Wilhelm Tell
With his last opera, William Tell, Gioachino Rossini created an opulent musical monument to the Swiss national hero who, over the centuries, has become a symbol of Swiss identity. The opera depicts the struggle of the Swiss Confederates against the Habsburg tyranny – and for the freedom and independence of the Swiss people. Based on Friedrich Schiller’s famous drama, the work excitingly combines the tragic fate of the individual with revolutionary political visions and a nation’s desire for freedom and self-determination. Composed in the style of French grand opera with sweeping scenery, mass scenes and effective tableaux with large choral numbers, Rossini’s score not only contains one of the most famous overtures in the history of musical theater, but also musical local color: Swiss shepherd melodies make the supposed Alpine idyll around Lake Lucerne audible.
Cast
Director: Julien Chavaz
Choreography: Nicole Morel
Stage Management: Ivana Aeschbacher
Choir Master: Filip Paluchowski
Dramaturgy: Christina Schmidl
Guillaume Tell: Theodore Platt
Dance: Elenita Queiróz/Laura García Aguilera/Jeanne Gumy/Federica Faini
2024
Der Anonyme Liebhaber
Opera by Joseph Bologne “Chevalier de Saint-Georges
British-Nigerian director Femi Elufowoju Jr. tells this romantic (tragic) comedy as the story of Joseph Bologne, for whom, as a person of color in the 18th century, it was impossible to marry a white European woman. The musical direction is in the hands of the US-American conductor Kazem Abdullah.
Music by Joseph Bologne “Chevalier de Saint-Georges”.
Libretto by François-Georges Fouques Deshayes “Desfontaines”
after Stéphanie Félicté de Genlis “Madame de Genlis
in a new version by Femi Elufowoju Jr.
Cast
Musical direction: Kazem Abdullah / Stéphane Fromageot
Production: Femi Elufowoju Jr.
Production: Sebastian Juen
Stage and costume: ULTZ
Lighting: Charles Balfour, Andreas Enzler
Choreography: Elenita Queiroz
Choir rehearsal: Franz Obermair
Dramaturgy: Christina Schmidl
Joseph: Joshua Stewart
Léontine: Florina Ilie
Ophémon: Äneas Humm
Dorothee: Libby Sokolowski
Jeannette: Jennifer Panara
Colin: Christopher Sokolowski
Dancers: Theatertanzschule St. Gallen
Choir: Choir of the Theater St. Gallen
Orchestra: Symphony Orchestra St. Gallen
2022
Breaking the Waves
Opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek
Lars von Trier caused a sensation in 1996 with his award-winning film Breaking the Waves. In it, he tells the story of a deeply religious, traumatized, young woman in an impossible situation: out of love for her paraplegic husband Jan, Bess complies husband Jan, Bess complies with his outrageous demand and sleeps with other men – believing that
in the belief that this will save her husband. Twenty years after the film, the opera version of the material was successfully premiered in Philadelphia. With a highly emotional tonal language and sensual sounds, the U.S. composer and Grammy winner Missy Mazzoli paints a multifaceted portrait of an anti-heroine who, out of self-confidence, is forced to sleep with a man.
of an anti-heroine who, out of selflessness, becomes the victim of an isolated, dysfunctional society.
Musical direction: Modestas Pitrenas
Production: Melly Still
Set design: Ana Inés Jabares-Pita
Lighting: Malcolm Rippeth
Choral rehearsal: Franz Obermair
Dramaturgy: Christina Schmidl
Bess McNeill: Vuvu Mpofu
Jan Nyman: Robin Adams
Dodo: McNeill Jennifer Panara
Terry: Justin Hopkins
Dr. Richardson: Christopher Sokolowski
Mother: Claude Eichenberger
Sadistic Sailor: Kristján Jóhanneson
Council: Man David Maze
Young: Sailor Cristian Joita
Dancer: Swane Küpper
Emily Pak, Elenita Queiroz
Herren choir of the Theater St.Gallen
Symphony Orchestra St.Gallen
2021
