INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNEI | WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013 | IITHE GLOBAL EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES.

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AUGUST IN SALZBURGWHERE MUSIC AND MAESTROS MEET

A SUMMER BALL DECKED IN ROSES

THE SALZBURG FESTIVAL

CENTER

STAGE

CAMP SONGS IN A CLASSICAL MODE

Center stage: The Salzburg Festivalwasproduced by the IHT Creative Solutionsdepartment and did not involve thenewspaper’s reporting or editorialdepartments. Text by PAUL PELKONEN.

For almost a century, the Alpine city ofSalzburg, Austria, has been home to theSalzburg Festival, one of the most prestigi-ous celebrations of opera, symphony andtheater. Established in 1920 by five artisticluminaries (including the composer RichardStrauss, the playwright Hugo vonHofmannsthal and the director Max Rein-hardt), the festival has become synony-mous with great musical performances andinnovative operas.

Small wonder — this is the hometown ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

From serenades in the courtyard of theAlte Residenz in the historic center of thebustling city to massive operas performedon the panoramic stage of the Felsenreit-schule, the Salzburg Festival has longprovided rich offerings for music lovers.

Its reputation extends far beyond Aus-tria. In April, Salzburg won the Opera Festi-vals prize at the International Opera Awardsin London, considered the Oscars of the op-era world. ‘‘This award marks one of my hap-piest moments in my presidency of 18years,’’ said Helga Rabl-Stadler, president ofthe festival. ‘‘It is a huge recognition formore than 3,600 employees and artistswho turn the small city of Salzburg into thecultural capital of the world for six weeksevery year.’’

All of this art is framed in the quaint, pic-turesque Altstadt, where the winding,cobbled streets and sweeping plazas linkingthe venues convey the sense of being trans-ported back in time.

Says the German tenor JonasKaufmann, who is singing the title role inVerdi’s ‘‘Don Carlo’’ this year: ‘‘I think thatthe atmosphere of festivals like Salzburg willoften have a certain influence on your per-formance.’’ As the English baritone Chris-topher Maltman, who sings the title role inthe opera ‘‘Gawain,’’ tweeted: ‘‘Wonderful tobe back in Salzburg!’’

This year’s festival, which runs until Sept.1, opened with the Ouverture Spirituelle, aseries of concerts featuring works of a spir-itual or religious nature. In addition to the tra-ditional performances of Mozart’s Mass in C

and the Requiem, the festival featuredHaydn’s ‘‘Die Schöpfung’’ with the Con-centus Musicus Wien under NikolausHarnoncourt, and the Vienna PhilharmonicOrchestra playing ‘‘Die Jahreszeiten’’ by thesame composer. The Ouverture Spirituellealso had a Buddhist focus, with works by theJapanese composers Toru Takemitsu andToshio Hosokawa.

Additional works by Takemitsu andHosokawa form a core offering of SalzburgContemporary, the festival series devotedto modern music. This year, the series fo-cuses on the works of Harrison Birtwistle, anEnglish composer whose challenging musicproved crucial to the development of the artin the later 20th century.

The Contemporary series offers an

in-depth survey of Birtwistle’s chamber mu-sic and the festival premiere of his ViolinConcerto, with the Vienna Philharmonic andthe soloist Christian Tetzlaff. But the un-questioned highlight is ‘‘Gawain,’’ a 1991 op-era that retells the Arthurian story of the titlecharacter’s encounter with the (apparentlyimmortal) Green Knight.

This year, Salzburg offers a summer res-idency to El Sistema, the Venezuelan state-run music education program that producedthe conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Dudamelhas brought along his Simón Bolívar Sym-phony Orchestra and other ensembles for aseries of programs, opening with Mahler’sEighth, the so-called ‘‘Symphony of 1,000.’’

Featuring three choruses, an army of mu-sicians and the entire final scene of JohannWolfgang von Goethe’s ‘‘Faust,’’ this massivework was Mahler’s greatest success at theend of his life. All nine Mahler symphonies willbe offered (performed by different orches-tras) in the course of the festival.

In addition to the Vienna Philharmonicand the Simón Bolívar Orchestra, Salzburgplays host to a succession of internationalorchestras. This year’s visitors includeDaniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern DivanOrchestra, combining musicians from Israeland Palestine in a musical plea for freedomand brotherhood in that troubled part of theworld. Also, the Berlin Philharmonic comessouth for some concerts, bringing its ownworld-famous sound to contrast with itsfriendly rival from Vienna.

The Grosses Festspielhaus is the iconiccenter of the festival’s opera and theater of-ferings. Opera is a key component of thefestival, with full productions scheduledalongside concert performances. In additionto Birtwistle’s ‘‘Gawain’’ and a production ofBellini’s ‘‘Norma’’ starring Cecilia Bartoli,2013 features the 200th birthday of bothRichard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. Thefestival celebrates with Wagner’s early work‘‘Rienzi’’ and his massive comic master-piece ‘‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.’’

Two Verdi operas, both based on playsby Friedrich Schiller, will be heard: not only‘‘Don Carlo,’’ but also the early (and rare)

In this new century, the German tenorJonas Kaufmann has emerged as one of op-era’s great leading men. This year at theSalzburg Festival, the tenor takes to thestage in the title role of ‘‘Don Carlo,’’ thecomplex protagonist of Verdi’s darkest op-era. This new production is by the Germandirector Peter Stein.

This is the last of three operas Verdiwrote for the Opera de Paris. In this enor-mous, grandiose work, Carlo must battle hisfather, King Philip II of Spain, and his burninglust for his former fiancée, Elisabeth deValois. The problem: Philip has marriedElisabeth.

The libretto plays fast and loose with his-tory, but there really was a Spanish princenamed Don Carlos, prince of Asturias, whodied at the age of 23. ‘‘The historic Carloshas been described as a sort of retarded hu-man being,’’ says Kaufmann. ‘‘In Schiller’sdrama and Verdi’s opera, he is not retarded,but emotionally labile.’’

Carlo has only one aria, but riding anemotional roller-coaster for five acts is achallenge for any singer. ‘‘Vocally,’’Kaufmann says, ‘‘the biggest challenge isthe dynamic range — from the finest pianis-simo phrases to utmost dramatic intensity.’’

This work had a great struggle to find ac-ceptance. Verdi wrote the opera (with aFrench libretto) in 1867, but revised it 12years later for the Italian stage, dropping thewhole first act, cutting a lengthy ballet andreducing the opera’s running time by asmuch as an hour. This performance will

feature the 1871 version of the score, sungin Italian with everything (except the ballet)restored to its original place.

‘‘I’ve seen and heard the original Frenchversion some years ago,’’ says Kaufmann.‘‘The change of language in ‘Don Carlo’makes an essential difference. Since I like tosing in French, I would have relearned DonCarlo in the original language for Salzburg.But I’ve never been asked to do so.’’

The five-act version restores Carlo’sshort romanza ‘‘Lo la vidi’’ to its proper placein the first act. ‘‘When you’ve warmed upyour voice properly, it is not so difficult tosing,’’ Kaufmann says. ‘‘And I like to sing it,although it doesn’t seem to be very ‘reward-ing’ for the singer. You know, unlike most ofthe other Verdi tenor roles, Carlo hasn’t gota big aria, and maybe that’s the reasonsome tenors don’t like the entire part. Butfor me, it’s one of the most attractive rolesin the tenor repertoire.’’

He adds: ‘‘Carlo is a very demandingpart. There are so many aspects in him,which you have to bring out convincingly —his suffering, his love for Elisabeth, theconflict with his father, his friendship toPosa, his physical lability, his lack of self-confidence.

‘‘I see him as a victim,’’ Kaufmann says,‘‘a victim in the battle of humanity againstthe power of state and church. Of course,there are many different approaches to thisrole, but for me one thing is for sure: Carloshould be a person with whom the audiencecan sympathize and empathize.’’

While Salzburg provides a splendid back-drop against which to perform, forKaufmann, the main influence on his perfor-mance will be his director, conductor andpartners. ‘‘I’m very lucky in Salzburg,’’ hesays. ‘‘If you think of all those exciting perfor-mances I’ve shared with Antonio Pappano inthe pit and with my colleagues Anja Harter-os, Matti Salminen and Thomas Hampson, itseems almost like a family reunion.’’�

JONAS KAUFMANN AS DON CARLO‘ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE ROLES’

CECILIA BARTOLITAKING ‘NORMA’ BACK TO ITS ROOTSCecilia Bartoli is revolutionizing ‘‘Norma.’’The mezzo-soprano returns to the SalzburgFestival in August in the title role of Bellini’sbel canto masterpiece, the story of a Gallicpriestess whose illicit affair with a Romanmilitary commander ends in tragedy andflames.

The Salzburg Festival performances area second run for Bartoli’s Norma. She intro-duced the role earlier this year at the Whit-sun Festival, a May extension of theSalzburg Festival, where her role as artisticdirector was recently extended to 2016.

Said Helga Rabl-Stadler, president of theSalzburg Festival, at the time of the an-nouncement: ‘‘Cecilia Bartoli’s brilliance andher endless dedication cast an irresistiblespell on our audience. To me, as the presi-dent and financially responsible officer ofthis organization, it is a joy to report on theincrease in attendance just over the pastthree years: In 2011, we counted 7,600 fes-tival visitors at Whitsun. One year later, thenumber had risen to 10,520.’’

Said Bartoli: ‘‘I am looking forward torealizing so many ideas I have been dream-ing of for years at the Whitsun Festival. And Iam also deeply grateful that such a largeand interested audience should follow us onour adventurous tours with so much enthu-siasm and excitement.’’

Of ‘‘Norma,’’ she added: ‘‘I am proud andgrateful that here in Salzburg we had the op-portunity to present a new vision of Bellini’s‘Norma’ with a great team. Its unusualsound, based on a critical new edition of thescore and an orchestra playing on historicinstruments, allows the work to appear in acompletely new light.’’

Norma is one of the most difficult roles inthe repertory, written in 1831 for Maria Mal-ibran, the legendary singer who inspiredsome of Bellini’s greatest work. In the mid-20th century, the role was associated withthe singers Maria Callas and Joan Suther-land, sopranos capable of floating the highnotes of the aria ‘‘Casta diva’’ and dive-bomb-ing through the tricky duets and ensembles.

In her introductory essay to the newDecca recording of the opera, Bartoli ex-plains her back-to-basics approach. The

recording features the mezzo-soprano in thetitle role, which is usually sung by sopranos.Adalgisa, which is traditionally a mezzo part,is sung by the soprano Sumi Jo.

‘‘In the first half of the 19th century,’’ Bar-toli writes, ‘‘vocal categories were not strictlydefined as they are today. The term ‘mezzo’emerged later and is more likely to initiallydescribe a certain quality and vocal color.When one scrutinizes the score, one realizesthat at numerous points the tessitura of thetitle role sits more comfortably for a mezzo-soprano than for a soprano.’’

Bartoli built her career on sparkling com-ic roles in Rossini operas. Her essay pointsto the conductor Claudio Abbado as an in-spiration. In the 1960s, Abbado recordedfour Rossini comic operas, taking the worksback to their musical roots, cutting out inter-polated arias and inserting others that be-longed to the original score but had been

neglected for many years. Bartoli’s own‘‘Norma’’ revolution does something similar,enabling the listener to hear Bellini withoutprejudice.

‘‘When we read Bellini’s manuscripts,’’she writes, ‘‘it becomes clear that the con-ventional casting of the main roles in‘Norma’ does not accurately reflect the vocalcharacter of the parts. The tendency is tocarry on the misguided tradition of the1950s.

‘‘It seems to me that today our assess-ment of the music, especially that of the firsthalf of the 19th century, is still subject to aserious error,’’ she continues. ‘‘Our percep-tions of interpretation and sound have beeninformed by technical achievements andaesthetics of the 20th century.’’

She points out that concert and opera-goers hear music through a ‘‘misunderstoodrealist style, based on a misconception. Thatis, an excess of volume, a sound ‘shouted’ ordisjointed, sobbing notes, a large vibrato andimprecise and variable pitch notation.

‘‘In order to meet the changing require-ments of the modern orchestra’s irresistiblepower and ever higher pitch, the voice todayis exposed to unhealthy, exorbitant pres-sure. Its flexibility and ability to create differ-ent colors becomes compromised. Moreand more often there are cases in which thevoices, consequently, are ruined, and a vul-nerable career is cut short.’’

The performances at Salzburg use thenew critical edition of Bellini’s score, createdin collaboration with the musicologist Mauriz-io Biondi and the conductor Giovanni Ant-onini. Taking this historically informed ap-proach to opera is like stripping linseedvarnish from a great painted masterwork:the original colors of the work spring back tovivid life.

Says Bartoli: ‘‘One thing is certain: Youshould adopt an approach that is alwayscorrect in terms of history. Not from the vant-age point of a rather crude naturalism thatcharacterized the early years of the 20thcentury, but directly back to its roots. Onlythen can we appreciate the true magic, thecolors and the emotions that this music isable to transmit.’’�

Rolando Villazon sings the title role in ‘‘LucioSilla’’ at this summer’s Salzburg Festival.

Says Jonas Kaufmann of ‘‘Don Carlo’’: ‘‘Thebiggest challenge is the dynamic range.’’

Cecilia Bartoli as Norma, with John Osborn asPollione.

Gustavo Dudamel, a productof Venezuela’s music-educationprogram El Sistema, conducts theSimón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra.

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VIENNA PHILHARMONICA SOUND LIKE NO OTHERThe Vienna Philharmonic is Austria’s na-tional treasure, an ensemble whose tradi-tions and unique sound make it stand aloneamong the world’s great orchestras. Fromthe incredible precision and warm burnishedstring sound to the brass (led by the playerswho specialize in the 19th-century styleViennese horn in F), no orchestra soundsquite like the Vienna Philharmonic.

This year’s Salzburg Festival concert pro-gramming features five concerts covering awide variety of orchestral styles with a con-stellation of internationally acclaimed con-ductors. First up: Haydn, the father of Austri-an classical music, is represented with hissparkling oratorio ‘‘Die Jahrezeiten’’ (TheSeasons.) Nikolaus Harnoncourt, a special-ist in 18th-century music, conducts.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra ishistorically linked to the symphonic works ofMahler and Bruckner. This year, both com-posers are represented with performancesof their respective Fifth Symphonies.Mahler’s Fifth (conducted by Zubin Mehta)was written in 1901 as the composersettled into married life and his coveted roleas principal conductor of the philharmonic.

Despite Mahler’s relative happiness, theFifth is a long, heroic struggle that opens with

a thunderous funeral march and trumpetsolo that quotes Beethoven’s own Fifth. Thesymphony’s course leads to its most famousmovement: a radiant Adagietto followed by atriumphant close. This program pairs theMahler with Mozart’s ‘‘Turkish’’ Violin Con-certo with the soloist Pinchas Zukerman.Bruckner’s Fifth (led by the Romantic special-ist Christian Thielemann) translates ancientchurch choral writing into woodwinds andbrass, creating a stunning edifice of sound.Because of illness, its author never heard thiswork performed by an orchestra.

Verdi and Wagner are both represented

by the Vienna players. Riccardo Muti bringshis explosive interpretation of Verdi’s Re-quiem to the Grosses Festspielhaus, with itsthundering depiction of the wrath of God andthe closing Lachrymosa, among the mostbeautiful soprano arias Verdi ever penned.

Lorin Maazel ends the series with an all-Wagner program, pairing the atmospheric‘‘Siegfried Idyll’’ with the opening act of ‘‘DieWalküre.’’ Peter Seiffert and Eva-Maria West-broek are the incestuous twins Siegmundand Sieglinde, whose whirlwind romancedrives this famous act to its explosiveclimax.�

The Salzburg Festival is more thanjust a series of concerts and operasthat bring this musical city to vividlife. One of its social highlights is thesecond annual Festival Ball, a full-onextravaganza with dancing,debutantes and party music as onlyAustria’s greatest composers canwrite it.

This year’s ball falls at the end ofthe festival, on Aug. 31, and thetheme is ‘‘The Rose.’’ Designers havedrawn visual inspiration from theFrench watercolor painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté, former court painterto Marie Antoinette. Redouté, whosework features a cool Old Worldelegance, has been described as ‘‘theRaphael of flowers.’’

Salzburg has more than a few

rooms that glitter, and the ball will beheld on the double-wide stage of theFelsenreitschule. This former quarry(the name means ‘‘rock ridingschool‘‘) was made into thearchbishop of Salzburg’s ownequestrian school following theexcavation of granite for the SalzburgCathedral. Built in 1693, it becamethe primary theater venue of thefestival in 1926.

A flurry of auditions, fittings andrehearsals have been taking placebefore the ball, as young people fromVienna, Graz and Vorarlbergdemonstrate their skill in dancing thequadrille and the right-turning waltz.Starting Aug. 25, the dance schooldirector Niki Seifert will coach themon the intricacies of the steps to

Johann Strauss’s Maskenball-Quadrille, Op. 272, based on themesfrom Verdi’s ‘‘Un Ballo in Maschera,’’and to the waltz based on themesfrom Leo Fall’s operetta ‘‘Rose vonStambul.’’

The arches of the Felsenreitschulewill be decked with roses. This year’stransparent and airy decorations willbe designed by the florist GärtnereiDoll, whom the festival calls ‘‘alongtime friend and partner.’’

At the festival ball, the gentlemenwill wear frock coats and the ladiesdirndls, the traditional Austrian dressmade famous by ‘‘The Sound ofMusic.’’ This year’s dresses are thework of the festival’s costumedirector, Dorothea Nicolai. The dirndlswill also feature the Redouté rose.

‘‘Giovanna d’Arco’’ (Joan of Arc). PlácidoDomingo sings Giacomo, father of the titlecharacter, continuing his exploration of Verdibaritone roles. Schiller will also be celebrat-ed with a theatrical performance of his play‘‘Die Jungfrau von Orleans,’’ which inspiredthe Verdi version of the Joan of Arc story.

Of course, there’s Mozart. ‘‘Così FanTutte’’ is the first entry in a new cycle of theMozart/Da Ponte operas, conducted byFranz Welser-Möst. The festival also offers‘‘Lucio Silla,’’ with the Mexican tenor RolandoVillazon in the title role, written when Mozart

was just 16. A filmed-for-television produc-tion of Mozart’s ‘‘Die Entführung aus demSerail’’ will be broadcast live from the city’sHangar-7 aircraft museum on Monday, Aug.26, at 8:15 p.m. on ServusTV.

This year marks the return of a belovedSalzburg tradition: serenades in the Resid-enz courtyard. The Camerata Salzburg is thefeatured ensemble, with a wide range ofrepertory including 18th- and 19th-centuryinstrumental works, Schumann lieder and aprogram of sensuous tangos sung by theUruguayan bass Erwin Schrott.

Chamber music and piano works are cen-tral to any great music festival. This year,Salzburg features the international keyboardluminaries Rudolf Buchbinder, MaurizioPollini and Pierre Laurent-Aimard. The latterwill work with Tamara Stefanovich to playOliver Messiaen’s transcendent ‘‘Visions del’Amen’’ on two pianos, a work that cele-brates the act of creation with a mighty cres-cendo of sound.

Finally, the Hagen Quartet returns with acomplete cycle of Beethoven string quartetsin the last weeks of August.�

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra among Salzburg’s towers and vistas.

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Walk down the Arenbergstrasse inSalzburg and you will see a long,dusky-pink building built in the 14thcentury as a castle. This is theArenberg Villa, the summer residenceof the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestraand home to the Salzburg FestivalOpera Camps program.

The Opera Camps are an intensive

one-week training program open toyoung people aged 9 to 17 fromaround the world. For one week,these students work with membersof the Vienna Philharmonic, playing,singing and acting. They even designand build their own sets. Finally, thecampers give a free concertperformance featuring some of the

greatest moments from the operathey’ve studied.

This year, the camp celebrates the200th birthdays of Giuseppe Verdiand Richard Wagner withperformances of those composers’great comedies: Verdi’s ‘‘Falstaff’’and Wagner’s ‘‘Die Meistersinger vonNürnberg.’’

ROLEX CULTURE PARTNERS:SPOTLIGHT ON THE SALZBURG FESTIVAL

During the Salzburg Festival, OperaOnline will offer a ‘‘festivalencyclopedia’’ (www.opera-online.com/fr/events/festival-dété-de-salzbourg-2013, in French) withlinks to its informative presentationson works and composers. Throughoutthe event, Opera Online is highlightingthe productions and performers of thisyear’s festival to heighten music-lovers’ appreciation andunderstanding. Having kicked off thefestival with Harrison Birtwistle’s‘‘Gawain,’’ it will continue with ‘‘DonCarlo’’ and a video interview withJonas Kaufmann in August.

Medici.tv, offering the largestclassical music video catalogueonline, is broadcasting twoexceptional events during thissummer’s Salzburg Festival.

On July 26, Gustavo Dudameldirected the Simón Bolívar SymphonyOrchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No.8, bringing together more than 600musicians onstage.

On Aug. 16, the star tenor JonasKaufmann performs the title role inVerdi’s ‘‘Don Carlo,’’ conducted byAntonio Pappano and directed byPeter Stein. For more details, go towww.medici.tv.

The Euronews ‘‘Musica’’ series goesbehind the scenes, bringing insightsinto the world of classical music. Thisyear, it is producing two reports fromthe Salzburg Festival. On Aug. 1,Euronews will broadcast an interviewwith Gustavo Dudamel and featuremusic from the Simón BolívarSymphony Orchestra. A report onGiuseppe Verdi’s ‘‘Don Carlo’’ will airon Aug. 29. The ‘‘Musica’’ team willspeak to Thomas Hampson, JonasKaufmann and Antonio Pappano. Bothreports will be available online atwww.euronews.com/programs/musica.