IN MEMORIAM OTTO SCHENK
All streams are available to you free of charge from Friday, 24 January at 7 pm until Friday, 31 January at 7 pm via the following link – CLICK HERE.
Otto Schenk was more than just an opera director for the Vienna State Opera. He was an institution. Countless experiences, encounters, and great theatrical moments connect him with the House on the Ring. His love for the craft, his passion, his knowledge, and his artistic integrity are legendary. He gifted the house with over 30 premieres, ranging from Mozart to modern works.
Perhaps the best way to honour the memory of such an artistic personality is to let his art speak for itself. Therefore, we have decided to hold a special kind of memorial, from Vienna to the entire opera world: Beginning on Friday, 24 January at 7 pm until Friday, 31 January at 7 pm, we will be offering seven productions that he created for the Vienna State Opera, free and available worldwide via stream.
These include legendary performances, such as Der Rosenkavalier from 1994 under the musical direction of Carlos Kleiber, or a performance of Schenk’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under Christian Thielemann from 2009.
‘I am a stickler for detail: a posture, a walk, the way someone sits down—all of these reveal more about a person’s biography than three hours of talk about who they are and where they come from. Someone who picks their nose likely hasn’t had a good upbringing—there’s no need to discuss that at length. A biography is conveyed in the details!’ Otto Schenk
Gaetano Donizetti – L’ELISIR D’AMORE – Performance from 2022
Otto Schenk bathes his production of L’elisir d’amore in a warm, southern light: Here, the touching love story of Adina and Nemorino is told, one of Donizetti’s greatest successes. Since its premiere, the production has been a hit with audiences, with Otto Schenk lovingly bringing the cheerful story to life. The cast includes Maria Nazarova, Bogdan Volkov, Davide Luciano, and Alex Esposito. The conductor is Gianluca Capuano.
Johann Strauss – DIE FLEDERMAUS – Performance from 2024
It is the most famous operetta in the world, a hit internationally since its premiere in Vienna in 1874: Die Fledermaus. Witty and deceptive elements are brilliantly and effortlessly mixed, bringing down bourgeois façades. Musically, one catchy tune follows another. Otto Schenk’s production has been part of Vienna’s New Year’s Eve tradition since its premiere in 1979: lively, burlesque, always on point – and always with a sharp eye on the souls of the characters. The 2024 performance introduced a sensational new Frosch – a close friend of Otto Schenk: Michael Niavarani. Also featured: Georg Nigl, Hulkar Sabirova, Wolfgang Bankl, Daria Sushkova, Jörg Schneider, Clemens Unterreiner. The conductor is Bertrand de Billy.
Beethoven – FIDELIO – Performance from 2016
Many consider Fidelio – with its apotheotic final cheer that glorifies the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity – the ultimate opera of freedom. Visionary, Beethoven shows that faith, love, and hope, when acting from the small to the large, can even shake political systems. Otto Schenk’s production from 1970 depicts the overwhelming joy of liberation from oppression with the simple yet immensely effective image of a rising drawbridge. ‘It is a celebration like no other in opera literature, with such length and intensity. At the premiere, all the choir members had tears of emotion in their eyes,’ the director later recalled. Under the musical direction of Peter Schneider, the cast included Klaus Florian Vogt, Anja Kampe, Evgeny Nikitin, and Stephen Milling.
Richard Strauss – DER ROSENKAVALIER – Performance from 1994
There are exemplary productions that capture the magic, essence, and tone of a work down to the finest detail. One such production is Otto Schenk’s Der Rosenkavalier. With great care, he explores the emotional movements of the characters, allowing them to be fully human, fully vivid. No black-and-white images, but an endless range of colours, from melancholy to passionate love and lively humour. And with Carlos Kleiber, one of the greatest conductors in opera history, as well as an exceptional cast – one can truly speak of a momentous performance! In the legendary production, you can experience, among others, Felicity Lott, Kurt Moll, Anne Sofie von Otter, Gottfried Hornik, Barbara Bonney, Heinz Zednik, and Waldemar Kmentt.
Giordano – ANDREA CHÉNIER – Performance from 2018
France, during the French Revolution: The revolutionary-minded poet Andrea Chénier falls into the clutches of Robespierre’s reign of terror and is suspected of being a counter-revolutionary. His fate is closely intertwined with that of the young noblewoman Maddalena Coigny, as well as with that of the former chamberlain Gérard: both men love Maddalena, who, in turn, loves Chénier. In the end, death awaits: Together, Andrea Chénier and Maddalena Coigny ascend the scaffold. Jonas Kaufmann sings the role of the poet, continuing the tradition of great names such as Bergonzi, Bonisolli, Corelli, Di Stefano, Domingo, Carreras, Pavarotti, and Botha, as the work has always been a ‘tenor opera’. Alongside him are Anja Harteros as Maddalena and Roberto Frontali as his adversary Carlo Gérard. The conductor is Marco Armiliato.
Wagner – DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG – Performance from 2008
‘I first heard this opera when I was twelve years old, and it captivated me, almost putting me into a trance. Suddenly, I knew what theater with music was about: that you understand the worries of the people who are singing.’ This is how Otto Schenk described his first encounter with Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The work accompanied him for many years, and in 1975, he staged the Wagner opera at the House on the Ring, with the production being performed nearly 80 times. The musical re-staging in 2008 under Christian Thielemann became a grand success, with names like Johan Botha, Falk Struckmann, Ricarda Merbeth, Adrian Eröd, and Michael Schade making the hearts of opera lovers soar.
Janáček – DAS SCHLAUE FÜCHSLEIN – Performance from 2016
With the Vienna State Opera’s premiere of Leoš Janáček’s Das schlaue Füchslein in 2014, Otto Schenk returned to the Vienna State Opera as a director of a new production after more than 25 years. He repeatedly said he was in love with the piece – and all those involved fondly recall the small acting moments during rehearsals, when Otto Schenk vividly sketched the animal characters of the story. The opera tells the tale of a little vixen who is raised by humans, escapes into freedom, finds happiness in the forest – and ultimately loses her life. In playful images, Schenk portrays life in the forest and brings the animal characters to life. Under the direction of Tomáš Netopil, the cast includes Chen Reiss, Roman Trekel, and Hyuna Ko.