Korngold was just 23 when his most celebrated stage work was premiered in 1920 by no less than Otto Klemperer. The rich orchestration and brilliant bel canto vocal writing is here superbly realised by a cast led by Klaus Florian Vogt and Camilla Nylund, with 'conducting to die for' (The Guardian ★★★★★) from Mikko Franck. 'I regard Die tote Stadt as one of the greatest operas of the first quarter of the 20th century and the Finnish National Opera’s production makes it stand out as a true masterpiece, scenically and musically.' (Seen and Heard International)

Freedom, fraternity and humanity – this is what Beethoven’s 9th Symphony stands for. It opens the 10th Grafenegg Festival, performed by the Tonkunstler Orchestra, joined by 24 alumni of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) and ‘a soloist quartet which no one could possibly imagine to be more prestigious’ (Die Presse). ‘Vogt’s tenor and the Wiener Singverein were especially moving’ (Wiener Zeitung) and ‘the vocal performance by excellent bass René Pape, the fabulous soprano Camilla Nylund and the brilliant mezzosoprano Elena Zhidkova… in Beethoven’s Ninth was just sensational. Bravo!’ (Kurier) Composer in Residence Christian Jost’s new work also centres around Beethoven, featuring the song An die Hoffnung (‘To Hope’), and ‘convincingly used an impressive orchestra’ (Der Standard), with ‘tenor Klaus Florian Vogt as a well-cast soloist’ (Salzburger Nachrichten).

Franz Schmidts Apokalypsen-Oratorium ‘Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln’, seine letzte, 1937 vollendete Komposition, ist laut dem Komponisten ein Werk über die « fundamentale Antithese” von Gut und Böse, zusammengestellt aus Texten, die Schmidt aus der Offenbarung des Johannes selbst ausgewählt hat. Dass er kurz vor dem Anschluss ein solches Weltuntergangswerk komponierte, zeigt das Zeitgespür des Komponisten.

Right on time for the festival season, Deutsche Grammophon releases Uwe Eric Laufenberg's acclaimed production of Richard Wagner's "Parsifal". Under the direction of Hartmut Haenchen, this musical and staging masterpiece was first performed in Bayreuth on 25 July 2016 and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. The great success of the premiere is due above all to the powerful-voiced protagonist ensemble: Klaus Florian Vogt as Parsifal, Georg Zeppenfeld as Gurnemanz, Elena Pankratova as Kundry and Ryan McKinny as Amfortas shone in their roles. This is why this production will be performed several times at this year's Bayreuth Festival.

This highly acclaimed production from the Bayerische Staatsoper, a powerful and fascinating re- interpretation of Dvorak's fairy-tale opera Rusalka, was a revelation: the young, up-and-coming Latvian soprano, Kristine Opolais, whose performance was rightly hailed by the press as 'one of the most vivid and striking accomplishments seen on an opera stage in a long time' (Vienna's leading daily Der Standard). With her supple and velvety soprano voice, her captivating physical beauty and her hauntingly moving stage presence, Kristine Opolais perfectly embodies the role of the water nymph who becomes a human being in order to find love.

Hans Neuenfelss striking new production of Wagners fairytale opera gives this medieval story of doomed love and sorcery the Bayreuth treatment. As controversial as it is stimulating, this production was the talk of the 2011 Festival, and showcases a new generation of Wagnerian singing talent including soprano Annette Dasch and tenor Klaus Florian Vogt. Lohengrin is staged by the enfant terrible Hans Neuenfels, and offers a thought provoking production of brilliant visual clarity. The performance by Klaus Florian Vogt in the title role is staggering and impressive. There is beauty and purity in his voice, but in this role in particular, one truly senses something unheimlich, other-worldly, which fits superlatively both with work and production. Conductor Andris Nelsons brings out the best in the festival chorus and orchestra. It is a Lohengrin one does not easily forget and puts Bayreuth back in the vanguard of Wagner interpretation.