JAKOB LENZ: BEST EUROPEAN OPERA COPRODUCTION
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On 22 June 2020, Wolfgang Rihm’s JACOB LENZ, in a production staged by Andrea Breth and conducted by Ingo Metzmacher, was named MEILLEURE COPRODUCTION LYRIQUE EUROPÉENNE (Best European Opera Coproduction) at the 57th palmarès du Prix du Syndicat professionnel de la critique théâtre, musique et danse. After triumphing in Stuttgart, Berlin and Brussels, this thought-provoking production came to the Festival d’Aix with exceptional performances in July 2019.
The chamber opera Jakob Lenz, which premiered in 1979, has now become a “classic” of the contemporary repertoire. This 2019 production, coproduced by La Monnaie in Brussels and the Staatsoper in Berlin, was the first opportunity for theatre-goers in France to discover the theatrical universe of Andrea Breth, a leading figure of the European stage who has been named “stage director of the year” by Theatre heute, and who was artistic director of the Schaubühne following Luc Bondy. Last summer, the Austrian baritone Georg Nigl delivered a breathtaking singing and acting performance in the title role. In the pit, Ingo Metzmacher, a conductor specialised in the contemporary repertoire, directed the Ensemble Modern for what the composer has described as “an hour and fifteen minutes of extreme chamber music.”
