Abu Dhabi Classics, organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), has announced the illustrious cast of opera singers for the Bayreuth Festival’s performance of The Valkyrie, which will take place on Wednesday, 30th January and Friday, 1st February, 2019 at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, the opera is being performed by the Bayreuth Festival, which is renowned for its outstanding performances of 19th Century German composer Richard Wagner’s works.

At this unmissable highlight of the Abu Dhabi Classics 2018/19 season, concert-goers will experience the full musical drama of The Valkyrie, under the artistic direction of Katharina Wagner, the great-granddaughter of the renowned composer. The production will also include a feature length film which will be played in the background, telling the story of The Valkyrie and revisiting the main locations that inspired Richard Wagner’s work. Renowned for their spectacular productions, the Bayreuth Festival’s unique production of The Valkyrie is expected to be breathtaking. 

A cast of seasoned opera singers, who have performed at the world’s leading opera houses, will perform The Valkyrie in Abu Dhabi, including:

Stephen Gould - Siegmund

Stephen Gould, one of the most sought-after heroic tenors in the opera world today, is renowned for his performances of Richard Wagner’s works. He has sung in most of the world’s great opera houses, as well as at the prestigious Salzburg Summer Festival and the Spring Festival Tokyo Opera Nomori, and has as a long-standing collaboration with the annual Bayreuth Festival. In May 2015 at the Wiener Staatsoper, Gould was honoured with the title of Österreichischer Kammersänger. In addition to his operatic work, he has had a varied concert repertoire.

Albert Dohmen - Hunding

One of the leading Wotan singers of his generation, Albert Dohmen has a very successful international career with the highlight of his Wozzeck at the 1997 Salzburg Easter and Summer Festival with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, conducted by Claudio Abbado and directed by Peter Stein. His notable opera roles include playing Hans Aachs in Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Barak in Frau Ohne Schatten in Florence. Making his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2007 performing Wotan and Wanderer in The Ring, Dohmen will be performing as Hunding in this performance of The Valkyrie.

Egils Silins - Wotan

A bass-baritone, Silins made his debut as Wiener Staatsoper in I Puritani and gained huge international acclaim after his role in Le Demon at the 1997 Bregenzer Festspiele. He has also performed at many opera houses around the world as well as prestigious music festivals including, the Tanglewood Music Festival, Savonlinna Opera Festival and Glyndebourne Festival. His repertoire includes more than 90 roles.

Daniela Köhler - Sieglinde

A soprano and in-demand concert singer, Köhler gained a scholarship with the Richard-Wagner-Verband in Baden-Baden. From 2007 to 2009, she was a member of the opera studio at Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe. Her repertoire includes Gertrud in Hänsel und Gretel, Erste Dame in The Magi and Julia in La Vestale. After her successful debut as Helmwige in a new production of The Valkyrie at Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona under the baton of Josep Pons in 2014, she was invited to sing this role at Oper Leipzig and at Bayerische Staatsoper, conducted by Kirill Petrenko in 2016 and 2018. In 2017, she also sang Vierte Magd in Elektra in Munich. After this performance in Abu Dhabi, she will make her debut as Siegfried-Brünnhilde in Leipzig.

Catherine Foster - Brünnhilde

Through her six consecutive years as Bayreuth’s Brünnhilde, the British dramatic soprano is gaining a reputation for her interpretation of the role. Foster has performed acclaimed roles in operas such as Turandot at the Munich Staatsoper, the Opera Köln and the Deutsche Opea in Berlin. She has also played Brünnhilde with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra at the Musikverein in Vienna, Bayreuth and Washington, and performed in Elektra in Mannheim and Sao Paulo. She has toured across America with Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck songs and sang Brünnhilde in Siegfried in Odense, Denmark.

Christa Mayer – Fricka and Schwertleite

The German mezzo-soprano is well known for her portrayal of Erda in Richard Wagner's, Der Ring des Nibelungen, which she has performed several times at the Bayreuth Festival and recorded on the BBC Legends Record Label. Her recent roles include Ottavia in L'incoronazione di Poppea and Gaea in Daphne. She received critical acclaim after singing as a guest at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria alongside cellist Misha Quint in 2010. She will be performing the roles of Fricka and Schwertleite in the Bayreuth Festival’s performance of The Valkyrie.

Caroline Wenborne - Gerhilde

The Australian soprano is a member of the ensemble at the Vienna State Opera, where she has performed roles such as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Wenborne can be heard as Gutrune on the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Christian Thielemann, recorded at the Vienna State Opera in 2011. Her repertoire includes many roles such as Mimi in La Bohème and Countess in The Marriage of Figaro. Wenborne has performed with many distinguished conductors, including Seiji Ozawa and Daniele Gatti.

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