-=- Intense Melody -=-

After the technical director, Klaus Kretschmer, was found mangled under a bridge just outside of Salzburg in a failed suicide attempt, even more attention has been focused on the yearly Salzburg Easter Festival, founded by Karajan in 1967. Klaus Kretschmer was relieved earlier of his duties when it seemed he was connected with the festival [...]

Last week the annual world renowned Viennese competition, Hans Gabor Belvedere, completed it’s final round with some dramatic results.
The 28th international Belvedere opera competition received around 3,000 singers for the qualifying rounds that took place in nearly 50 cities around the world. This has been whittled down to 143 singers for the Vienna finals.
Pretty Yende [...]

Having rehearsals nearly every day for the last several months combined with a seemingly endless Austrian winter has really taken it’s toll. So it’s the perfect time to talk about some local all-natural aids here in Europe to help sing through a cold.
After getting over a nasty cold recently, I couldn’t seem to shake off [...]

Linz, Austria will be the EU city of culture in 2009 making its New Years celebration extra special.
The tiny steel-industry city, proud of it’s 1.9 kilometer subway, is undergoing a massive public transport overhaul as well as a contruction boom thanks to the 100 million euros it received to prepare Linz for it’s new role. [...]

With only one exception in 2010, Thomas Hampson has decided to no longer perform in Austria: a country that has been his home for some years now. Both his apartment on the outskirts of Vienna and his office near the Vienna Staatsoper were sold recently. “My career interests for the United States have been increasing [...]

While Robert Dornhelms’ film “La Bohème” is playing in cinemas, there are plans already underway towards the next big opera movie (see previous articles on this topic here and here). Georges Bizets “Carmen” will be filmed with top stars: Elina Garanča (title role), Anna Netrebko (as Micaela) and Rolando Villazón (as Don José). “We would [...]

Japan’s first opera house (Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo) is sold out with some tickets as high as 500 euros for the 97th Vienna State opera’s Japanese performance. The 100th performance will be celebrated with Fidelio conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Next to the Austrian flag in the foyer hangs an enormous photo of the Vienna State [...]

The opera-movie world premiere of La Bohème (see previous article about this movie here), like every opera-centric event in Austria these days, has been an orgy of VIP’s and hype abound. Finger food was served by caterers dressed like the title roles. The star role tenor, Rolando Villazón, was only able to make it to [...]

Austria isn’t exactly known for premiering a movie first. Usually a few months behind with Hollywood movies released in the States; this time Austria’s got it first!
The trailer can be seen on the official website here:  http://www.labohemefilm.com/
For a movie interview (German only) with star tenor Villazón: http://kurier.at/kultur/209655.php
La Bohème the movie will premier October 10th in [...]

No my blog isn’t becoming political all of a sudden.  But this article struck a chord.
“I talk a bit too much about politics, right?” – No, of course not. But it’s a bit unusual, on the occasion of an operetta premier interview, more than half of the time to talk about politics. “Yeah I am [...]

Every season the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) house changes its stage curtain to a new abstract artistic rendition.
When I first moved here in 2006 we had a curtain designed by the Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija with the saying “Angst essen Seele auf” (“Fear eats away at the soul”) over the familiar television SMPTE [...]

The international Haydn festival in Eisenstadt, Austria began with the oratorio “Il ritorno di Tobia” last Thursday. This yearly celebration of Hadyn’s flourishing years spent working at one of the Esterházy families’ castles is a little bit extra special this time around. This year’s festivities are especially important since it marks 20 years of the [...]

“The biggest danger I see today is with ‘Netrebkoismus’” said the Vienna State Opera director Ioan Holender in an interview with Bühne magazine. “It is all about the events and what’s around them. We see what is playing out in Salzburg.” Mr. Holender went further to say that theater managers are increasingly more interested on [...]

Opera as bloodsport? The Viennese opera singer Alejandro Gallo (age 38) was stabbed in the face by a dagger during a Romeo and Juliet production staging rehearsal in Malta (National Theater Teatru Manoel). The dagger had travelled through his nose into his brain. The injuries were life threatening, and after a risky surgery, his career [...]

You would think that after Russian Opera Star Anna Netrebko got  a bun in the oven she’d have to sit down in the audience for a change. Not this fleissige Frau!
While pregnant the Soprano has recently recorded a single, Strauss’s “Lullaby”, as a fundraiser for the “SOS Kinderdörfer” organisation. One euro will be donated for [...]

It all started when my Italian girlfriend introduced me to “La Bella Figura – A Field Guide to the Italian Mind” by Beppe Severgnini. A comical book written by an Italian journalist who’s lived outside of Italy long enough to view his own people from an outsider’s perspective, and explain the differences. Such as, why [...]

Vienna is an amazingly clean city for its size of nearly 2 million people. However, it does have a problem with dog piles. Coming from NYC, I’m used to seeing threatening signs of clean after your dog or else a hefty fine. Here they went a different route. Vienna installed posts recently with the above [...]