Wiener Kammeroper

Wiener Kammeroper is an opera theatre and opera company founded by conductor Hans Gabor. As early as 1948 he initiated the "Vienna Opera Studio" - a company without a theatre of its own. The new name of the company, "Wiener Kammeroper" (Vienna Chamber Opera), reminiscent of chamber music and society plays in an intimate setting, was first used officially in 1953.

History

Initially the company played in the suburbs of Vienna, specially for the “Arbeiterkammer” in Vienna, at Mozart Hall of Vienna's "Konzerthaus" concert hall for young audiences under the patronage of the "Theater der Jugend" and during the summer months at the rococo Schönbrunn Palace Theatre.

Since the early years, works by contemporary composers, such as Boris Blacher's "The Deluge" (1956), have been a mainstay of the repertory along with opera buffa and classic Viennese operetta, and many a rarity was discovered, e.g. Alessandro Scarlatti's "Triumph of Honour" (1956).

The dream of a permanent home came true. The first one-year subsidy to Wiener Kammeroper granted by the Ministry of Education and the City of Vienna was the pre-requisite for funding its own theatre. The right place was found soon: located in the heart of the city, at Fleischmarkt 24, a former dance hall, which had also been used for theatre performances earlier, was adapted to fulfil the requirements of an operatic stage. The new theatre was inaugurated with a performance of the one-act operas "The Marriage" by Martinu, "The Gambler" ("Il marito giocatore") by Orlandini and Monteverdi's "Ariadne's Lament" as adapted by Carl Orff.

Till today, numerous original performances and Austrian premières have remained a trademark of the Wiener Kammeroper repertory. One among many artistic highlights of the past was George Tabori's legendary 1986 production of "I pagliacci" by Leoncavallo; Wiener Kammeroper was invited to present the production at the "Berlin Theatertreffen" festival a year later.

In the early 1980s, Hans Gabor retired from conducting, exclusively acting as the artistic director and manager of his theatre in addition to running the "International Belvedere Singing Competition", which he founded in 1982. Today, the competition is the largest "singers' exchange" in the world, a veritable "Wall Street of Voices".

The series "Studio K" (1983) seeks to offer a platform to contemporary composers. Chamber operas by Tom Johnson, Peter Maxwell Davies, Luciano Chailly, Philip Glass or Hans Werner Henze saw their premieres in Vienna. Again, George Tabori contributed a production which met with critical acclaim abroad. To address a young audience, classics such as "La Bohème" or "Carmen" were translated into the musical language of rock music.

In the summer of 1992 Wiener Kammeroper began producing open-air performances of at the Roman Ruin in the palace gardens of Schönbrunn with the title "Mozart in Schönbrunn". However, in 1999, conservationists found that the monument was in jeopardy, and performances on the unique open-air stage had to be discontinued.

In 1994 Hans Gabor died unexpectedly and Rudolf Berger continued the successful programming.

Present and future/mission

During the 1999/2000 opera season Isabella Gabor and Holger Bleck took over the management of the Kammeroper. In keeping with the Kammeroper’s tradition, the main pillars of the Vienna Kammeroper continue to be promoting the young generation of singers with the renamed "International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition" and the opera productions at the Kammeroper’s location on Fleischmarkt.

In regard to its mission, a decisive part of the artistic work of the management is finding works that neither figure among the repertory of the big concert and opera houses nor are produced by independent groups. The focus is on rarities, chamber operas, or even opera pieces that have hardly ever or never been performed in Austria, but which reveal a quality that is truly compelling.

:"Art in the sense of telling stories, musical theatre that is current, touching, makes us happy, upsets us, makes us want to discuss things, the advancement of young musicians, and last but not least an attentive audience. This, and much more, makes Wiener Kammeroper what it is – music theatre with a unique and unmistakable concept in the artistic environment of Austria and Vienna" said Isabella Gabor & Holger Bleck at the press conference announcing the season of 2006/07.

Wiener Kammeroper stands for programming which rests on four pillars – chamber musical, baroque opera, contemporary musical theater and opera buffa – including no less than two original productions and an Austria première during the 2006/07 season.

Current season

With each new production, the company has received more and more international media attention for their chamber musical productions, which started successfully with "The Cole Porter Story" in 2002. After a fully sold out production of the Fats Waller show "Ain’t Misbehavin’" the new season opened with the world-première of a musical by the US composer Ray Leslee, "A Good Man", with a libretto and song lyrics by Philip S. Goodman. The composer is by no means unknown to the audience of Wiener Kammeroper since his "a cappella" musical "Avenue X" achieved success two years ago.

After a festival of baroque opera during the jubilee season of 2003/2004, which marked a high point in the way Wiener Kammeroper cultivates the genre, and after much acclaimed productions of "Venus and Adonis" by John Blow and "The Beggar’s Opera" by John Gay and Christoph Pepusch (both in 2005), the thread was taken up again in a production of "Agrippina", Georg Friedrich Händel's first major success on the operatic stage.

Contemporary musical theatre has always been a mainstay in the programme of Wiener Kammeroper. In the current season, it is represented by two works from the British Isles which could not offer more of a contrast: the original production of "When She Died: Events following the Death of Diana", the stage version of a work by Jonathan Dove originally written for television, and "Eight Songs for a Mad King" by Peter Maxwell Davies, both classics of modernity.

In the opera buffa department, the audience will be able to enjoy a special tidbit at the end of the season. Whilst two years ago, the true surprise was the Austrian première of Dmitri Shostakovitch's musical comedy "Moscow, Moscow", which had the audience rolling in the aisles, there is reason to expect that the public will be equally enthusiastic about the Austrian première of the commedia lirica "'I due timidi", a display of musical fireworks by the Italian composer Nino Rota, whose better known piece "The Florentine Straw Hat" was produced at Wiener Kammeroper six years ago.

During the months of July and August 2007 the "Vienna Summer Opera Festival" will again be on, with a revival of Nino Rota's opera buffa "I due timidi".

External links

* [http://www.wienerkammeroper.at/ Wiener Kammeroper official website]