Zurich Opera House 10 November 2024 - Clara | GoComGo.com

Clara

Zurich Opera House, Zurich, Switzerland
All photos (1)
Sunday 10 November 2024
8 PM

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.

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).

Important Info
Type: Modern Ballet
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 20:00

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.

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

In her ballet, Cathy Marston tells of dedication and passion, of inspiration and responsibility. How do you make the right decision between being an artist and "real" life?

Clara Schumann was an excellent composer and arguably the most important pianist of her time. Torn between social constraints and her career, she led a grueling life. Her childhood full of sacrifices, her extraordinary talent, her great successes as a pianist, her love for the composer Robert Schumann, which she fought for against her father, and the raising of seven children provide enough material for myths and clichés: from child prodigy to the ideal woman of romanticized notions of love, from paragon of motherhood to misunderstood composer.

Following up on her ballet The Cellist, in which she examined the great cellist Jacqueline du Pré, Cathy Marston once again devotes herself to an important musician, here tracing the various facets of Clara Schumann's life. It was a life characterized by highs and lows, and one that she devoted entirely to music as a daughter, artist, wife, mother, nurse, manager, and muse.

Yet it was always characterized by triangular relationships: Between Clara and her divorced parents, between Clara, her father, and Robert Schumann; Clara between Robert and Johannes Brahms. The relationship between Clara and Johannes Brahms in particular has repeatedly sparked the biographer’s imagination. What is certain is that Brahms, who was 14 years younger, was immediately fascinated by Clara when he introduced himself to the Schumanns in Düsseldorf in 1853. They developed an intimate friendship, which lasted beyond Robert Schumann's illness and death in 1856, and despite intermittent upsets, lasted until Clara's own death in 1896.

In his ballet score, Philip Feeney, Cathy Marston’s long-time collaborator, weaves together pieces not only by Clara, but also by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Daniel Capps will conduct the Philharmonia Zürich. German pianist Ragna Schirmer, a proven specialist in the work of Clara Schumann, will perform at the piano.

Venue Info

Zurich Opera House - Zurich
Location   Sechseläutenplatz 1

Zürich Opera House is a main opera house in Zürich and Switzerland. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zürich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to the Zürich Ballet. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children. The Zürich Opera Ball is organised every year in March, and is usually attended by prominent names.

The first permanent theatre, the Aktientheater, was built in 1834 and it became the focus of Richard Wagner’s activities during his period of exile from Germany.

The Aktientheater burnt down in 1890. The new Stadttheater Zürich (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was opened in 1891. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when it was renamed Opernhaus Zürich and a separate theatre for plays was built: The Bernhard Theater opened in 1941, in May 1981 the Esplanada building was demolished, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the Kaufhaus building nearby Schanzengraben.

By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, rebuilding took place but not without huge local opposition which was expressed in street riots. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten.

As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart. Additionally, busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-rococo style and seats approximately 1200 people. During the refurbishment, the issue of sightlines was not adequately addressed. As a result, the theatre has a high number of seats with a limited view, or no view, of the stage. This is unusual in international comparison, where sightlines in historic opera houses have been typically enhanced over time.

Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the Predigerkirche Zürich.

The Zürich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio (in German: Internationales Opernstudio IOS) which is a educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists currently teaching such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Hedwig Fassbender, Andreas Homocki, Rosemary Joshua, Adrian Kelly, Fabio Luisi, Jetske Mijnssen, Ann Murray, Eytan Pessen or Edith Wiens.

Important Info
Type: Modern Ballet
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 20:00
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