DER ZWERG

Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg (The Dwarf)

GRAMMY® NOMINATED IN:
BEST OPERA RECORDING, CLASSICAL

COMPOSER: Alexander von Zemlinsky
LABEL: Naxos | 2.110657 | NBD00108V

Donna Clara - Elena Tsallagova
Ghita - Emily Magee
Der Zwerg (singer) - David Butt Philip
Der Zwerg (actor) - Mick Morris Mehnert
Don Estoban - Philipp Jekal
Erste Zofe - Flurina Stucki
Zweite Zofe - Amber Fasquelle
Dritte Zofe - Maiju Vaahtoluoto
Das erste Mädchen - So Young Park
Das zweite Mädchen - Kristina Häger

As Prologue
Arnold Schoenberg’s Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, Op. 34
Alma Schindler - Adelle Eslinger-Runnicles, piano
Alexander von Zemlinsky - Evgeny Nikiforov, piano

Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Jeremy Bines, chorus master

Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

Tobias Kratzer, stage director
Rainer Sellmaier, set and costume designer
Stefan Woinke, lighting designer

Based on Oscar Wilde’s story The Birthday of the Infanta, Zemlinsky’s single-act opera Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) is the tragic tale of a dwarf who is presented at court, falls in love with the beautiful Donna Clara, but is ultimately forced to see himself as others see him and to die of a broken heart. Preceded by Schoenberg’s Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene, Op. 34 (1930), Zemlinsky’s Romantic score is full of psychological intrigue. Is Der Zwerg a critique of society’s superficiality? Is it the composer’s self-portrait in his doomed affair with Alma Schindler? Director Tobias Kratzer’s stunning, transparent production creates a space in which each character is thrown into sharp relief in this ‘fine, noble and melancholy work’. (Bachtrack.com)

The production features tenor David Butt Philip as The Dwarf with superb singing; sopranos Elena Tsallagova as heartless Infanta and Emily Magee as Ghita, the only one compassionate member of the court.

Sir DONALD RUNNICLES

Sir Donald Runnicles is the General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 Runnicles also took up post as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s first-ever Principal Guest Conductor. He additionally holds the title of Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, having served as Chief Conductor from 2009-2016. Runnicles enjoys close and enduring relationships with many of the leading opera companies and symphony orchestras, and he is especially celebrated for his interpretations of Romantic and post-Romantic repertoire, which are core to his musical identity.

In the 2020 – 21 season, Runnicles leads concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in addition to his regular concerts with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. At the Deutsche Oper, highlights of Runnicles’ season include the premieres of Die Walküre, Siegfried and Das Rheingold as part of a new Ring Cycle continuing through 2021. He also conducts Verdi’s Messa da Requiem and various revival titles.

Sir Donald Runnicles’ previous posts include Music Director of the San Francisco Opera (1992-2008), during which he led world premieres of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, Conrad Susa’s Les Liaisons dangereuses, and the U.S. premiere of Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise; Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (2001-2007); and General Music Director of the Theater Freiburg and Orchestra (1989-1993).

Mr. Runnicles’ extensive discography includes complete recordings of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s Billy Budd, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi. His recording of Wagner arias with Jonas Kaufmann and the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin won the 2013 Gramophone prize for Best Vocal Recording, and his most recent recording of Zemlinksy’s Der Zwerg with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is nominated for a 2021 GRAMMY® award for Best Opera Recording.

Sir Donald Runnicles is born and raised in Edinburgh. He was appointed OBE in 2004, and was made a Knight Bachelor in 2020. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and was awarded with the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

ORCHESTRA OF THE DEUTSCHE OPER BERLIN

The Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin has played a central role in the culture of Berlin since the establishment of the Opera House in 1912. The distinguished conductors who have served as general music directors range from Bruno Walter to Leo Blech, Ferenc Fricsay, Lorin Maazel, Jesús López Cobos, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Christian Thielemann, and to Donald Runnicles, who has led the ensemble since the 2009–10 season. Guest conductors have included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Fritz Busch, Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Eugen Jochum, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Sir Simon Rattle and Alberto Zedda. Annually the orchestra gives over 200 performances, including operas by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, whose works remain an important element in the orchestra’s repertoire, in addition to revivals, new works and premieres of new commissions. Composers whose works have been first performed with the orchestra include Kurt Weill, Franz Schreker, Werner Egk, Boris Blacher, Wolfgang Fortner, Luigi Nono, Darius Milhaud, Giselher Klebe, Mauricio Kagel, Wolfgang Rihm and Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini. Of particular importance are the works of Hans Werner Henze and Aribert Reimann written for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The orchestra has undertaken concert tours to major venues in Europe and to Israel, Japan, Korea, China and the United States. Recordings include many albums and DVDs, with operas, ballets, concerts and chamber music programmes documenting the importance of the ensemble as one of the world’s leading opera orchestras.

CHORUS OF THE DEUTSCHE OPER BERLIN

The Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is one of the most prominent opera choirs in the world. Chorus masters such as Walter Hagen-Groll, Marcus Creed, Karl Kamper and William Spaulding have shaped the ensemble, which has been led by Jeremy Bines since 2017. The choir has been honored three times as Choir of the Year and in 2012 with the European Choir Prize. The choir’s collaboration with Herbert von Karajan for almost two decades as his preferred choir in opera and oratorio performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker is a significant milestone in the choir’s history. A multitude of albums and DVDs with numerous opera and concert recordings with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, participation in Karajan’s legendary opera recordings, as well as the recording of several albums of the greatest choral scenes in opera are testament to the choir’s artistic achievements.

ELENA TSALLAGOVA

Lyric coloratura soprano Elena Tsallagova’s international career goes from strength to strength.

Elena is invited to sing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages including the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Berliner Staatsoper, the Opéra national de Paris, the Opéra national du Rhin, the Teatro Real, the Opera Vlaanderen, the Lyric Opera Chicago and the Canadian Opera Company, as well as the Gylndebourne, Salzburg, Bregenz and Rossini festivals.

Elena has developed a long-lasting relationship with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, enabling her to sing the roles of Violetta (La Traviata), Micaela (Carmen), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), Gilda (Rigoletto), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Liu (Turandot) to her repertoire.

In these Covid times, Elena Tsallagova has managed to make her debuts at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris and the Grand Théâtre de Genève in ‘Der Messias’, she makes her debut as Blanche de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites) in Hannover and looks forward to her return to the prestigious Glyndebourne Festival next summer for the title role of their new production.

DAVID BUTT PHILIP

One of the most exciting tenors Britain has to offer today, David Butt Philip has attracted major acclaim with recent debuts such as title role Der Zwerg at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Florestan in a new production of Fidelio at Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the title role of Brett Dean’s Hamlet in Glyndebourne, Essex Gloriana at Teatro Real, Erik Der fliegende Hollander at Opéra de Lille, Laca Jenufa at Opera North and Grigoriy Boris Godunov at Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the BBC Proms. An alumnus of the Jette Parker Young Artists Program Royal Opera House, his current and future engagements include debuts with Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin and Metropoilitan Opera, New York, as well as returns to Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Glyndebourne and Deutsche Oper Berlin.

EMILY MAGEE

Emily Magee is today in great demand on the leading opera and concert stages of the world, earning her recognition as one of the most important voices of her generation. Her sumptuous, radiant voice and intelligent, attractive stage presence have won her acclaim in a wide variety of roles, particularly those of Richard Strauss and Wagner, alongside roles of Puccini, Verdi, Janaček, Britten and others. The American soprano has appeared on opera and concert stages throughout the world under the direction of such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado, Antonio Pappano, Franz Welser-Möst, Donald Runnicles, Simon Rattle, Sir Andrew Davis, Semyon Bychkov, and Christoph von Dohnanyi. In addition to performances at New York's Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, The Royal Opera, Zürich, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Chicago, San Francisco and La Scala, Emily has appeared at Europe's finest summer festivals including Salzburg, Bayreuth, and Lucerne.

Tobias Kratzer

Tobias Kratzer studied History of Art and Philosophy in Munich and Bern and stage direction for theatre and opera at the Theaterakademie August Everding. In 2008, adopting two pseudonyms, he submitted entries to the Ring Award Graz, an international competition for stage direction, and won all available special prizes under his two identities, including 1st Prize. Since then, he has directed works under his own name.

In 2019, in addition to Zemlinski’s The Dwarf at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he staged Verdi’s La forza del destino at the Oper Frankfurt and the new production of Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival. The latter was voted “Production of the Year” in the OPERNWELT almanac and won him – in conjunction with his interpretations of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell in Lyon and Beethoven’s Fidelio at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London – the accolade of “Director of the Year 2020”.

In previous seasons his directorial accomplishments included Mozart’s Lucio Silla at the La Monnaie opera house in Brussels and Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Amsterdam. Between 2014 and 2018, working in Nuremberg and Nice (Les Huguenots), Karlsruhe (Le prophète) and Frankfurt (L’Africaine/Vasco da Gama), he directed a cycle made up of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s three historically based grand opéras.

In 2018 he won the FAUST German Theatre Prize in the opera-direction category for his Götterdämmerung at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.