In her early 30s, soprano Aurora Marthens is no newcomer to the classical music world; after all, she has been a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble since 2022 and already counts numerous performances and awards to her resume. However, the second prize and the Audience Award at the 2024 ARD Music Competition pave the way for the Finnish singer to greater international success. With her radiant presence and voluminous voice, she has already brought operatic roles by Wagner and Richard Strauss, among others, to the stage in concerts in Palermo, Helsinki, and Vienna; she will also bring some of these large-scale arias to the Schlossfestspiele and complement them with heartfelt, romantic song compositions by Wagner, Strauss, and her compatriot Sibelius. The "Four Last Songs," which Strauss wrote a year before his death, are particularly captivating with their lyrical exploration of life, farewell, and death. Three of the four songs were based on poems by Hermann Hesse. The particularly moving song "At Sleep" lets the soul "float in free flight, to live deeply and a thousandfold in the magic circle of the night."

Aurora Marthens

Monrepos Lakeside Palace

"Laurel sounds, part two. And again, old and new, familiar and rediscovered, are mixed together. Instruments begin to sing, transforming into Mozart's Papageno, Konstanze and Tamino. We meet the American Charles Martin Loeffler, born in Berlin in 1861, whose compositions mainly contain traces of Debussy, Franck and Chausson, but also a little Eastern European folk music. We marvel at the late romantic reed songs of Wagner fan August Klughardt, in which a lot of Fauré can be heard. And we discover Dora Pejačević, daughter of a Croatian count and a Hungarian baroness: a composer who later lived mainly in Dresden and Munich and whose style is close to that of Rachmaninoff. Finally, we also get to know the cellist and composer Alfredo Piatti, who lived in London for a long time and for whom Mendelssohn - so it is said - wanted to write a cello concerto. This never happened; this was probably not due to Piatti, who only died in 1901 at the age of 79.

winner of the ARD Music Competition

Hunting Hall

Schwetzingen Castle

"The strings are in tune! Boy, dance in circles. Happy today, overjoyed today, tomorrow gloomy in the old way!" This is how one of the songs that Antonín Dvořák composed in 1880 under the title Gypsy Melodies begins . The text could be the motto for this afternoon, when prizewinners of the ARD competition introduce themselves. Soprano, oboe, cello, piano, viola: highly talented young musicians present themselves with chamber music from the 19th and early 20th centuries. These include arrangements: Dvorák's op. 55 is heard in a version for soprano, cello and piano, Brahms' late clarinet trio in the alternative version for viola. There are also unknown pieces to discover. For example, music by the US composer (and women's rights activist!) Amy Beach. Or a cantata by Paul Hindemith called The Serenades : With this piece, Hindemith wanted to help his wife, an actress, cellist and singer, to overcome her stage fright. The last movement leads into the duet "Ach, when will your blue eye close in my arms". Is this serious?

On a neglected farm, the animals revolt against their tyrannical owner. After some time, however, they are forced to submit to the yoke of a new leader from their own ranks.

Aurora Marthens

Events

Upcoming events

12 - 23 Jun, 2026

Animal Farm · Wiener Staatsoper

Past events

Jul 27, 2025

Aurora Marthens · Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele

May 25, 2025

winner of the ARD Music Competition · SWR Symphonieorchester

Future and recently performed repertoire

Mrs. Jones in Animal Farm by Raskatov

Wiener Staatsoper

About

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