More than half of the “Mahler/Scartazzini Cycle” has already been performed in Jena: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini’s “Einklang” as well as the premiere of “Omen” and No. 6 can be heard in Jena on 23 March 2023; on 12 May 2023 part 7 of the cycle will have its first performance. The project which was initiated by Simon Gaudenz and the Jenaer Philharmonie began in 2018 and will be completed in 2025. Gustav Mahler and his works are, in Scartazzini’s words, “a counterpart that speaks to me even over a distance of more than 100 years … their world of thought, their construction, a certain movement; all these are impulses that in the end lead me to my own musical work.” The result is a colourful cycle of quite differing compositions. The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Michael Sanderling will premiere yet another commissioned work by Scartazzini, “WUNDE(R)” für Orchester in Lucerne on 12 April 2023 and then take it on tour to Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover and Cologne. (photo: LA Consulting)

Following the highly acclaimed recent performance at the Tirol Festival in Erl (photo), Saverio Mercadante’s enthralling setting of “Francesca da Rimini”, the unhappy love story of Paolo and Francesca, is to be performed for the first time ever in Germany. The premiere is on 26 February at the Frankfurt Opera, named “Opera House of the Year” in Germany for the sixth time by “Opernwelt“ magazine. The performances use Hans Walter Richter’s production of Felice Romani’s two-act “dramma per musica” after Dante’s “Divina Commedia”, but with a vocal cast with different singers in the leading roles. The title role will be sung by leading soprano Jessica Pratt, with Spanish conductor Ramón Tebar directing the Opera and Museum Orchestra. – Oper Frankfurt

The new edition of Antonín Dvořáks masterwork presents not a “new” Rusalka – conductors, performers, and audiences will find the same Czech masterpiece that has been enjoyed for over 100 years but the oprea in its definitive form, with all practical and musicological issues considered, well-documented, and clearly presented.

It is astonishing that there is still no reliable edition of the opera buffa par excellence, Cimarosa’ “Il matrimonio segreto”, that takes all sources into account. Guido Olivieri's and Federico Gon's critical new edition from the series "Masterpieces of Italian Opera" closes this gap. Its premiere is announced for 11 November 2022 at the Schlosstheater im Neuen Palais as a production of the Potsdam Winter Opera, followed by seven further performances until the end of the month. The Italian early music specialist Attilio Cremonesi conducts the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and Adriana Altaras had been entrusted for the stage diretion.
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This new publication offers a source-critical edition of Mozart’s fragmentary “Requiem” (Bärenreiter-Verlag) as well as an alternative to the traditional Süßmayr version. When completing the fragment, the editor Michael Ostrzyga drew on comprehensive comparative and analytical studies of Mozart’s church style and compositional workmanship. The influence of Handel and Bach manifested in his final years, particularly in the “Requiem” fragment, is taken into account in those sections requiring completion or fresh composition. At two points readers may choose between alternative movements (or sections), since proceeding from Süßmayr’s historical version, two divergent options cannot be weighed against each other but each one may well reflect Mozart’s intentions. The new completion offers choirs and orchestras the opportunity to perform this legendary work in a well thought through version based on the most up-to-date research.

“La Jolie Fille de Perth” has been published by Fishergate Music as volume 3 of the series “Bizet's Other Operas”. The editor is Hugh Macdonald. Like “Carmen” and “Les Pêcheurs de perles”, the opera is full of brilliance and ingenuity. This new edition of “La Jolie” has removed all later additions, thus offering a reliable basis for performances.

Unlike Bach’s other oratorio compositions, there is no definitive version of the St. John Passion. The first version of 1724 which is today’s standard version represents a mixture of different readings but it was not performed like this during Bach’s lifetime. On the other hand, the second version of 1725, now edited by Manuel Bärwald for Bärenreiter, was performed under the direction of Bach himself and can therefore be considered authentic. In addition to a change in order of several movements, the second version differs from the earlier version by the use of the opening chorus “O Mensch, bewein”. The score and the complete performance material correspond to the Urtext edition of Version II which was published 2021 as part of the “New Bach Edition – Revised Edition” (NBArev). – More Information