The operklosterneuburg is an Austrian opera festival held annually in the baroque imperial courtyard of Klosterneuburg Abbey in Lower Austria.
The festival was founded in 1993 by Alexander Hermann and Sonja Fletzberger and takes place in July and August. Since 1998 it has been under the direction of Michael Garschall.
In contrast to other Austrian summer festivals, the Klosterneuburg Opera follows a moderately modern line in its productions. The directors who have worked here include Max Augenfeld, Nikolaus Büchel , François de Carpentries , Michael Garschall, Isabella Gregor, Andy Hallwaxx, Alexander Hauer, Jens-Daniel Herzog, Gernot Kranner (children's versions), Markus Kupferblum, Matthias Lutz, Henry Mason and Julian Pölsler, Michael Scheidl , Karl M. Sibelius, Kurt Sobotka , Matthias von Stegmann, Alexander Waechter . The comparatively sparse furnishings are closely matched to the existing architecture. The natural acoustics of the Abbey courtyard enable singing without amplification or other technical manipulation. For numerous soloists, a performance at the festival was a springboard to an international career. [1]
Initially, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Konstantin Schenk, Andreas Stöhr and Matthias Fletzberger was the main orchestra. Since 2000, the Sinfonietta Baden (since 2017 Beethoven Philharmonie , which has performed under various conductors - including Guido Mancusi (1997 to 2000), Thomas Rösner (2001 to 2003, 2014), Andrés Orozco-Estrada (2004 to 2007), Enrico Calesso (2008 to 2010), Vinzenz Praxmarer (2011) and Christoph Campestrini (2012, 2013, since 2015) - have been involved. [2]
The production of Giuseppe Verdi's La forza del destino [3] planned for 2020 would not take place until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria.
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek βαρύτονος (barýtonos), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second G below middle C to the G above middle C (G2 to G4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, Kavalierbariton, Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, baryton-noble baritone, and the bass-baritone.
Leyla Gencer was a Turkish operatic soprano.
Agni Baltsa is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.
Gianluigi Gelmetti OMRI, was an Italian-Monégasque conductor and composer.
Giuseppe Taddei was an Italian baritone, who, during his career, performed multiple operas composed by numerous composers.
Paul Augustus Csonka was an Austrian composer and opera conductor.
Boyko Tzvetanov is a Bulgarian operatic tenor. He was taken on as a soloist with the Sofia National Opera from 1982 to 1990. In 1991, he became a member of the ensemble of the Zurich Opera House until his retirement in 2016.
Sesto Bruscantini was an Italian baritone, one of the greatest buffo singers of the post-war era, especially renowned in Mozart and Rossini.
Julian Konstantinov is a Bulgarian operatic bass particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, and the bel canto roles of Rossini and Donizetti. More recently he has become associated with the title role in Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, a role he has sung in numerous opera houses.
Antonio Magini-Coletti was a leading Italian baritone who had a prolific career in Europe and the United States during the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. A versatile artist, he appeared in several opera world premieres but was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner and the verismo composers. He was also an accomplished exponent of the bel canto repertoire.
Stefan Dimitrov was a basso opera singer. Born in the Black Sea town of Burgas, Bulgaria, he was of Greek origin. He won four international singing competitions at the very beginning of his career: those in Toulouse, the "Erkel" in Budapest, the "s’Hertogenbosch" in the Netherlands, and the "Young Opera Singers" in Sofia. In 1965 Stefan Dimitrov met the piano accompanist and répétiteur, Malina Dimitrova, who graduated at this time and took her first steps in the opera accompanying field. They were later to be married. The couple had one son, Liuben, who graduated as solo pianist and later become part of the Genova & Dimitrov piano duo.
Irene Abendroth, born as Irene Thaller von Draga was an Austrian-Polish coloratura soprano singer. She was a pupil of Frau Wilczek. She was a member of the Vienna court opera in 1889, and she sang in Riga and Munich, and again in Vienna (1894-99). She was engaged from 1899 to 1908 at the Royal Opera in Dresden.
Alexandru Agache is a Romanian operatic baritone who has had an active international career since 1979. Possessing a powerful and flexible voice, he has drawn particular acclaim in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi.
Maria Dragoni is an Italian operatic soprano active international career in major opera house from 1984 to present.
Margarita Vitalievna Gritskova is a Russian mezzo-soprano in opera and lied singing. A member of the Vienna State Opera since 2012, she is focused on roles by Rossini such as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and La Cenerentola, but has also performed in Baroque opera and contemporary works such as Tri sestri by Péter Eötvös.
Clemens Unterreiner is an Austrian operatic baritone. He is professionally active internationally as well as a soloist and ensemble member of the Vienna State Opera. His operatic repertoire ranges from lyric to German-Italian-French cavalier and heroic baritone roles to masses, oratorios and classical Lieder, and also includes operetta and modern music.
Michael Garschall is an Austrian artistic director, cultural manager and theatre director.
Daniela Fally is an Austrian operatic coloratura soprano. Based at the Vienna State Opera, she has made an international career.
Sokolin Asllani is an Albanian opera singer (baritone). He is also an Austrian citizen.
