Theater An Der Wien - The Theater An Der Wien Today

The Theater An Der Wien Today

In 2006, the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth, the Theater an der Wien presented a series of major Mozart operas. This initiated its conversion to a full-time venue for opera and other forms of classical music under the direction of Roland Geyer. The first opera to be given was Mozart's Idomeneo with Neil Shicoff in the title role and Peter Schneider conducting the new production by Willy Decker. Other members of the cast were Angelika Kirchschlager, Genia Kühmeier, and Barbara Frittoli.

Geyer is quoted as saying that he wishes to "present cutting edge directors and interesting productions", and his three main areas of focus are on Baroque opera, contemporary opera, and Mozart.

The theatre's seasons have included the following works:

• Luigi Cherubini: Médée; conducted by Fabio Luisi, staged by Torsten Schäfer
• Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by Bertrand de Billy
• Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice conducted by René Jacobs
• Georg Friedrich Händel:
  • Giulio Cesare in Egitto, conducted by René Jacobs, staged by Christof Loy
  • Ariodante, conducted by Christophe Rousset, staged by Lukas Hemleb
  • Partenope, conducted by Christophe Rousset, staged by Pierre Audi
  • Semele, conducted by William Christie (with Les Arts Florissants), staged by Robert Carsen, featuring Cecilia Bartoli
• Joseph Haydn: Orlando Paladino; conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, staged by Keith Warner
• Jake Heggie: Dead Man Walking, conducted by Sian Edwards, staged by Nikolaus Lehnhoff
• Leoš Janáček: Káťa Kabanová, conducted by Kirill Petrenko, staging by Keith Warner
• Federico Moreno Torroba: Luisa Fernanda, conducted by Josep Caballé-Domenech, staged by Emilio Sagi
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
  • La finta semplice, conducted by Fabio Luisi, staged by Laurent Pelly;
  • Mitridate, Re di Ponto conducted by Harry Bicket, staged by Robert Carsen;
  • Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Graeme Jenkins, staged by Kasper Bech Holten;
  • The Magic Flute, directed by Jean-Christophe Spinosi, staged by Achim Freyer.
• Francis Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites; conducted by Bertrand de Billy, staged by Robert Carsen
• André Previn: A Streetcar Named Desire, conducted by Sian Edwards, staged by Stein Winge
• Richard Strauss: Intermezzo conducted by Kirill Petrenko
• Igor Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Carl Maria von Weber: Der Freischütz, conducted by Bertrand de Billy, staged by Stefan Ruzowitzky

Among the singers have been Marijana Mijanovic, Frederica von Stade, Olaf Bär, Patricia Petibon, Anatoli Kotscherga, Anja Silja, Diana Damrau, Plácido Domingo, Maria José Montiel, Andrea Rost, Christine Schäfer, David Daniels.

The Theater an der Wien frequently collaborates in co-productions with other opera houses, such as the Washington Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid, De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, and the Sächsische Staatsoper in Dresden.

It has been reported that in 2013, the opera A Harlot's Progress will receive its world premier at the house. By young British composer Iain Bell, it will feature German soprano Diana Damrau in the title role.