St. Gallen Festival with opera premiere at 1400 meters above sea level
Published: Tuesday, Jun 18th 2024, 08:40
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For the first time, the opera premiere of the St. Gallen Festival will not take place on Klosterplatz: The stage for "The Fairy Queen" by Henry Purcell will be on the Tannenbodenalp on the Flumserberg, 1400 meters above sea level. The premiere is next Friday.
Theater St. Gallen wants to make a virtue out of necessity: As the open-air opera can only take place every two years in the St. Gallen Abbey District, the centerpiece of the St. Gallen Festival is moving to the south of the canton this summer to the Tannenbodenalp on the Flumserberg. By staging the event in front of the mountain backdrop, the festival aims to offer opera fans added value on the one hand and appeal to a non-opera-loving audience on the other.
Opera as an overall experience
Henry Purcell's baroque opera "The Fairy Queen" will take place at over 1400 meters above sea level. According to the festival organizers, there are no precedents for an open-air opera at this altitude. The concept of the St. Gallen Festival - that the performance venue and opera plot are closely related - remains unchanged.
The Tannenboden not only offers a majestic view of the Churfirsten and Lake Walen, but also forms the perfect backdrop for the comedy of mistaken identity with its pastures and forests. The production is directed by Austrian Anna Bernreitner. The musical direction is in the hands of Corinna Niemeyer, who conducts the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra. The play celebrates its premiere on June 21.
Vertical dance and extra sausage in the city park
For the first time, all four divisions of the theater will be represented at the St. Gallen Festival with one production each. Theater St. Gallen is also focusing on a nature experience in dance and drama. For the dance double bill "Skywards", the façade of the theater becomes a stage. Heated debates about the long-overdue purchase of a new barbecue for the tennis club are central to the comedy "Extrawurst" in the Stadtpark.
The concert program with chamber music including works by Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler remains an integral part of the St. Gallen Festival.
©Keystone/SDA
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