More than anything in the world, Rusalka, a mysterious and elusive water nymph, yearns to become human to win the heart of a young prince. But this metamorphosis comes at a price: she will lose her voice and be damned forever should their love story fail. To what lengths would you go to find happiness?
Daphne lives in a world that is foreign to her. She is the embodiment of nature and finds human behaviour and desire alien. Apollo and Leucippus, both of whom desire Daphne, attend the feast of Dionysus. Leucippus puts his plan into action: Daphne abandons herself to the celebrations. Too late, Apollo, under Leucippus’ spell, realises he has acted against his divine destiny and Daphne’s nature.
In a village community that holds firm to archaic customs, the young hunter Max must pass a marksmanship test so he may marry his sweetheart, Agathe. Of all times now when his shooting has been very much below par! Carl Maria von Weber and his librettist Friedrich Kind fluctuate between ghost story, fairy tale, fortune play and interplay between heaven and hell.
Inspired by Pushkin's masterpiece of Russian literature, Tchaikovsky’s opera provides a sublime portrait – both ironic and sympathetic – of a character embittered by society life, rejecting love out of vanity, killing his friend the poet Lenski out of pride and spending the rest of his days in abject despair. A repertoire classic, Willy Decker’s streamlined production makes the Paris Opera echo once more to the strains of Russian romantic music. Edward Gardner conducts an exceptional cast including Peter Mattei in the title role and Anna Netrebko as Tatiana.
The argument is based on an historical case. In the suburbs of Moscow, reigned around 1571 Tsar Ivan IV, 'the Terrible'. Widowed, he is looking for a new wife for the third time. He chooses the young Marfa; she loves another man but bends to the will of the Tsar and renounces her love. From this starting plot, the Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov retains only the frame. A live competition is organised for a virtual monarch like in a reality show called «Joe Millionaire » where competitors attempt to marry a rich man. Here, the characters become the various players of the audiovisual industry bringing an acerbic criticism of contemporary TV. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin, with Olga Peretyatko, Anita Rachvelishvili and Johannes Martin Kränzle. Recorded at Staatsoper, Im Schiller Theater Berlin, in October 2013.
Iolanta is a one act lyric opera, sung in Russian, by Tchaikovsky. Performed in the style of a nineteenth-century Italian melodrama, the scenes have a recitative introduction followed by a single arioso, aria, duet or chorus. Persephone is a three act melodrama, sung in French, by Stravinsky. It is a story of regeneration, symbolised in Sellars use of dancers from the Cambodian dance company, Amrita Performing Arts. Peter Sellars, one of the most innovative creators on today's stage, has linked these two productions by using the same stage setting, instantly archaic yet modern, and lit by rich colours to define the journey from darkness to light.
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