Korngold opera closes Grafenegg weekend with acclaimed cast

Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt ended the penultimate weekend of the Grafenegg Festival with a concert performance at the Wolkenturm on Sunday, ORF reports. The production combined late Romantic richness with an accomplished cast and atmospheric lighting.

First performed in 1920, when Korngold was 23, the opera centres on emotional confusion and features the well-known arias “Glück, das mir verblieb” and “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen,” according to Austria Press Agency critic Ewald Baringer.

Although a concert performance lacks the theatrical element of a fully staged opera, the performers and dramaturgically deployed lighting largely compensated for that limitation. The Tonkunstler Orchestra delivered an opulent orchestral sound under Dmitri Jurowski, who took over the conducting from Axel Kober.

Eric Cutler, as Paul, who remains preoccupied with his deceased love, and Camilla Nylund, as the lively Marietta, formed a highly effective central pair, both vocally and dramatically. Samuel Hasselhorn performed the dual role of Frank and Fritz with considerable baritone volume.

Further roles were sung by Christa Mayer as Brigitta, Ilia Staple as Juliette, Florentina Serles as Lucienne, Daniel Jenz as Victorin and Gaston, and Matthaus Schmidlechner as Count Albert. The Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, prepared by Eduard Kostelnik, also took part.

The opera will be presented in a staged production directed by Willy Decker at the Vienna State Opera in spring 2027.