Messiah, Week of Mozart Salzburg
23.01.2020 House for Mozart, Salzburg
Georg Friedrich Händel - Messiah KV 572
Oratorio in three parts for soloists, choir and orchestra by Georg Friedrich Händel (HWV 56) edited by Mozart
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Mozart’s German-language version of Handel’s Messiah is famous, though seldom heard. Written in 1789, at the request of baroque enthusiast Gottfried van Swieten, this profound arrangement of Handel’s best-known oratorio includes copious woodwind parts: in addition to the two oboes in the original work, now flutes, clarinets and bassoons are given important roles, and the brass parts are also adapted. Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre are not only acclaimed exponents of Handel and Mozart; they also belong to the Mozart Week musical family.
To mark their return to the festival, their brilliant performance is combined for the first time with the distinctive meditative art of cult director Bob Wilson: a fascinating fusion of periods and styles on several levels.
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Leading Team:
Marc Minkowski, conductor
Robert Wilson, director/set & light designer
Nicola Panzer, co-director
Stephanie Engeln, associate set designer
John Torres, associate light designer
Jacques Reynaud, costume designer
Manu Halligan, make-up designer
Konrad Kuhn, dramaturgy
Cast:
Elena Tsallagova, soprano
Wiebke Lehmkuhl, alto
Richard Croft, tenor
José Coca Loza, bass
Philharmonia Chor Wien (choral director: Walter Zeh)
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Orchestra