Das Properdin

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was at the height of his fame and technical mastery by the time he began work on his fourth opera in 1923. Prominent opera houses clamored to stage his works, and the Viennese premiere of Das Wunder der Heliane (‘The Miracle of Heliane’) featured Lotte Lehmann among its star cast. Its story is one of the redemptive power of love over injustice and adversity, expressed in music that is richly impressionistic and intensely dramatic. Korngold was criticized for resisting the tide of modernist atonality in this opulent score, but its symbolism and compelling romantic atmosphere can be appreciated today more than ever. This Freiburg Opera production has a strong cast topped by soprano Annemarie Kremer, one of the most successful singers in the lyric dramatic soprano repertoire. Award-winning baritone Aris Argiris has established an international career, performing regularly at the world’s most prestigious opera houses.

The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book 1) contains 24 preludes and 24 fugues, each piece a personality with its own unique character. A prelude is always followed by a fugue in the same key. With an endless fantasy Bach lets the different voices speak, each for itself yet also in dialogue with and attuned to each other. A perfect technical mastery of the form goes hand in hand with the ability to translate all conceivable human emotions into sound.