Staged Performance of Die Winterreise with Matthias Goerne

I just took a 90-minute break from my total-Orfeo-immersion week to watch Schubert's Die Winterreise live from the Aix-en-Provence Festival on medici.tv. The cycle is performed by Matthias Goerne and Markus Hinterhäuser, and directed for stage by William Kentridge. Herr Goerne is always worth hearing (and watching). He proves once again that he is a consummate vocal artist; and with the addition of the video animation backdrop and moody lighting, his performance is particularly moving. Some of the images struck me as a little naive, but overall I thought the production was quite effective.

As I type this, Medici is regrouping for the on-demand replays, which you can probably access in the next few hours. It’ll only be available in the U.S. until July 23; they say it’ll be back November 11, but I am guessing that it’ll be for pay-for-play at that point. If you’re in Europe, I think you can continue to watch it throughout the summer. Wherever you are, do take the time to give this performance a watch/listen.