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.
More information

11 November 2022 might come to be seen as an important date in the reception and interpretation of Italian Verismo operas. On this evening, and again two days later, Thomas Hengelbrock conducts Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana” for the first time in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in a concert performance. This remains a key work of this still controversial genre. And the performance is not with a traditional orchestra, but with his Balthasar-Neumann-Chor and Ensemble. There will be surprises, not only in the kind of sound created, but also in the choice of version. Starting with the traditional performance material from the Milan publisher Casa Musicale Sonzogno, Hengelbrock, who always goes back to investigate the original sources, has not only analysed the composition autograph. He has also been able to draw on the results of Andreas Giger’s scholarly-critical new edition in advance of its publication by Bärenreiter-Verlag in 2023 in the “Masterpieces of Italian Opera” series. As a result, a series of cuts has been revealed, and transpositions which obscured the original tonal structure and took no consideration of the characteristics of the keys have been rescinded. These evidently did not reflect the composer’s original intentions. As usual, Hengelbrock and his performers take a radical approach to the work, so audiences can look forward to the result with keen anticipation.

A real rarity invites rediscovery. Zsigmond Szathmáry is one of the most important contemporary figures in Hungary’s musical life. Organist, pianist, composer and conductor, in his 2017 Concerto for Organ and Orchestra Szathmáry explores the Gregorian chorale “Media vita in morte sumus” (In the midst of life we are in death). The German premiere on 16./17.11.2022 will be given on the new Rieger organ at St. Martin in Kassel, consecrated in 2017, by the church’s Music Director Eckhard Manz with the Staatsorchester Kassel conducted by Francesco Angelico.

Thomas Daniel Schlee’s recent 65th birthday is marked by a performance of his String Trio op. 75 by the OÖ David Trio on 29.11.2022 in Wels. A kind of “Musik für ein Fest” – music for a festive occasion – as one of the Austrian composer’s works is entitled. Bärenreiter congratulates this magnificent artist and creator of many richly conceived, sensuously refined, but always poetically grounded works. “Like a web whose threads run together in a constantly changing context”, is how Schlee describes the form of his festive music, which can also be a symbol of a journey through life. “His works reflect a high intellectual striving and a true originality with regard to their ‘écriture’ and sound colours”, wrote Olivier Messiaen of his student. And his extensive output always invites listeners to share in a rewarding encounter. (Photo: Herbert Lehmann)

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.

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.

The rental material of the renowned music publisher Ut Orpheus Edizioni, founded and based in Bologna in 1993, will now be distributed worldwide by Alkor-Edition, with the exception of Italy. The attractive catalogue, dedicated primarily to early music, includes the complete editions of Francesco Geminiani, Luigi Boccherini (portrait) and Muzio Clementi. Of particular interest is the “Napoli e l‘Europa” series initiated by Riccardo Muti, featuring previously unpublished operas and oratorios of the Neapolitan School, including “I due Figaro” by Saverio Mercadante and “Demofoonte” by Niccoló Jommelli, A real gem is the Dramma per musica “Francesca da Rimini” by Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870), premiered in 2016 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria Martina Franca. It will be performed for the first time beyond the Alps in the current season as a co-production of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl and Oper Frankfurt, in Erl from 28 December 2022, in Frankfurt from 26 February 2023.