In connection with a small ceremony in the Bavarian State Opera, Prof. Dr. Berthold Eichwald, Board Chairman of the Friends of the National Theatre, retired from his position. Nikolaus Bachler, General Manager of the Bavarian State Opera, paid tribute to him and hopes that his successor in office, Dr. Siegfried Kneißl, will continue the established „good friendship“.
What an evening! A group of Friends of the National Theatre were keen to get a taste of how opera is likely to be in the future. Musical theatre without boundaries. This year’s festival workshop joined forces with the AGORA musical theatre group to stage an evening (catarsi) that formed part of the “Processor” series. The venue was the Munich’s Postpalast. The Bavarian State Opera’s dramaturgist Miron Hakenbeck and composer Benedikt Brachtel provided a brilliant introduction to quickly get participants up to speed for their work on material from Beethoven’s “Fidelio”. The evening that followed will have been something that many of them surely will never forget.
“Now you will always be at home here.” These were the words with which State Musical Director Nikolaus Bachler honoured chamber singer Gabriele Schnaut, whose portrait has now been added to the “Ancestral portrait gallery” in Munich’s National Theatre. The Dutch photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn made this portrait of the Wagner singer – in front of magnificent, rugged mountain scenery. It enriches this unique collection immeasurably. Ms. Schnaut said: “I am incredibly pleased with this photo” – and so are we!
This was a very enjoyable trip for all who took part. Four days of sunshine on the banks of Lake Lucerne, not to mention the unforgettable crème-de-la-crème concert experiences.
From 6th to 9th September 2016, a group of 70 Friends of the National Theatre attended the Lucerne Festival. The itinerary included not only a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, but also supporting our “very own” orchestra led by its GMD Kirill Petrenko. The Bavarian State Orchestra performed the overture from “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” and Richard Strauss’ “Domestic Symphony” and “Four Last Songs” with the wonderful Diana Damrau at Lucerne’s Culture and Convention Centre. Our members enjoyed an evening cruise and a lavish meal aboard the historical Schiller paddle steamer on Lake Lucerne in the company of the orchestra’s musicians and representatives of the directorship.
It was a wonderful trip that inspired the association with fresh ideas.
Maestro Zubin Mehta was awarded the Meistersinger medal by the Bavarian State Opera at a special ceremony on 19th February 2016.
The reception followed the 2016 Annual Concert for the Friends of the National Theatre, a performance of the “Gurrelieder” by Arnold Schönberg.
The medal, crafted by porcelain manufacturer Nymphenburg, was first funded by the Friends of the National Theatre in 1999. It is awarded by the directorship of the Bavarian State Opera in recognition of outstanding artistic performance to commemorate the première of Richard Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” (The Master-Singers of Nuremberg) in 1868 at the Court and National Theatre of Munich.
Zubin Mehta is now the seventh recipient, following Hans Hotter, Inge Borkh, Astrid Varnay, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hertha Töpper and Edita Gruberova.
