Francesca da Rimini - S. Rachmaninow

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Baden-Baden, Germany

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6 PM

Important Info

Festival: Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2021

Type: Opera

City: Baden-Baden, Germany

Starts at: 18:00

Acts: 1

Duration:

Titles in: German,English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

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If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Festival

Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2021

Cultural ties have linked Baden-Baden with Russia for over 200 years. The story that began with a princess who became the tsar’s bride continues to this day with the many residents of our city with Russian roots. At the 2021 Easter Festival, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko will join us in remembering one of Russia’s most celebrated composers, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The orchestra will not only be interpreting his opera Mazeppa, but also Rachmaninoff’s Francesca da Rimini. Different Russian schools existed during Tchaikovsky’s time as the vast empire, its position straddling East and West, searched for an identity and aesthetic of its own. Tchaikovsky himself drew inspiration from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – a connection we will also be exploring during the Festival. At the 2021 Easter Festival, we will be building a bridge that spans a large cross-section of European cultural history – an undertaking for which BadenBaden is the ideal venue. Welcome to the 2021 BadenBaden Easter Festival!

Overview

Concert version of the opera

Kirill Petrenko’s career began with sensational opera performances. The influence of this background remains, and thus during this year’s Easter Festival, the Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker will be presenting not the usual one, but two operas: Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa and Rachmaninoff’s Francesca da Rimini. The latter is a short and tuneful opera that combines influences of Wagner and Tchaikovsky. The audience of today’s concert can look forward to a tour de force full of vocal and instrumental fireworks and featuring sounds that would later influence film music. This concert-version performance presented by a Russian cast of singers and the Prague Philharmonic Choir will be fittingly introduced by Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture.

History

Premiere of this production: 24 January 1906, Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow

Francesca da Rimini is an opera in a prologue, two tableaux and an epilogue by Sergei Rachmaninoff to a Russian libretto by Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is based on the story of Francesca da Rimini in the fifth canto of Dante's epic poem The Inferno (the first part of the Divine Comedy). The fifth canto is the part about the Second Circle of Hell (Lust). Rachmaninoff had composed the love duet for Francesca and Paolo in 1900, but did not resume work on the opera until 1904. The first performance was on 24 January (O.S. 11 January) 1906 at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, with the composer himself conducting, in a double-bill performance with another Rachmaninoff opera written contemporaneously, The Miserly Knight.

Synopsis

The setting is the Malatesta castle around the end of the 13th century

Prologue
The ghost of Virgil leads the poet Dante to the edge of the first circle of the Inferno. They descend into the second, where the wordless chorus of the damned souls is heard. Virgil tells Dante that this is the realms where sinners given over to lust are punished, buffeted by an eternal whirlwind. Dante asks two such souls, Francesca and Paolo, to tell their story.

Tableau 1
In the castle courtyard, Lanciotto Malatesta is about to go off to war, but he admits that he no longer takes pleasure in war. Lanciotto is deformed, and knows that his wife, Francesca, does not love him. She had been tricked into marrying Lanceotto by being led to think that she would marry Paolo Malatesta, Lanciotto's handsome younger brother. Lanciotto is suspicious of Francesca and envious of Paolo. He plans to set a trap to catch them in adultery. Francesca then enters, affirming obedience to Lanciotto, but saying that she cannot love him. She asks when he will return, and Lanciotto says that he will not return until after the end of battle. When Francesca leaves, Lanciotto laughs.

Tableau 2
Paolo and Francesca are together, alone, in a room in the castle. Paolo tells the story of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, which parallels their own feelings. While doing so, Paolo declares his love for Francesca. Francesca resists initially, trying to remain faithful to Lanciotto. However, her own resistance erodes at Paolo's continued expressions of love, and her own desire for him. They sing of their secret love, and embrace. Lanciotto has returned, and sees the lovers together. He fatally stabs Paolo and Francesca.

Epilogue
Paolo and Francesca recede into the whirlwind of the second circle. Dante is overcome with pity and terror, and he and Virgil remain with the thought: ‘There is no greater sadness in the world than to remember a time of joy in a time of grief’.

Venue Info

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden - Baden-Baden
Beim Alten Bahnhof 2

Festspielhaus Baden-BadenGermany’s largest opera and concert house, with a 2,500 seat capacity.

Festspielhaus is located in Baden-Baden and is considered one of the most unique halls in the world, where today are the best artists and musicians.

Festspielhaus – the second largest concert hall in Europe, which in addition to Symphony concerts, Opera festivals, ballet and Opera performances are held. In fact, the hall serves as an Opera house.

The Festspielhaus seats 2,500 spectators. It was opened on 18 April 1998. The decision to build a festival Palace in Baden-Baden was made in the mid-90s. The Central hall of the Festspielhaus is located in the building of the former railway station and is a masterpiece of neoclassical architecture. The modern auditorium was built of glass and concrete on the site of the aprons. The hall has a unique acoustics.

Every year the Festspielhaus hosts 5 major music festivals: Winter, Easter, Trinity festival, Summer and Autumn. In the intervals between them on the stage are the best theater, Opera, Symphony and ballet groups of the world, entertainment shows, jazz evenings.

Among the world's “stars”, whose work is associated with this concert hall, appear Anne-Sophie mutter, Placido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Robert Wilson, Christian Lacroix, Daniel Barenboim. Almost every year the Mariinsky Opera and ballet companies perform at the Festspielhaus. It should be noted that the scene Festspielhaus the recordings were made famous productions of operas by Richard Wagner – “Lohengrin” and “Persifal'”.

Important Info

Festival: Easter Festival Baden-Baden 2021

Type: Opera

City: Baden-Baden, Germany

Starts at: 18:00

Acts: 1

Duration:

Titles in: German,English

Peter Kraus

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden - Baden-Baden

25 Oct 2019, Fri, 7:30 PM

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