Nicole Chevalier

Semele was written in 1743, by an already mature Handel, after his opera serias were becoming less well received than they had once been. The big novelty of the time was that Semele was composed entirely in English and is surely the closest that any of his oratorios get towards opera (though today many of them are staged as such). Stage director Barrie Kosky definitely places it in the operatic genre. He creates a very worldly universe in which gods and mortals are prone to the same emotions.

In a city gripped by religious fanaticism, a Jewish goldsmith and his daughter face the perils of being outsiders. A great secret could save their lives - or else bring death and revenge. One of the great achievements of French opera, Fromental Halévy's La Juive was controversial from the start. For some an insult to religion and the state, for others a plea for tolerance, it is above all a human tragedy about a persecuted family. Roy Cornelius Smith and Corinne Winters star in this award-winning production by director Peter Konwitschny.

Ilia, fille du roi Priam, est prisonnière à la cour du roi de Crète, Idoménée, dont on annonce le retour imminent après la fin de la guerre de Troie. La jeune princesse se désole des sentiments qu'elle éprouve pour son ennemi et geôlier, Idamante, fils d'Idoménée.

In a poet's feverish imagination, the staging of Don Giovanni sets him off on a frenzied journey into nightmarish worlds. Can Mozart himself offer him salvation as he loses himself in his fearful dreams? Barrie Kosky tells Offenbach's fantastic story as a disturbing nightmare of an artist who increasingly loses his sense of identity. As we dive into the obsessions of a deranged mind, the title role itself is shared by three performers - including an actor - while a single soprano embodies all four female lead roles.

With the “Méditation”, Jules Massenet probably wrote one of the most famous melodies of our time. It originates from his comédie-lyrique Thaïs, which – unlike Massenet's operas Werther or Manon – never made it into the international opera repertoire. Presumably because the two main roles of Thaïs and Athanaël demand something almost superhuman from the singers. In the new production by Peter Konwitschny at the Theater an der Wien, the American soprano Nicole Chevalier is one of the most exciting singers currently on stage in the title role. At her side, the young Austrian bass-baritone Josef Wagner celebrates his house‍ debut. This is a fascinating and musically excellent performance of a timeless classic of the opera repertoire.