FESTTAGE 2022 Program
with Daniel Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli, Martha Argerich, Igor Levit, Renée Fleming, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Opera Children's Orchestra
The concert program of this year's FESTTAGE (April 6-17) included a symphony concert by the Vienna Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin under the musical direction of Daniel Barenboim, the latter with Martha Argerich and Cecilia Bartoli as soloists. Igor Levit made his State Opera debut in a piano recital; Renée Fleming performed for the first time in a song recital at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. In addition, the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli gave a song recital. Giuseppe Mentuccia conducted the concert of the opera children's orchestra with Evelin Novak, Valentina Stadler and Žilvinas Miškinis as soloists and the children's choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, moderated by Amelie Stiefvatter.
The FESTTAGE 2022 is all about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In addition to the trilogy of Mozart-Da-Ponte operas Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, directed by Vincent Huguet and conducted by Daniel Barenboim, other works by Mozart are on the FESTTAGE concert programme.
On April 6: Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Corresponding to this year's FESTTAGE premiere, the program includes Mozart's Symphony in G minor K. 183, the Piano Concerto in B flat major K. 595 and the Symphony in D major K. 504, the Prague Symphony.
On April 8: pianist Igor Levit debuted in the Great Hall with Mozart’s piano sonatas in B flat major KV 570 and C minor KV 457, which were composed at the same time as his Da Ponte operas. The program is completed by two works by Franz Liszt, which frame the recital: the “Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro" and the "Reminiscences de Don Juan de Mozart", with which Liszt directly refers to Mozart's - already by the 19th century - highly valued opera works.
On April 12: Renée Fleming gave a recital of songs, making her first guest appearance at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. The program featured music by Georg Friedrich Handel, Nico Muhly, Gabriel Fauré, Jules Massenet, Kevin Puts, Edvard Grieg, Peter Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss. She will be accompanied by the pianist Hartmut Höll.
At the concert of the Staatskapelle Berlin on April 13 in the Philharmonie Berlin, Daniel Barenboim will appear both as a conductor and as a pianist. In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's »Ch'io mi scordi di te« KV 505, a concert aria for mezzo-soprano, piano and orchestra, Cecilia Bartoli takes on the vocal part. In addition, a work for two pianists will be heard: Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich, who has enjoyed a long-standing artistic partnership, play the Concerto for Two Pianos in E flat major KV 365. Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E flat major closes in the same key the »Romantic«, one of the most important works of European symphony.
Please Note: Daniel Barenboim is currently suffering from circulatory problems and is receiving medical treatment for this. He is currently recovering, but as a precaution his doctors have recommended that he cancel his scheduled performances through April 22.
On April 15: Cecilia Bartoli performed with Marie-Eve Scarfone as part of the FESTTAGE in a song recital at the Berlin State Opera, with music by Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, and Gioachino Rossini.
On April 16: The Opera Children's Orchestra gave a concert in the Great Hall of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden under the musical direction of conductor Giuseppe Mentuccia, moderated by Amelie Stiefvatter. Around 90 children aged 7 to 12 have been active in the orchestra since the beginning of 2018. They rehearsed and played under the guidance of professional musicians and presented themselves as part of this year's FESTTAGE with arias and duets from Mozart's Da Ponte operas. The program was supplemented with well-known orchestral works such as Die Moldau by Bedřich Smetana and Unter Donner und Blitz by Johann Strauss. The soloists were soprano Evelin Novak, mezzo-soprano Valentina Stadler, and baritone Žilvinas Miškinis. The Opera Children's Orchestra is a cooperation project between the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin with the music schools of the state of Berlin. The Children's Opera Orchestra is sponsored by the Hilti Foundation, the Heinz and Heide Dürr Foundation, the Karl Schlecht Foundation, KPMG, and the Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.