Symphony Concert N° 9

Daniele Gatti graduated as a composer and orchestra conductor at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. He is Chief Conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Music Director of the Orchestra Mozart and Artistic Advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. From 2024 he will be Chief Conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.

He was Music Director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and he previously held prestigious roles at important musical institutions like the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Royal Opera House of London, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. The Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala are just a few of the renowned symphonic institutions he works with.

Some of the numerous and important new productions he has conducted include Parsifal staged by Stefan Herheim opening the 2008 Bayreuther Festspiele (one of the very few Italian conductors to have been invited to the Wagnerian festival) and four operas at the Salzburger Festspiele (Elektra, La bohème, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Il Trovatore). He opened several seasons of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma: La Damnation de Faust (2017-2018), Rigoletto (2018-2019), Les Vêpres Siciliennes (2019-2020), Il barbiere di Siviglia (2020-2021) and the world premiere of

Battistelli’s Julius Caesar (2021-2022). In 2023, as part of the 85th Festival of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, he conducted Falstaff and all the symphonies by Tchaikovsky. In summer 2025 he will return to the Bayreuth Festival for the new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Daniele Gatti was awarded the Premio “Franco Abbiati” from Italian music critics as best conductor in 2015, in 2016 he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur from the French Republic for his work as Music Director of the Orchestre National de France and he was also awarded the Grand Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Under Sony Classical he has recorded works by Debussy and Stravinsky with the Orchestre National de France, and a DVD of Wagner's Parsifal staged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Under the label RCO Live he has recorded Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, several of Mahler’s Symphonies, a DVD of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps together with Debussy's Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune and La Mer, a DVD of Strauss's Salome performed at the Dutch National Opera, a CD of Bruckner's Symphony n. 9 together with the Prelude and the Karfreitagszauber (Good Friday Music) from Wagner's Parsifal. In November 2019 a DVD of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, staged at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, was released by C Major.

Born in Santiago de Compostela in 1996, she began her musical journey as a child in the "Compostelan Chapel" of early music of her city's cathedral and the OSG children's choir, and then graduated in Singing with top honors.

In 2018 she moved to Florence to study and in January 2019 she made her debut as Lauretta in “Gianni Schicchi” ; she then joined the Accademia of Maggio Musicale, where she sang in "L'elisir d'amore", "Rigoletto", “Così fan tutte”, "Turandot".

She also sang in Haydn's "La Creazione" in Festival della Valle d'Itria conducted by Fabio Luisi, and performed Norina in "Don Pasquale" at the Mario del Monaco Theater in Treviso and the Teatro Verdi in Padua.

She participates in the Bottega Donizettiana 2021 curated by Alex Esposito and Francesco Micheli and in the Opening Gala of the Donizetti Festival (November 2021) in Bergamo, in the same month she debuts the role of

Fiordiligi in “Così fan tutte” at Teatro Goldoni in Florence, then Haydn's “La Creazione” at the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia, “La vedova allegra” in Treviso and Padua, Mozart's “Requiem” with the orchestra La Toscanini in Parma and Pavia, Barbarina in “Le nozze di Figaro” at the Teatro del Maggio Fiorentino, conducted by Theodor Guschlbauer, a new “Rigoletto” at the Teatro alla Scala, and “La finta semplice” at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. She made her debut at Semperoper Dresden in a new “Sonnambula”, directed by Rolando Villazon, Rigoletto” in Santiago do Chile, and opened La Scala 23/24 Season in “Don Carlo”.

Among her next engagements, “La rondine” and “Falstaff” at La Scala, “Die zauberflote” in Santiago. She will join Dresden Semperoper’s ensemble in 2024/25, singing primary roles.

Christa Mayer studied at the University of Music and Theatre in Munich. She attended the class of Lied interpretation with Helmut Deutsch and the opera course, taking part in performances at the Prinzregententheater Munich, and graduated with 1st class honours.

She was a prize winner in several competitions, such as the ARD International Music Competition 2000. Moreover, she has been awarded the Richard-Strauss-Medal – the Young Talent Prize of the Richard Strauss Society – and the Bavarian State’s Prize for Young Artists.

In 2001/2002 season Christa Mayer joined the ensemble of the Saxon State Opera in Dresden, where she has been performing Erda in »Das Rheingold« and »Siegfried«, Fenena in »Nabucco«, Suzuki in »Madama Butterfly« with Fabio Luisi, Quickly in Verdi’s »Falstaff« with Daniele Gatti, Baba in »The Rake’s progress«, Adelaide in »Arabella« with Peter Schneider.

She was engaged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Bavarian Staatsoper Munich as well as at the Teatro di Maggio musicale Florence and the Teatro La Fenice Venice.

In 2006 she performed (»Rheingold«) in the »Ring«-Cycle at the Semperoper Dresden under the baton of Fabio Luisi, and she debuted as Waltraute in »Götterdämmerung«. In 2007 she took part in the »Ring«-Cycle in Valencia and Florence (M° Zubin Mehta) as Erda (»Rheingold«).

Christa Mayer is even an internationally acclaimed concert singer: Bach »Weihnachtsoratorium«  – Helmuth Rilling, »Mozart-Requiem« – Barcelona Palau de la Musica, Beethoven »Missa C-Dur« – Lissabon Teatro San Carlo; Beethoven »9th Symphony« – Bamberger Symphoniker,

Bach »h-moll-Messe« – Kreuzkirche, Dresden; Händel- »Messiah« – Konzerthaus Berlin and Mahler-»Kindertotenlieder«, September Musical Montreux. Glanert »Requiem for Bosch« with BBC London, »Gurrelieder« with Thielemann in Dresden.

Following her CD Recital Debut with songs of Hermann Zilcher at Orfeo International, the artist performed at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Bad Kissingen Summer Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

In Summer 2008 Christa Mayer made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival – as Erda and Waltraute, followed by the re-invitation for 2009 and 2010, even as Mary in »Der fliegende Holländer«. Her interpretation of Brigitta in »Die tote Stadt« at the Venice Fenice turned out to be a much acclaimed success.

In Dresden she sang Cornelia in Handel’s »Giulio Cesare«, Gaea in Dresden’s new production »Daphne«, Didon in »Les Troyens« and Erda/Waltraute in »Ring«. As Cornelia she was even invited to Düsseldorf, at the Hamburg State Opera she sang Quickly (»Falstaff«) and Erda.

Her Brangäne in »Tristan«, new production, at the Bayreuth Festival received high international acclaim. The New National Theatre Tokyo invited Christa Mayer as Erda (»Rheingold«/»Siegfried«). In Salzburg Christa Mayer sang Emilia (»Otello«), the mezzo part in »Missa solemnis« and Fricka (»Walküre«) under Christian Thielemann.

The Saxon State Opera of Dresden honoured Christa Mayer for her artistic achievements and awarded her the prestigious title of »Kammersängerin«. The Bavarian State awarded Christa Mayer the »Bayerischer Kulturpreis«.

Had it not been for Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden’s opera chorus would not have been founded, or at least not on October 8, 1817. It was Weber who obtained royal approval for this initiative; after all, it was his artistic mission (and personal ambition) to establish a German opera company alongside the tradition-steeped Italian opera. Besides suggesting other reforms for the staging of opera, he argued that it was now essential to have a regular choir. The choir started to participate in the traditional Palm Sunday concerts as early as 1827. Major landmarks in its history include the performances in 1846, 1847 and 1849 of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the later Kapellmeister Richard Wagner, who was forced to flee Dresden shortly after the last-mentioned performance.

Currently comprising 89 singers, the Dresden State Opera Chorus has now become one of Europe’s finest opera choruses and has been acclaimed as such in virtually every premiere review in recent years. This preservation of tradition, coupled with a growing awareness of quality, is indebted to such artists as Joseph Metzner, Wilhelm Fischer, Karl Maria Pembaur, Ernst Hintze, Gerhart Wüstner, Franz Peter Müller-Sybel, Hans-Dieter Pflüger, Matthias Brauer and Pablo Assante, who have led the choir through difficult times to the present day. The Dresden State Opera Chorus is currently directed by Jörn Hinnerk Andresen, who since assuming his post in 2014 has maintained and developed such qualities as tonal coherence, refinement and reliably consistent precision.

The State Opera Chorus of today has to a significant degree been shaped by its collaboration with the conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli, who died far too early and dedicated much time and effort to developing the choir’s artistic potential. Nowadays, the choir frequently demonstrates its qualities in operatic productions and concert performances. Radio, television and CD recordings bear further testimony to the immense prowess on account of which the State Opera Chorus is much sought after in many places besides Dresden: the choir receives invitations to perform at festivals, on tours and in concerts and has since 2013 worked together with the Staatskapelle Dresden at the Salzburg Easter Festival, which has been directed by Christian Thielemann ever since. October 8, 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Dresden State Opera Chorus.