Guest Concert in Vienna

Since the 2012/2013 season Christian Thielemann has been Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. Following engagements at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in Gelsenkirchen, Karlsruhe, Hanover and Dusseldorf, in 1988 he moved to Nuremberg to occupy the post of Generalmusikdirektor. In 1997 he returned to his hometown of Berlin to direct the Deutsche Oper until 2004, when he became Music Director of the Munich Philharmonic, a post he held until 2011. In addition to his current position in Dresden, Thielemann has been Artistic Director of the Salzburg Easter Festival since 2013, where the Staatskapelle is resident orchestra.

In previous seasons Christian Thielemann has contributed greatly to the birthday celebrations for Wagner, Strauss and Beethoven. At the same time he has explored a wide range of music from Bach to Henze, Rihm and Gubaidulina in Dresden and on tour. In the Semperoper he recently conducted new productions of »Ariadne auf Naxos« and »Capriccio« while for the Salzburg Easter Festival he interpreted »Die Walküre«, »Tosca« and »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg«.

Christian Thielemann maintains close ties to the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, whose New Year’s Concert he conducted in 2019. Following his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2000, he has returned every year to thrill

audiences with benchmark interpretations. After serving five years as the festival’s Musical Advisor, in June 2015 he became its Music Director. In addition, he has been invited to conduct the leading orchestras of Europe, the United States, Israel and Asia.

As a UNITEL exclusive artist, Christian Thielemann has a comprehensive catalogue of recordings. His most recent projects with the Staatskapelle have been to record the symphonies of Anton Bruckner and Robert Schumann, Arnold Schoenberg’s »Gurre-Lieder« as well as numerous operas.

Christian Thielemann is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London, honorary professor at Dresden’s Carl Maria von Weber College of Music and holds honorary doctorates from the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. In 2003 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In May 2015 he received the Richard Wagner Prize from the Richard Wagner Society of the city of Leipzig, followed by the Prize of the Semperoper Trust in October 2016 and an honorary award of the state of Salzburg in April 2022. He is patron of the Richard-Wagner-Stätten in Graupa. His recordings have been showered with awards.

Soprano Diana Damrau has been performing on the world’s leading opera and concert stages for two decades. Her vast repertoire spans both lyric soprano and coloratura roles including the title roles in »Lucia di Lammermoor« (La Scala, Bavarian State Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House), »Manon« (Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera) and »La Traviata« (La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Opéra national de Paris and Bavarian State Opera) as well as Königin der Nacht in »Die Zauberflöte« (Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House).

Since her house debut as Zerbinetta in 2005, Diana Damrau has made seven major role debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and has appeared several times in live HD cinema broadcasts worldwide. Highlights included new productions of »Rigoletto« (Gilda), »Il barbiere di Siviglia« (Rosina), »Le comte Ory« (Adèle) and »Les pêcheurs des perles« (Leïla). Other engagements included the title roles in »La Sonnambula«, »La Fille du Régiment«, and »Roméo et Juliette«.

She was the first singer in Metropolitan Opera history to sing both Pamina and the Queen of the Night in different performances of the same

series of »Die Zauberflöte«.

The soprano can be seen on the opera stage time and again with contemporary repertoire. The title role in Iain Bell’s adaptation of Hogarth’s »A Harlot’s Progress« (Theater an der Wien 2013) and the two roles of Drunken Woman and Gym Instructress in Lorin Maazel’s opera »1984« (Royal Opera House 2005) were composed especially for her.

Diana Damrau is also one of the most important song interpreters of our time. She has a close artistic partnership with pianist Helmut Deutsch and harpist Xavier de Maistre.  

 As a Warner Classics/Erato exclusive artist, Diana Damrau made her debut album with Arie di Bravura, a collection of Mozart and Salieri arias. Further solo albums followed, receiving various awards, including the ECHO and the OPUS Klassik. Diana Damrau’s work is documented on various opera complete recordings and DVDs.

Diana Damrau is Kammersängerin of the Bavarian State Opera (2007), she was awarded the Bavarian Maximilian-Orden for Art and Science (2010) and the German Cross of Merit for Cultural and Social Merit (2021) – the hightest civil honour of the German Republic.

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«.