Ariadne auf Naxos

Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, Finland

Scene 1 from the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos", photo 2

Scene 2 from the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos", photo 3

Scene 4 from the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos", photo 4

Scene 5 from the opera "Ariadne auf Naxos", photo 5

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7 PM

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Important Info

Type: Opera

City: Helsinki, Finland

Starts at: 19:00

Intervals: 1

Duration:

Sung in: German

Titles in: 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.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
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).

Overview

The critics’ choice

A rich man hires an opera group and a troupe of actors to entertain his guests. At the last minute he notices there’s not enough time for both performances. They must take place simultaneously, melding together theatre and opera. The merriment of traditional commedia dell’arte characters invades the story of Ariadne, who’s awaiting death.

The critically acclaimed Ariadne auf Naxos will see its premiere in January 2020. The intriguing performance brings Ariadne’s world to the modern day with cinematic realism.

From a curio to a classic

Richard Strauss, whose Der Rosenkavalier had made him the leading opera composer of his time, wanted to try something completely different. He composed music for the play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, and created an opera, Ariadne, to be performed in the middle of it. Everyone had liked Der Rosenkavalier, but no one liked this.

The richly flowing music was so beautiful, however, that Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal decided to use it again. They built a whole new opera around Ariadne, and this time it was a success. Ever since its world premiere in 1916, Ariadne auf Naxos has been one of Strauss’s most popular operas.

A spectacular co-production

Ariadne auf Naxos will be performed as an international co-production of six opera companies, which was premiered at the 2018 Festival D’Aix-en-Provence Festival in France. Its director, Katie Mitchell, is one of today’s most celebrated theatre and opera directors. The precise direction of the production has been received with wild excitement by opera lovers across the world.

History

Premiere of this production: Staatsoper Stuttgart

Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos) is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Combining slapstick comedy and consummately beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.

Synopsis

The richest man in Vienna has invited an opera group and a troupe of commedia dell’arte actors, led by Zerbinetta, to perform at his party. The two troupes quarrel about who should perform first, but the major-domo announces that the performances must be simultaneous in order to end before the fireworks. The composer initially refuses to make any changes to his opera, but the music master reminds him that he won’t get his reward unless the opera is performed. He agrees to abridge the opera, but the singers are adamant that only others’ arias must be cut. As the dance master gives Zerbinetta a role in the opera plot, the desperate composer realises what he has agreed to.

The opera performance begins. Ariadne, who’s been abandoned by Theseus, is on the island of Naxos with the nymphs Nayad, Dryad and Echo. Ariadne bemoans her fate and longs for death. Zerbinetta’s troupe tries to lift her spirits by singing and dancing, but it’s all in vain. In a long and glorious aria, Zerbinetta advocates forgetting the past and finding a new lover. Ariadne chooses the Harlequin from the troupe and they sing a duet about love. The nymphs announce someone’s arrival. It’s Bacchus, who Ariadne mistakes for the harbinger of death. Bacchus falls in love with Ariadne. Ariadne wants to follow him, and the opera ends with a duet by Ariadne and Bacchus.

Venue Info

Finnish National Opera - Helsinki
Helsinginkatu 58 PL 176

The Finnish National Opera is a Finnish opera company based in Helsinki. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö, which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties. The Opera House features two auditoriums, the main auditorium with 1,350, seats and a smaller studio auditorium with 300-500 seats.

Regular opera performances began in Finland in 1873 with the founding of the Finnish Opera by Kaarlo Bergbom. Prior to that, opera had been performed in Finland sporadically by touring companies, and on occasion by Finnish amateurs, the first such production being The Barber of Seville in 1849. However, the Finnish Opera company soon plunged into a financial crisis and folded in 1879. During its six years of operation, Bergbom’s opera company had given 450 performances of a total of 26 operas, and the company had managed to demonstrate that opera can be sung in Finnish too. After the disbandment of the Finnish Opera, the opera audiences of Helsinki had to confine themselves to performances of visiting opera companies and occasional opera productions at the Finnish National Theatre.

The reincarnation of the Finnish opera institution took place about 30 years later. A group of notable social and cultural figures, led by the international star soprano Aino Ackté, founded the Domestic Opera in 1911. From the very beginning, the opera decided to engage both foreign and Finnish artists. A few years later the Domestic Opera was renamed the Finnish Opera in 1914. In 1956, the Finnish Opera was, in turn, taken over by the Foundation of the Finnish National Opera, and acquired its present name.

Between 1918 and 1993 the home of the opera was the Alexander Theater, which had been assigned to the company on a permanent basis. The home was inaugurated with an opening performance of Verdi’s Aida. When the first dedicated opera house in Finland was finally completed and inaugurated in 1993, the old opera house was given back its original name, the Alexander Theater, after the Tsar Alexander II.

The Finnish National Opera has some 30 permanently engaged solo singers, a professional choir of 60 singers and its own orchestra of 120 members. The Ballet has 90 dancers from 17 countries. All together, the opera has a staff of 735.

Past music directors and chief conductors have included Armas Järnefelt (1932–36), Tauno Pylkkänen (1960-1967), Okko Kamu (1996–2000), Muhai Tang (2003–2006), and Mikko Franck (2006-2013). With the 2013-2014 season, the Finnish mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi became artistic director of the company, and the German conductor Michael Güttler became principal conductor with the company. The initial contracts for both Paasikivi and Güttler are for 3 years. Since 2008, Kenneth Greve has served as artistic director of Finnish National Ballet. His current contract is through 2018.

The Finnish National Opera stages four to six premieres a year, including a world premiere of at least one Finnish opera, such as Rasputin by Einojuhani Rautavaara. Some 20 different operas in 140 performances are found in the opera's schedule yearly. The Ballet arranges some 110 performances annually. The Finnish National Opera has some 250,000 visitors a year.