austria. He has also worked at Vancouver Opera, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, l'Opéra National du Rhin, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and at important festivals in Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands, collaborating with directors such as Robert Carsen, Tim Albery, Brigitte Fassbaender, François Rochaix and Götz Friedrich and conductors Kenneth Montgomery, Yves Abel and Martin Fischer-Dieskau.

As a consultant and associate producer, Aster has cooperated with Eikon Media, TeamWorX Productions, Klassikwerkstatt, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Together with pianist, Michael Abramovich, he directed Ensemble Alkan and produced the concert series 'Im buntesten Chaos – das Jüdische in der Musik' at Berlin's Jewish Museum. [4] He has worked as a dramaturg at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as project manager with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Berlin State Opera and at Kronberg Academy, near Frankfurt. Misha Aster works a Producer/A&R Consultant for the recording label Deutsche Grammophon and is Director of Programs at the Gustavo Dudamel Foundation. In 2018, he joined the Vancouver Symphony as Vice-President, Artistic Planning and Production.

Books

Aster's book, The Reich's Orchestra: the Berlin Philharmonic 1933–45 [5] was published by Siedler Verlag/Random House, Germany in 2007 [6] [7] and has since been translated into six languages. [8] A history of Berlin's Staatsoper Unter den Linden 1918–1991, including a foreword by Daniel Barenboim, was published by Siedler Verlag/Random House, Germany in Fall 2017. [9] A frequent contributor to The Walrus , [10] The Independent and Die Zeit (Germany), among others, Aster has presented lectures on music and media, history, and politics at the University of Cologne, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Gasteig (Munich), the Mariinsky Theater (St. Petersburg) and at London's Wiener Library.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Neuwirth</span> Austrian composer

Olga Neuwirth is an Austrian contemporary classical composer, visual artist and author. She gained fame mainly through her operas and music theater works, which often deal with topical and decidedly political themes of identity, violence and intolerance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Pierre Ponnelle</span> French opera director (1932 – 1988)

Jean-Pierre Ponnelle was a French opera director, set and costume designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Alexander Albrecht</span> German conductor and composer (1935–2021)

George Alexander Albrecht was a German conductor and composer, who also worked as a musicologist and academic teacher. A prolific composer at a young age, he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Staatsoper Hannover from 1965 for 30 years, where he led not only the major operas by Mozart and stageworks by Wagner, but contemporary composers, such as Aribert Reimann's Troades in 1987. He was GMD of the Nationaltheater Weimar from 1996, and taught at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. Albrecht promoted the works of neglected composers such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hans Pfitzner, and Erwin Schulhoff.

Albrecht Dümling is a German musicologist and music critic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Sanderling</span> German conductor (born 1942)

Thomas Sanderling is a German conductor. His father was the conductor Kurt Sanderling. His half-brothers are the conductors Stefan Sanderling and Michael Sanderling.

Zoran Todorovich is German opera singer, director and costume designer of Serbian origin. He is lirico-spinto tenor, and started his career in Belgrade, Serbia, where he was born.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Ward (conductor)</span> British conductor (born 1980)

Christopher Ward is a British conductor. In August 2018 he became the Music Director of Theater Aachen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke</span> Austrian operatic tenor

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke is an Austrian operatic tenor.

Tijl Faveyts is a Belgian operatic bass. A current member of the Komische Oper Berlin, he has performed leading roles such as Mozart's Sarastro and Hunding in Wagner's Die Walküre at major opera houses, concert halls and festivals, and made recordings.

Jeff Martin is an American operatic tenor who made a career based in Germany, singing at international opera houses and concert halls. Focused on character roles, he has appeared as Mime in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and Herod in Salome by Richard Strauss, and appeared in several world premieres.

Diether de la Motte was a German musician, composer, music theorist, music critic and academic teacher.

Sigrid Neef is a German musicologist and theatre scholar, focused on Russian and Soviet opera. She has been a dramaturge of the director Ruth Berghaus at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin for decades.

Henriette Kaiser is a German writer, film director and journalist.

Stephan Stompor was a German musicologist and dramaturg.

Johannes Hans Bastiaan was a German violinist. He was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic for over 40 years. From 1945 to 1970, he served as primarius of the Bastiaan Quartet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bella Paalen</span> Austrian opera singer

Bella Paalen, real name Isabella Pollak was an Austrian-American operatic soprano of Hungarian origin. She was engaged for 31 years at the k.-k. Hofoper in Vienna, later the State Opera, was appointed Kammersängerin there in 1933 and had to leave the country after the Anschluss because of her Jewish origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Günter Rimkus</span> German dramaturge

Günter Rimkus was a German dramaturge and, from 1984 to 1991, manager of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Anthony Bramall is a British conductor.

Erich Witte was a German stage actor, operatic tenor and opera director. He was based for almost five decades at the Berlin State Opera, and performed leading roles at major opera houses in Europe and at the Metropolitan opera. He participated in world premieres, including Louise Talma's Die Alkestiade and Alan Bush's Joe Hill.

Roman Sadnik is an Austrian operatic tenor.

References

  1. ↑ "Misha Aster (Autor) – Verlagsgruppe Random House" (in German). Randomhouse.de. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  2. ↑ "Madama Butterfly". Presse.landestheater.at. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  3. ↑ "Geopferte weibliche Erlöserfigur: Kreneks "Dunkle Wasser" im Konzerthaus Berlin | nmz – neue musikzeitung". Nmz.de. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  4. ↑ ""Im buntesten Chaos" – Das Jüdische in der Musik | Aus der jüdischen Welt | Deutschlandradio Kultur". Dradio.de. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  5. ↑ Paterson, Tony (2007-08-28). "Berlin Philharmonic 'was obedient servant of Hitler' – Europe – World". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-01-29.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Misha Aster: "Das Reichsorchester". Siedler Verlag (Gebundenes Buch, Film & Musik)" (in German). Randomhouse.de. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  7. ↑ "DER SPIEGEL 21/2007 – Furtwänglers Schatten". Spiegel.de. 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  8. ↑ Bostridge, Ian. The Reich's Orchestra: The Berlin Philharmonic 1933–1945: Amazon.co.uk: Misha Aster: 9780285638938: Books. ASIN   0285638939.
  9. ↑ Aster, Misha. "Staatsoper: die bewegte Geschichte der Lindenoper im 20. Jahrhundert". Random House. Siedler Verlag. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Jim Davis (2009-06-23). "Profile: Robert Carlson, Opera Director". Walrus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-01-29. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.