The Rake's Progress on Ö1 Radio

I just noticed that Ö1 Radio broadcast Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress from Vienna’s Theatre an der Wien last weekend. This means we have only about 24 hours left to listen to it on 7 Tage Ö1. I’ve only heard the first 20 or so minutes, but it’s sounding pretty good (including the always-wonderful Arnold Schoenberg Chor.) 

Toby Spence (Tom Rakewell)

Bo Skovhus (Nick Shadow)

Anna Prohaska (Anne Truelove)

Manfred Hemm (Truelove)

Anne Sofie von Otter (Baba the Turk)

Caroline Wilson (Mohter Goose)

Gerhard Siegel (Sellem)

Arnold Schoenberg Chor

ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester

Dirigent: Michael Boder

Messiah – Theater an der Wien, 2009 (Part 3: Not Your Mother’s Messiah, Either)

Claus Guth's staging of Handel's Messiah is strange and wonderful; weird and exquisite; disturbing and comforting. 

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion

Wonderful, exquisite, and comforting all describe the musical performance; and all six adjectives describe the staging. His alienating gray and institutional set is on a turntable, making scene changes swift. This plus the stark contrasts of light and shadow give the production a cinematic feeling. 

Messiah – Theater an der Wien, 2009 (Part 2: Strange and Wonderful)

I noted in the previous post that Claus Guth has chosen to add a new layer of narrative to Messiah. He builds on the emotions and images from Handel's text, but doesn't stage the oratorio in a literal way.

The action begins at a funeral. People are sad, some are angry. In Every valley the minister (tenor Richard Croft) preaches comfort, but is uneasy, and seems to know more than he is telling. An angry man, perhaps the deceased’s brother (bass Florian Boesch) opens the casket to reveal that the deceased slashed his wrists. Another brother (?) (countertenor Bejun Mehta) freaks out, exhibiting remorse, fear, grief, and anger. Meanwhile, the chorus seem to be the people that are walking in darkness. Asking, questioning, reassuring, usually clustering together or moving close to walls, and almost always moving as a unit.

Messiah – Theater an der Wien, 2009 (Part 1: Not Your Father’s Messiah)

If you want a traditional concert performance of this hallowed oratorio or if your entire idea of Messiah is the Christmas section plus the Halleluiah chorus, this DVD is not for you. On the other hand, if you have heard Handel’s Messiah at least once a year for the past (mumblemumble) years, have sung it many times, know it well and/or have many recordings of it, and you wonder what new light could be shed on this work, this version staged by Claus Guth just might be the thing for you.