JIM FAGAN
It’s a long way from singing the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia de Lammermoor at the Hanover State Opera to singing Wagner at The J on Saturday, April 26, but leading German soprano, Julia Borchert, is looking forward to the moment.
Julia arrives in Noosa tomorrow to start rehearsing for her role as Isolde in the world premiere of TRISTAN XS, an innovative and abbreviated version of Richard Wagner’s masterpiece of love and death, Tristan und Isolde, and presented by Noosa not for profit hausmusicinc.
The opera’s original length of over five hours involves an enormous orchestra, seven soloists and choir with complex staging but German heldentenor Hans-Georg Wimmer, whose second home is Noosa, and Brisbane-based musicologist Armin Terzer, have created and arranged this opera event for soprano, tenor and two grand pianos.
According to Hans-Georg, “This ‘extra small’ version allows the audience to experience a seldom-performed Wagnerian opera ‘live’ in an intimate setting.”
Julia, who has made guest appearances at all of Germany’s major State Opera Houses and in November last year performed at Bayreuth Festival in Wagner’s Parsifal, told Noosa Today by email she likes the new version as “it concentrates on developing Tristan Isolde’s emotional relationship. I’ve never sung Isolde before just as I’ve never sung with Hans-Georg and I’m looking forward to both.”
Asked about her role as Lucia de Lammermoor, she said,” “Well, it’s a nice little story. The chief conductor from Hanover State Opera asked me to sing the great aria from Lucia called “The Mad Scene” for a youth concert. Today, the world’s most famous singer for Lucia is Maria Callas so, after my first shock,I started to laugh and answered that he probably had made a mistake with my phone number.
“But then he told me he wished me to sing and that he believed in me.I felt very confident then, very relaxed and I sang the whole marvellous aria.After the concert, I was offered the complete new production of Lucia Di Lammermoor.”
Accompanying Julia and Hans-Georgare are pianists Alex Raineri and John Woods, who is a lecturer at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane. A video, inspired by the works of German artist Thomas Sydow, will evoke images to create an atmosphere for Wagner’s music.
Peter Bassett, author of various books on Richard Wagner and opera, and Dr Belinda McKay from Griffith University will guide the audience through the concert.
TristanXS starts at 7pm at The J Noosa Heads. Tickets $38; U16 $15. Bookings: www.hausmusik.com.au, www.thej.com.au or phone 5329 6560.
