Matthias Goerne

Schumann - Das Paradies und die Peri

Wozzeck

A study of a man's physical and mental limitations. In the 24 quite harsh and grueling fragments of the unfinished drama, a body and a mind are tested as far as they can be pushed before their owner goes over the edge. Is there just one thing that proves to be too much for Franz Woyzeck, or is it an accumulation of miseries and torments of a wretched existence? Woyzeck is perhaps not so much a bleak account of how miserable life can be as how much strength is required to deal with the daily vicissitudes of life and how delicate and fragile a balance the human psyche rests on.

Mozart: The Magic Flute

A magical opera, a Singspiel, a comedy with spectacular stage effects, a Masonic ritual intertwined with Egyptian mysteries, a heroic-comic opera? "The Magic Flute" has been heard, performed, discussed, scrutinised and questioned more often than almost any other work in the history of opera. But this time, they’ve really outdone themselves... .

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Motivated by the love that bound him to Mathilda Wesendonck, Richard Wagner’s composition of Tristan und Isolde goes far beyond any simple operatic gesture. Peter Sellars’ production pours oil onto this troubled sea of emotions in an almost dematerialised setting bared of all earthly contingencies whilst Bill Viola presents the lovers’ initiatory quest for nirvana in videos detached from the stage, suspended like altarpieces.

Schubert: Winterreise

Franz Schubert´s Winterreise engages with its audience in a new and unexpected form. Matthias Goerne, 'the voice of perfection' (Le Figaro), pianist Markus Hinterhäuser and South African director, set designer and theatrical artist William Kentridge joined forces on stage and traced newly imagined, deeply moving images. In short animated films, Kentridge visualises Goerne’s and Hinterhäuser’s sonic contribution. Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, France, July 2015