Kathleen Parker

This outstanding production of Jephtha from 2013, directed by Lydia Steier and conducted by Konrad Junghänel went to Vienna. The two performances as part of the Wiener Festwochen sold out a year in advance. The old Reithalle in the MuseumsQuartier proved the perfect venue to recreate the set originally conceptualised for the famous Friedenskirche in Potsdam. Since this was such a dream team to work with, I was quite happy to don the British style school uniform yet again (not much different from my own school days!) and polish up my best schoolgirl squeal. All the original principal artists joined us: Lothar Odinius, Katja Stuber, Magid El-Bushra, Maria Streijffert, Raimund Nolte, and Maria Skiba. You can find the performance details here.

The performances were well received with standing ovations. It was a terrific few days in a beautiful city (despite the rain), and I brought along my 10 month old baby daughter too for good measure. She wasn’t too impressed with the show, but she loved the Kids Museum next door!

I will be performing in the staged oratorio Betulia Liberata by Mozart in November and December 2014. For more details, please visit http://www.potsdamer-winteroper.de/winteroper.html

 

I am thrilled to welcome my lovely daughter Elise into the world, born at Helios Klinikum Buch on 24th June at 8:58pm, weighing a tiny 2.4kg. We are home and recovering well!

Konrad Junghänel conducted the Potsdam Winteroper in 2013, bringing to life a project he had been trying to get off the ground for 20 years. In the spotlight: a lesser performed oratorio of G.F. Händel, namely Jephtha. Instead of a static performance with orchestra, soloists, and choristers, the Potsdam Winteroper invited American director Lydia Steier to create the staging.

The result was spectacular. Set in the beautiful (but very cold) Friedenskirche, the staging made the use of the long wide space to install a long wooden table and decked it out with a row of around 20 students (singers from the Chor der Potsdamer Winteroper, including yours truly!) attending what appeared to be a slightly off-kilter science lesson.  Christian Ballhaus conducted the lesson. What appeared at first to be just a bunch of teenagers decked out in Hogwarts style uniforms flirting and throwing spitballs got uncomfortable fairly quickly. Jephtha (the unlikely teacher’s aide) got sent away to lead the Israelites into victory and came back only to confront the pact he made with God on the field to sacrifice the first person he laid eyes on. Most unfortunate for his daughter Iphis.

Lothar Odinius was a compelling Jephtha. Being on stage and getting to close my eyes and listen to his “Waft her angels” every night was truly special. Maria Streijffert as Storge was a feisty and dynamic contralto who stole the show with her “Scenes of Horror”. Katja Stuber charmed us all as Iphis, with her beautiful precision and incredibly gorgeous vocal colour it was almost at times like her voice was coming straight from the orchestra. Magid El-Bushra was a joy to watch and hear. Being in the 20 voice choir for this production was a load of fun, and thanks to Lydia Steier for giving us the freedom to play and to create our own little stories and dramas.

I was selected as one of 23 international singers to attend the International Vocal Competition’s Wagner Academy. Over a very intensive week, I got to work closely with Siegfried Jerusalem, Wolfgang Brendel, Dunja Vejzovic, Peter Lockwood, Ed Spanjaard, and the incredible Nadine Secunde. Masterclasses, lectures, coachings, and a final concert rounded out the week at Theater aan de Parade in S’Hertogenbosch.

I also had the pleasure of performing Elisabeth’s aria Dich, teure Halle in the final concert and Amsterdam, as well as an excerpt from Das Rheingold (Woglinde) and the Valkyrie scene from Die Walküre (Helmwige). Many thanks to the administration team at IVC, in particular Annett Andrieson, who did a truly phenomenal job at coordinating the entire week.

More information and photos by Dré de Man here.