Newsletter, April 2014

Tenor Michael Weinius has a busy schedule at the moment. Recently he was in Copenhagen for a concert and a recording of Paul von Klenau’s 9th symphony, then a very brief visit to Stockholm for Das Lied von der Erde with Lawrence Rennes and the orchestra of the Royal Opera. We reach him just as he is about to board a plane to Düsseldorf where he performs parts of Siegfried with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in ”Der Ring an einem Abend”, a short version of Wagner’s 14-hour-masterpiece fit into a single concert:

You have done Siegmund a lot these last few years and now you sing parts of Siegfried. What is the main difference between the roles?

”Siegmund is such a wonderful part, and I hope I will continue singing it for a long time. However, getting a first ”taste” of Siegfried has been just wonderful. The biggest difference between the two parts is of course the ”tessitura” and the sheer length of the part. I am happy to say that I will be singing my first Siegfried in 2018 and am so thrilled to do it. I approach the role with great care as it is one of the toughest, if not THE toughest there is.

Another role you’ve been doing a lot is Parsifal, e.g. in Munich and Stockholm. Will we soon see you in that role again?

”Actually yes, after Düsseldorf I go straight to Mannheim for Parsifal. I have done this production a couple of times before and it is an amazing experience. The production is the longest living production of a Wagner opera in the world. It had its´premiere in 1957, and is considered to be legendary. Having taken part in it before I can only confirm that. It must have been absolutely amazing in 1957, because it is still quite fascinating! Of course it´s an ”old school” production, but the attention to detail and emotion is really something!

Is there anything more you can tell us about the near future?

Well, I will be doing my first Tristan next March at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. I have turned down several offers for the role earlier, but now the timing seems right. We get decent rehearsal time, which is crucial for an opera like that, and I am looking forward to it tremendously.

Before that I will do many concerts such as Das Lied von der Erde in Bilbao and Beethoven 9 in Gothenburg and Israel But being a workaholic, there are still some gaps to fill during the autumn. I feel at best when working really hard!

Photo by Mats Bäcker

Tuomas Katajala makes his debut at Gothenburg Opera

On April 5 Tuomas Katajala makes his debut at GöteborgsOperan as Prince Léopold in Halévy’s La Juive. There will be ten performances in all until May 18. In the summer Tuomas will sing Tamino’s part in the Magic Flute at Savonlinna opera festival.

Daniel Frank as Tannhäuser at the Royal Opera in Stockholm

On March 14 Daniel Frank makes his debut at the Stockholm Royal Opera as Tannhäuser. Daniel has earlier sung the part at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, in Colombia with Gustavo Dudamel and in Prague. Performances take place on April 18, 21, 25, 28 and on May 2.

Christian Juslin in Turku

Christian Juslin, at the moment singing the title role in Don Carlos at Chemnitz, will be the soloist in Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland on April 18.

Tuija Knithilä nad Västerås Sinfonietta

Tuija Knithilä, who sings Amneris in Aida in Bonn at the moment, will visit Västerås on April 26 to be the soloist in Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man with Västerås Sinfonietta. The composer himself conducts.

Der Rosenkavalier at Malmö Opera

April 26 is the opening night of Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) at Malmö Opera, directed by Dimitri Bertmann. Charlotta Larsson is the Marschallin, Rúni Brattaberg Baron Ochs and Fredrik Zetterström Herr von Faninal. On April 18 Zetterström can also be heard in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra.

Daniel Hällström - God in disguise

Daniel Hällström, at the moment at Malmö Opera as Schaunard in La Bohème, returns to Berwaldhallen on April 27 to do Lars-Erik Larsson’s Förklädd gud (God in Disguise) with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. We last heard him at Berwaldhallen in February when he sang in the first performance of Daniel Börtz’ Sinfonia 12.

Waltteri Torikka and Mirjam Helin

Baritone Waltteri Torikka, who is considered to be one of the most promising young talents in the next generation of Finnish singers, has been selected to participate in the VII Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition 2014 (326 applications representing 51 nationalities were sent and 63 singers were chosen to compete). Torikka was the 2013 recipient of Martti Talvela Award and the first ever Finnish (the second Nordic) candidate for the “Emmerich Smola Förderpreis” in Germany.