Celebratory concert for Ralf Weikert’s 85th birthday

Arthur Honegger: Pastorale d'été
Richard Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder
Franz Schreker: Chamber Symphony
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 35 KV 385 «Haffner»

  • Duration :
    approx. 2 hrs. incl. intermission after 1st part after approx. 40 min.

Musical Director:
Ralf Weikert

Ralf Weikert

Ralf Weikert, born in St. Florian, received his first musical training at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. He completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 1965, he was awarded first prize at the Nikolai Malko Competition in Copenhagen. One year later, the Austrian Minister of Education presented him with the Mozart Interpretation Prize. In 1975, the Dr. Karl Böhm Prize was personally awarded to him by the conductor himself. Until 1977, Ralf Weikert served as chief conductor at the Theater of the City of Bonn. He then worked as deputy general music director at the Frankfurt Opera and, in 1981, came to Salzburg as chief conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra and general music director of the State Theatre. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1974 and at the Hamburg State Opera in 1975, followed by debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1987 and at the San Francisco Opera in 1997. In addition, he was a regular conductor at the festivals in Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, and Bregenz. From 1983 to 1992, he held the position of chief conductor at the Zurich Opera House. Since then, he has worked as a freelance conductor and has appeared as a guest with leading orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and many others. Award-winning recordings of operatic and concert repertoire, as well as radio and television productions in Europe and America, were made under his direction. In 2017, his book “Beruf Dirigent” was published by Böhlau Verlag Vienna, followed in 2020 by his autobiography “Der Strom der Töne zog mich fort …”, published by the Swiss Literary Society.


Cast


Mezzosopran Dorottya Láng

Dorottya Láng

Dorottya Láng was born in Budapest and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She was an ensemble member at the Wiener Volksoper from 2012 to 2014, joined the Nationaltheater Mannheim for the 2014/15 season, and was part of the Hamburgische Staatsoper ensemble from 2015 to 2018. Since then, she has worked with conductors such as Ádám Fischer, Marc Albrecht, Sakari Oramo, Ivan Fischer, Cornelius Meister, Kent Nagano, and Teodor Currentzis, as well as with orchestras including the RSO Berlin, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and the Wiener Symphoniker. Her operatic repertoire includes roles such as the Composer ("Ariadne auf Naxos"), Octavian ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Venus ("Tannhäuser"), Brangäne ("Tristan und Isolde"), Hänsel ("Hänsel und Gretel"), Marguerite ("La Damnation de Faust"), Waltraute ("Die Walküre") and Adriano ("Rienzi"). She has appeared at the Norwegian National Opera, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Ruhrtriennale, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko. Concerts have taken her to the BBC Proms, the Palace of Arts, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus Wien, and the International Song Festival in Oxford. Her recent engagements include the alto part in Mahler’s "Das Lied von der Erde" with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Composer with the Nederlandse Reisopera, and Venus in Budapest.

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Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House

Cast

Oiseaux Rebelles11 / 13 / 16 / 18 / 27 Sept 2026 Die Zauberflöte20 / 25 Sept / 6 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 30 Oct 2026 / 2 / 8 / 18 / 20 / 23 Apr 2027 La rondine24 / 27 Sept / 1 / 10 / 15 Oct 2026 Tannhäuser26 Sept / 4 / 9 / 13 Oct 2026 Die Fledermaus29 Sept / 8 / 17 / 23 / 25 Oct 2026 Ein Sommernachtstraum11 / 16 / 18 / 25 / 28 / 29 / 31 Oct / 12 / 13 / 14 Nov 2026 / 19 / 22 / 29 Jun / 3 Jul 2027 1th Philharmonic Concert3 Oct 2026 Alice im Wunderland8 / 15 / 19 / 21 / 26 / 28 Nov / 6 Dec 2026 / 2 / 7 / 8 / 10 / 17 Jan 2027 Romeo und Julia20 / 27 / 29 Nov / 6 / 13 / 19 / 26 / 27 Dec 2026 Elektra22 / 26 Nov / 2 / 5 / 10 / 13 / 16 Dec 2026 Das Rheingold29 Nov / 4 / 12 / 17 Dec 2026 Gabetta & Noseda7 Nov 2026 Manon Lescaut11 / 15 / 18 / 22 / 26 Dec 2026 La traviata20 / 23 / 29 Dec 2026 / 1 / 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 / 19 / 23 Jan 2027 Die lustige Witwe27 / 31 Dec 2026 / 3 / 7 / 10 / 13 Jan 2027 Fuchs & Jordan1 / 2 Jan 2027 Trifonov & Järvi16 Jan 2027 Die Walküre24 / 31 Jan / 3 / 6 Feb 2027 Doctor Atomic7 / 11 / 14 / 20 / 24 / 28 Feb 2027 Roméo et Juliette12 / 19 / 21 Feb / 2 / 5 Mar 2027 Sorita & Lyniv14 Feb 2027 La fanciulla del west25 / 28 Feb / 3 / 7 Mar / 4 / 7 / 10 / 16 Apr 2027 Tosca11 / 14 / 17 / 21 / 24 Apr / 13 / 17 May 2027 L'elisir d'amore25 / 27 / 29 Apr / 2 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 14 / 17 / 21 May 2027 Le nozze di Figaro2 / 6 / 8 / 15 / 19 May 2027 Balanas & Peltokoski18 Apr 2027 Requiem pour Ophélie4 / 7 / 9 May 2027 See the music, hear the dance22 / 28 May / 6 / 10 / 12 / 15 / 25 / 26 / 27 Jun 2027 Don Pasquale23 / 27 / 30 May / 4 / 6 / 11 Jun 2027 Samson et Dalila13 / 17 / 20 / 24 / 27 / 30 Jun / 2 / 9 Jul 2027 La bohème16 / 18 / 23 Jun / 4 / 7 / 10 Jul 2027 Don Carlo1 / 6 / 8 / 11 Jul 2027 Viotti29 May 2027 Rachmaninow – Die drei Opern1 / 4 / 8 / 15 / 18 / 21 / 28 Nov 2026 Benefizkonzert «amiamusica»2 Oct 2026 Open-Air-Konzert4 Jul 2027

Abstract

The Austrian conductor Ralf Weikert served as Music Director of the Zurich Opera House from 1983 to 1992. He played a decisive role in shaping this period musically, which also saw the founding of the Zurich Opera Orchestra, most notably through his first conducting of Wagner’s complete “Ring” cycle, staged by Claus Helmut Drese. As a guest, the internationally renowned conductor remained closely associated with the house for many years thereafter. In November, Ralf Weikert celebrated his 85th birthday and, on this occasion, will take the podium of our orchestra for a celebratory concert. In addition to Wagner’s “Wesendonck Songs” with the Hungarian mezzo-soprano Dorottya Láng, he will also conduct Mozart’s popular “Haffner” Symphony.

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