Singer

Richard Wagner's 1868 »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg« is one of the composer's most popular works - and a wonderful musical comedy. This takes place around midsummer night in medieval Nuremberg, where the widowed shoemaker Hans Sachs, the town clerk Sixtus Beckmesser and the young aristocratic daredevil Walther von Stolzing sing, write poetry and also fight over Eva. Why? Because the goldsmith Pogner advertised his coveted daughter as a prize in the annual singing competition to make it clear how important art is to him. And so »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg« becomes a musical masterpiece that poses the question of the importance of art – here music – for our lives and society. Reason enough for director Jens-Daniel Herzog

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg)

Semperoper Dresden

A rich man has commissioned a young composer to write an opera for a celebration: Ariadne auf Naxos. But because this tragic opera about Ariadne, abandoned by her lover Theseus, isn't entertaining enough for him, he invites a troupe of comedians to perform their farces concurrently with the tragedy. This is an imposition for the composer, but also an opportunity: the grief of the abandoned Ariadne clashes with the joie de vivre of the comedienne Zerbinetta. In his production of the work, which premiered in 1916, David Hermann brings the world of Greek tragedy into contact with the lightness of French Rococo. "Ariadne auf Naxos" is an opera about opera, about fidelity and change, and about the transformative power of love.

Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos)

Jean-Philippe Rameau's ballet opera »Platée« is one of the most unusual music theater works of the 18th century. The comedy, which premiered in 1745, tells the story of the nymph Platée, who believes that every man must fall in love with her immediately. The supreme god Jupiter takes advantage of Platée's need for love: in order to convince his own wife Juno of his loyalty, he stages his absurd marriage to the nymph from the swamp. In »Platée«, Rameau parodies the great French opera and at the same time presents the court society of his time as a collection of unscrupulous opportunists. His music with its onomatopoeic effects, rousing dances and unusual sounds is among the best that this composer has written. In Dresden, where »Platée« can be experienced for the first time, star tenor Rolando Villazón has re-staged the work. The conductor Paul Agnew of the French baroque ensemble "Les Arts Florissants" has appeared on stage as a singer countless times as a platée.

Platée (Platea)

Morning routine. The »I« tries to log into their computer. And is laconically confronted by the machine with a question about their state of being: »Not convinced you aren’t a robot. Please try again.« »chasing waterfalls« – the title implies the act of »trying to grasp something intangible« – is a premiere project by the artists’ collective »phase7 performing.arts« from Berlin and the Semperoper. Together with the composer Angus Lee (*1992) from Hong Kong and the Studio for Sonic Experiences »kling klang klong«, the collective is embarking on a music-theatrical investigation of the impact that artificial intelligence is having on our human, social and creative existence. Incidentally, the »I« succeeds in logging into the computer. And in confronting its digital spin-offs in the depths of the virtual world, »I« encounters surprising events, located somewhere between Lewis Carroll’s »Alice in Wonderland« and Stanley Kubrick’s »2001: A Space Odyssey«. And in the end, as in every good story, there comes a fade to black.

chasing waterfalls

The mermaid Rusalka loves the prince and wants to become a human being in order to be with him forever. With her voice, she pays the witch Ježibaba for the transformation and leaves home and family. Rusalka's appearance with the people initially depresses the prince, but the magical, voiceless being remains a foreign body in the human world and finally the lover turns away from her – which means death for him and banishment for her. In his fairytale opera, premiered in Prague in 1901, Dvořák set to music the contrasting worlds of the ghostly flowing underwater kingdom and the distanced stiff royal court with great music-dramatic verve. With the parable-like material about the value of one's own identity, the meaning of the human soul and the transformation of the main character Rusalka from a romantic mermaid to a loving person capable of suffering without a real home, the internationally working director Christoph Loy makes his debut in the Semperoper.

Rusalka

At the centre of Giacomo Puccini's Tragedia giapponese, set in Nagasaki at the beginning of the 20th century, is the young geisha Cio-Cio-San, called »Butterfly«. The American Naval Lieutenant Pinkerton enters into a short-term marriage with Cio-Cio-San – according to a possible practice in Japan at the time – and rents the right house for the stay. While for Pinkerton the liaison was planned from the outset as an erotic pleasure, for Cio-Cio-San it means not only the opportunity to escape poverty, but the love of her life ... Even today, the tragic love story, which premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1904, touches hearts, shaken by the realism with which the cultural misunderstandings and their deadly consequences are pointed out. Japanese director Amon Miyamoto, together with star designer Kenzō Takada, presents his own Eastern view of the Japanese-American liaison.

Madama Butterfly

Sparkling irony combined with sparkling champagne mood to the sounds of waltzes.

Baritone

Sebastian Wartig

Events

Past events

7 - 14 May, 2023

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg) · Semperoper Dresden

Feb 23 - Mar 26, 2023

Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos) · Semperoper Dresden

Future and recently performed repertoire

Hajný in Rusalka by Dvořák

Semperoper Dresden

Il principe Yamadori in Madama Butterfly by Puccini

Semperoper Dresden

Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss

Semperoper Dresden

Konrad Nachtigall in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Wagner

Semperoper Dresden

Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus by Strauss

Semperoper Dresden

Momus in Platée by Rameau

Semperoper Dresden

Erfolg, Ego fluens in Chasing Waterfalls by Lee

Semperoper Dresden

About

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