June 2008
Bavarian State Opera Festival
The
Münchner Opern Festspiele (Bavarian State Opera Festival) marks an annual highlight on local calendars and the international opera scene. For five weeks, the best singers will star in high-class performances and evenings of song. Even though ticket prices for the festival are considerably high and most performances already sold out, one can participate in quite a few festival events without having to pay through the nose. The festival will start with an opening lecture by Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek at the Allerheiligen Church of the Residence on June 26. The lecture starts at 8 pm, and tickets cost € 15. No admission will be charged for the
Festspiel-Nacht (Festival Night) on June 27 at the Hypo-Vereinsbank in the Fünf Höfe. Here, from 8 pm on, artists of the festival will present highlights from popular operas, dance performances, concerts and readings on several stages. During the
Festspiel Gottesdienst (Festival Mass) on June 29, conductor Kent Nagano and soloists of the Bavarian State Opera will present the
Missa solemnis and the
Church Sonata by Mozart. The mass at St. Michael (Neuhauser Strasse) starts at 10 am. Admission is free. Two more free performances will be offered the following month. On July 12, the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Kent Nagano will play works by Charles Ives and Richard Strauss at 8 pm on the Marstallplatz. The concert is scheduled as part of the popular annual program “Opera for everyone.” On the next day, a large screen at the Max-Joseph-Platz—in front of the Nationaltheater—will be erected for a live broadcast of “Eugen Onegin” by Tchaikovsky. The broadcast of the opera performance will start at 7:30 pm. For a list of all events taking place during the festival, visit
www.muenchner-opern-festspiele.de. <<<
