Dresden Semperoper with new announcements under Swiss artistic director
Published: Thursday, Mar 14th 2024, 18:10
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New times are dawning for the venerable Semperoper Dresden. The coming season under Swiss artistic director Nora Schmid will see numerous new appointments.
The Saxon State Opera Dresden has announced ten new opera productions and four new ballet pieces for the first season under the direction of the new Swiss artistic director Nora Schmid. The new productions include stagings of George Frideric Handel's "Saul", "Intermezzo" by Richard Strauss, Sergei Prokofiev's "The Love for Three Oranges" and Maurice Ravel's "The Child and the Magic Haunting".
Two productions also feature well-known Detusche actors: Martina Gedeck in the opening premiere of "Mefistofele" (28.9.) and Jan Josef Liefers in Leonard Bernstein's "Candide". "Tatort" star Liefers once trained as a carpenter at the Semperoper.
Musically, they want to cover a broad spectrum from the Baroque to the present day, from magical fairy tales to science fiction operas, said the designated artistic director Schmid on Thursday in Dresden. There are also 27 repertoire pieces in the program.
The new season marks a new beginning for the Saxon State Opera. After six years in office, Artistic Director Peter Theiler is saying goodbye and handing over the reins to Schmid, who was previously Chief Dramaturge in Dresden before her time as Artistic Director of Graz Opera.
Like Schmid, Theiler comes from Switzerland. The Bernese studied musicology with a focus on opera and business administration. Schmid gained further professional experience with the Basel Sinfonietta, for example.
Christian Thielemann is also stepping down as chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden and will be replaced by the Italian Daniele Gatti, who will also conduct operas from the 2025/2026 season. There will also be a new ballet director in the form of choreographer Kinsun Chan. The State Opera Chorus will also have a new director in Jan Hoffmann.
©Keystone/SDA
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