Beethoven. Four days. Nine symphonies. I

Daniele Gatti

Daniele Gatti has been Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden since the 2024/2025 season. He made his debut with the orchestra in February 2000 at the invitation of the then Principal Conductor, Giuseppe Sinopoli, with a programme featuring works by Mendelssohn, Hindemith and Brahms. Over the following years, the Italian maestro returned several times to Dresden. Gatti’s mastery of the Staatskapelle’s core repertoire, his visionary interpretations and keen sense of the sound and unique traditions of this historic ensemble are an assurance of outstanding concert experiences. In his second season, he continues the Staatskapelle’s first complete Mahler cycle with the »Vienna Years«. 

In addition to his post in Dresden, Daniele Gatti is also Chief Conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Music Director of the Orchestra Mozart and, since 2016, Artistic Advisor to the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. In the same year, he took up a teaching post at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena.

Born in Milan in 1961, Gatti studied composition and orchestra conducting at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in his home city. He made his debut at La Scala at the age of 27. This was followed by permanent engagements with leading music institutions such as the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, London’s Royal Opera House, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. He was subsequently Principal Conductor of the Orchestre National de France (2008-2016), the Zurich Opera House (2009-2012) and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam (2016-2018), as well as Music Director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma until 2022. Gatti is also a popular guest conductor, appearing for example with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala.

Equally in demand in the field of opera, Daniele Gatti has conducted major new productions such as Robert Carsen’s staging of »Falstaff« in London, Milan and Amsterdam, »Parsifal«, staged by Stefan Herheim, which opened the Bayreuth Festival in 2008, as well as a production of the same opera by François Girard at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and four operas at the Salzburg Festival: Richard Strauss’s »Elektra«, Puccini’s »La bohème«, Wagner’s »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg« and Verdi’s »Il trovatore«. 

In 2008, he conducted »Don Carlo« to open the new season at Milan’s La Scala as well as »Lohengrin«, »Lulu«, »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg«, »Falstaff« and »Wozzeck«. As part of Verdi’s birthday celebrations in 2013, he conducted »La traviata«, again launching the new season at La Scala.

He has opened several seasons of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma with works such as Wagner’s »Tristan und Isolde«, Berlioz’s »La damnation de Faust«, Verdi’s »Rigoletto« and »Les vêpres siciliennes«, Rossini’s »Il barbiere di Siviglia« and the world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli’s »Julius Caesar«. In 2023, he conducted Verdi’s »Falstaff« and all of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies as part of the 85th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival. 

In 2024, he conducted the opening concerts of the new seasons of both the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Vienna Philharmonic before going on tour with both ensembles through Europe’s music capitals. In summer 2025, he will return to the Bayreuth Festival for the new production of »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg«.

Daniele Gatti’s extensive discography testifies to his broad repertoire. For Sony Classical, he has recorded works by Debussy and Stravinsky with the Orchestre National de France as well as a DVD of Wagner’s »Parsifal«, performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. As part of the »RCO Live« series, he conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in recordings of Berlioz’s »Symphonie fantastique«, several Mahler symphonies, a DVD of Stravinsky’s »Le sacre du printemps« also featuring Debussy’s »Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune« and »La mer«, a DVD of Strauss’s »Salome« at the Dutch National Opera and a CD of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 paired with the Prelude and »Karfreitagszauber« from Wagner’s »Parsifal«. In 2019, C-Major released a DVD of Wagner’s »Tristan und Isolde« under the baton of Daniele Gatti, staged at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.

Daniele Gatti is a three-time winner of the »Franco Abbiati« Prize as Best Conductor, chosen by Italy’s music critics, and in 2016 was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Republic for his work as Music Director of the Orchestre National de France. He also holds the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Sara Blanch

Born in Darmós (Tarragona), she studied at the Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona and currently receives advice of the soprano Mariella Devia.

She has been awarded in different competitions, among others the Montserrat Caballé, Mirabent i Magrans and Tenor Viñas 2016.

Among her future engagements: Médée at Teatro Real in Madrid, Le comte Ory in Bologna, Die Zauberflöte at the Wiener Staatsoper, Don Pasquale at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Messiah at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Les Pêcheurs de perles in Cologne and L’Orontea at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

After her successful debut in Barcelona with Lisistrata, by Albert Carbonell, she performed Britten's Little Sweep, Rita by Donizett and Orfeo ed Euridice, Un ballo in Maschera, La serva padrona, La cambiale di matrimonio and L’occasione fa il ladro in different Spanish theatres.

In 2013 she debuted at the Rossini Festival of Pesaro, performing the role of Folleville (Il Viaggio a Reims). In the same year she sang the role of the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) in Sabadell. She debuted at the Rossini in Wildbad Opera Festival in 2015 as Elvira (L'italiana in Algeri) and Aurelia in Lindpaintner’s Il Vespro siciliano, and came back in 2016 with Le Comte Ory and 2018 with Matilde di Shabran.

During her career she has debuted at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville and Teatro Verdi in Salerno (The Magic Flute), Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona (Thaïs, L’italiana in Algeri and L’enigma de Lea), Teatro de la Zarzuela (Châteux Margaux / La viejecita), Teatro Real Madrid (The golden Cockerl, Thaïs), Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo (L'elisir d'amore and Il Turco in Italia), Peralada Festival (Thaïs) and Teatre Principal in Palma de Mallorca (L’elisir d’amore).

Recent commitments include: Aureliano in Palmira at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Lucia de Lammermoor in Oviedo and Palermo, Don Pasquale in Sevilla, Policías y ladrones at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, La clemenza di Tito at the Liceo, Don Giovanni in Perm, Adina and La scala di seta at Rossini in Wildbad Festival, Un ballo in maschera in Madrid and Barcelona, La fille du régiment at the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo, Falstaff in Valencia, L’elisir d’amore in Mallorca, Ariadne auf Naxos in Barcelona and Florence under Daniele Gatti, La Bohème in Rome, Il turco in Italia in Madrid, Lo sposo di tre e marito di nessuna, Orphée et Euridice and The Rake’s progress under Daniele Gatti in Florence, Die Zauberflöte at the Wiener Staatsoper as well as several concerts and recitals in France, Italy and Spain.

Christa Mayer

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«.

Georg Zeppenfeld

Bass Georg Zeppenfeld, born in Westphalia, studied singing at the Cologne University of Music. Engagements have taken him to the great opera houses of Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Milan, Paris, Barcelona, Lyon, Antwerp, the Bayreuth Festival, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera New York and San Francisco. In 2002 he made his first guest appearance at the Salzburg Festival, where he sang Sarastro (»The Magic Flute«) under Nikolaus Harnoncourt in 2012, and King Karl in Schubert's »Fierrabras« in 2014. From 2001 to 2005 Georg Zeppenfeld was an ensemble member of the Semperoper Dresden. Here he appeared in roles such as Figaro and Bartolo (»Le nozze di Figaro«), King Filippo II. (»Don Carlo«), Zaccaria (»Nabucco«), Banco (»Macbeth«), Eremit and Kaspar (»Der Freischütz«), König (»Aida«), Sarastro (»The Magic Flute«), Colline (»La bohème«), Alidoro (»La cenerentola«), Fasolt (»Das Rheingold«), Landgrave Hermann (»Tannhäuser«), King Marke (»Tristan and Isolde«), Gharib (»L'Upupa and the Triumph of Son Love«), Aquarius (»Rusalka«), Peneios (»Daphne«), Seneca (»L'incoronazione di Poppea«), Sparafucile (»Rigoletto«), Henry the Bird (»Lohengrin«) and Rocco (»Fidelio«). In 2013 he made his debut as Daland in the new production of »The Flying Dutchman« alongside »Orlando«. In the 2013/14 season he sang the role of Don Alfonso in Andreas Kriegenburg's new production of »Così fan tutte«. Under Cornelius Meister, Georg Zeppenfeld was a guest at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London in 2015 as Sarastro. In 2016 he sang the part of Lodovico in »Otello« at the Salzburg Easter Festival, and in 2017 he will appear there as Hunding in »Die Walküre«.