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Zurich Opera “Il Trvatore” new production
These days Adam Fischer is famous for German Operas like “Fidelio” or Wagner works. But he conducted many Italian operas at Vienna State Opera in 1980s. Actually “Il Trovatore” was the first opera that he conducted at professional venue. It was Finnish State Opera in his late 20s. The production by Giancarlo del Monaco, the sun of famous tenor Mario del Monaco, is orthodox compare to other German theaters, but it lacks the kernel of the story. When the curtain raise, Ferrando and his guards troop stood in the fog. They seem solders of middle ages. But the next scene when Leonora and Luna came on the stage in read modern dress and trench coat. Gypsies living in the very modern constructure and Il Conte di Luna practices Japanese sord fighting. Some scenes are beautif to see but the ideas don’t come together even at the end. On the contrary, the music was wonderful. Leo Nucci’s Il conte di Luna and Manrico by Marcelo Alvarez won huge bravo call. Their aries were really show stoppers that created srome of applause. Luciana D’Intimo sang convincing Azucena. Christina Gallardo-Domas sang beautiful Leonora, but compare to impressive other three singers, she was a little shy. Adam Fischer and Zurich Opera Orchestra supported singers very good and
helped them to express their best. Adam will conduct the new production of “Clari” with Cecilia Bartoli at Zurich in late May. Go back to Top
Haydn and Dvorak with Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Adam Fischer has performed Haydn No. 88 many times with many different orchestras. This year he and the Haydn Orchestra played it at Berlin. Sometimes the Bamberg Symphony’s German background prevents them from strong Austrian accents, but they worked very hard. Adam was very satisfied and audience rewarded with much applause. Dvorak symphony is one of the favourite of Bamberg symphony reflecting their origin as the Prague German Theatre’s orchestra. Since Adam has played much Dvorak with the Bamberg symphony, the style has developed a lot. Setting a relatively slow tempo, Adam expressed the landscape of Bohemia and the orchestra responded enthusiastically. This was a wonderful performance and even the orchestra member enjoyed playing. Go back to Top
Internationele Haydntage 2007 and other concerts with Haydn Orchestra
Adam Fischer were very busy during this summer. Immediately after conducting
Schlingesief’s “Parsifal” production for the last time, he started the
rehearsals with Haydn Orchestra. Before Eisenstadt, the Haydn Orchestra appeared
at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in northern Germany. The audience was
surprised by the dynamic Haydn and Mozart symphonies by Haydn Orchestra. Even without Adam Fischer, the Haydn Orchestra is capable of “Haydn and Romantic”. Because of illness, the conductor Sir Charles Makkeras and Hanover Band had cancelled the concert on 12th September. The Haydn Orchestra took over and invited Christopher Hogwood. The program was Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 “Italian”, Weber Clarinet Concerto with the orchestra’s first clarinet, Wolfgang Klinser, and Haydn symphony No. 103. The famous Haydn interpreter Hogwood seemed trusting the orchestra. Instead of constructing from the basic, he rather let the orchestra play. Reducing the “Fischer taste” and adding his own flavor, Hogwood showed the best part of the Haydn Orchestra. Hogwood’s focus was the “Italian” symphony. Before the composer died, he started to revise this symphony but never completed it. Recent study has made this unfinished revised edition public and musicologist Hogwood wanted to play it. Since there are quite a lot of differences, the Haydn Orchestra struggled at the rehearsals, but they played very well in concert. Hogwood’s quick tempo in the fourth movement surprised the audience, but the orchestra kept up. Rewarding the marvelous performance, the audience applauded Hogwood and the orchestra a lot. Members of the Haydn Orchestra liked him very much and want another concert with him. Two days later, Adam Fischer returned to the podium of the Haydn Orchestra. The concert has the title “From the new and old world.” The first half was the popular romantic symphony Dvorak’s “From the new world”. Compared to Haydn, the woodwind and brass instruments took a more active role. In the second movement, not just the cor anglais solo but the woodwind ensemble was so beautiful. And the beginning of the fourth movement, four horns stood up and played the strong first theme. The second half was Haydn’s “Heiligemesse” with the Vienna chamber choir. The orchestra is reduced to small size and the strings are the main .role. Adam Fischer’s lively tempo made sometimes difficulties for the choir but the Vienna Chamber Choir sang beautifully. As usual the Sunday Matinee was the finale of the Haydntage. Adam Fischer and the Haydn Orchestra played Haydn and Tchaikovsky. First the orchestra played Haydn’s early work symphony No. 15, Then Tchaikovsky’s rococo variation. Unfortunately the original soloist Clemens Hagen cancelled, so the first solo cellist of Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Christoph Stradner took his place and showed his virtuoso technique. After the intermission the program was the Haydn symphony No. 97. This is one of Adam’s favorite symphonies and the orchestra made a recording last year. Each movement was sometimes humorous and some lively Fischer style. Full-house audiences enjoyed the warm atmosphere of the festival. As usual, Adam Fischer said farewell to the audience and the orchestra played “The farewell” symphony as an encore. One week after the festival, Adam Fischer and the Haydn Orchestra visited the Stefaniensaal in Graz. The local music association invited the Haydn Orchestra for the opening of the new season. They performed Mozart Prague symphony and Haydn’s No. 97. Go back to Top
Big success at the Mannheim Mozart Summer at Schwetzingen castle
Adam Fischer’s engagement with National Theatre Mannheim was finished in 2005. During his time, Adam started “Mannheim Mozart Week” in December, but National Theatre Mannheim shifted the festival in July at Schwetzingen castle near Mannheim. Mozart himself had visited the Schwetzingen castle and performed there. In the castle, there is a small Rococo theatre which is the main venue of Schwetzingen Festival. National Theatre Mannheim made a new production of Mozart early opera “Lucio Silla” for this theatre. Instead of the original Roman Empire period setting, the director Günter Krämer sets the story in modern political battle. Lucio Silla carries out a coup and becomes the new emperor. The survivor of the opposition, Cecilio and Lucio Cinna try to kill him but fail. At the end Silla forgives all and becomes the people’s emperor. All the singers acted well and sang beautifully. Especially, Cornellia Ptassek’s beautiful pianissimo staccato, and the male soprano Jacek Laszczkowski were world class. The National Theater Orchestra, Mannheim played very lively and convincing music. This production proves that Adam Fischer has made the orchestra into one of the best Mozart ensembles. The next Mannheim Mozart Summer will be held in July 2008. Go back to Top
Budapest Wagner Days 2007
Following the big success of “Parsifal” last year, the Budapest Wagner Days 2007 took place on 7-10 June at the palace of Arts. This year’s it was a half cycle of “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. It is one of the biggest projects of the year at the Palace of Arts, whose total budget is 160 million forint (about 900,000 US$). Like “Parsifal”, the singers were in the normal concert costumes, but act just as in a regular opera. This year there was much more. On stage, there were huge LCD panels which showed beautiful and effective scenery. At the beginning is only darkness. Then the LCD panels show beautiful Rhine
daughters swimming in the river. The figures in the LCD synchronize with the
music. The singers are in front of the screens, or stand behind when they are
transparent. Not only was the scenery, the music really first class. Among the singers, Christian Franz was very impressive. His Loge has a lot of character and his Siegmund was a romantic sad hero. The duet with Michaela Schuster’s Sieglinde was one of the highlights of this production. James Johnson sang an honorable Wotan in “Das Rheingold”. Hungarian soprano Judith Nemeth was persuasive Fricka both in “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre”, Linda Watson was a Brünnhilde who is strong and powerful. Really exceptional was the Hunding of Walter Fink. His strong voice was so scary that when he came to the stage with his dog dancers, the palace of arts became the house of Hunding. Supporting characters are also high level. Veteran Olaf Bär sang Donner just like Bayreuth. Hanna Schwarz sang mysterious Erda. Jyrki Korhonen and Thomas Jesatko were Fafner and Faslot. Their voices were as impressive as the huge puppet of Giants. Among the world class experienced singers, a Hungarian young tenor Attila Fekete got attention. His lyrical and heroic voice is perfect for Froh. He has a promising future as heroic tenor. The Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer was also the center of the performance. Under his singer-friendly baton, singers showed their best ability. And the orchestra expressed the powerful Wagner pathos. We can hardly wait for the complete cycle next year.
Haydn Orchestra celebrates 20th anniversary at FertödTop level musicians from Vienna and Budapest gathered at Eisenstadt and under the baton of young conductor Adam Fischer and a first concert took place on 28 May 1987. Twenty years later on 27 May 2007, the orchestra celebrated the anniversary at Esterhaza castle in Fertöd, where Haydn performed his famous “Farewell” symphony for the first time. The programme of the anniversary concert was Haydn’s symphony No. 49 “La Passione”, and the cantata “Berenice che fai” with the soprano Raffaella Milanesi, who had sang Euredice in “L’anima del filosofo” in Eisenstadt. After the intermission came a Handel aria from “Ariodante”, and Haydn’s symphony No. 88. Since the Esterhaza castle doesn’t have a large concert hall like the
Haydnsaal, the orchestra performed in the Music Room, which is the largest in
the castle. The audience were divided into two rooms and in between there is a
wall with 3 doors. The doors were wide open but unfortunately, the audience in
the second room could not see the orchestra well. However, the small audience
enjoyed wonderful music in at-home atmosphere.
Haydn Orchestra German Tour and 20th anniversary concert
In 1987, the border between Austria and Hungary was still closed. Using a hole in the Iron Curtain, Adam Fischer founded the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra in order to perform the best Haydn music at the Haydnsaal. The members must be the best musician from Austria and Hungary, just like in Haydn’s time. The ensemble recorded the entire Haydn symphonies and after 20 years it is well known internationally. Just before the cerebration of its 20th anniversary, Adam Fischer and the Haydn Orchestra made a German tour. They visited six cities including the capital Berlin. On 20Th April, the orchestra performed at the Berlin Philharmonic chamber music hall. They started with Haydn Symphony No. 88. This is one of Adam Fischer’s favorite symphonies and he has recorded it four times. Strong accents of strings made the music very lively and interesting. It was really different from Berlin-style Haydn. Just after the first piece the audience was already excited. The second piece was the oboe concerto by Mozart. The solo oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, Albrecht Mayer played the solo. Not only showing his fingering technique, Mayer played a beautiful tone. Even a high note was very lovely. After the intermission, they played the Mozart Andante for oboe and orchestra. Then finale was Haydn symphony No. 101 “The clock”. The bassoon made a stable tick-tock tone and exchanges between solo flute and strings made an interesting sound. When the piece ended, audience answered with a huge applause. The concert was concluded with the encore, the overture to “The Marriage of Figaro”. In Hamburg, Dortmund and Düsseldorf, the orchestra played Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. With strong timpani strokes, their passionate Beethoven satisfied the local audience. The entire tour was very success. The critics wrote good reviews in every city. Five days after the tour on 28th of April, the Haydn Orchestra returned to the Haydnsaal, Eisenstadt and gave the 20th anniversary concert. First they played Beethoven No. 7, then Haydn No. 101, which the orchestra played at their first concert on 28of May, 1987. The second anniversary concert will be on 27th May at Fertöd.
Guest conducting at the Camerata SalzburgAdam Fischer is getting very popular as a concert conductor in Austria. Especially his Mozart and classical music interpretation is one of the best. Not only has the Haydn orchestra, Camerata Salzburg wanted him as a guest conductor. Following the opening concert of the Salzburg Mozart week, the Camerata Salzburg invited Adam to the podium for their Vienna Konzerthaus concert. The program was all Mozart. The first half was the ballet music from Idomeneo and three arias for baritone. Originally Thomas Quasthoff was announced as a soloist, but the New Zealand/Samoan baritone, Jonathan Lemalu replaced him. After the intermission, the Camerata Salzburg played Mozart Symphony No. 38, “Prague”. Adam Fischer’s interpretation is very quick. Since the last movement was very difficult in quick tempo, if the solo flute could not correctly observe the rest at the beginning of the phrase, then the entire orchestra rushed a bit. The Camerata Salzburg worked very hard to keep the tempo stable. Although it sounded a little different from Adam Fischer’s Mozart, the Viennese audience gave a warm welcome. They played as an encore the Figaro overture. It was not as dynamic as the Haydn Orchestra. In general, the large hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus was too large for the orchestra of this size. It was difficult to hear some detail from back of the hall. Go back to Top
Mahler Symphony No. 8 at Budapest
Part Two was for the orchestra and soloists. Adam Fischer’s signature very
intense small tone froze the audience. Everybody held their breath not to miss
any note. There were only seven soloists at the beginning but the soprano Eva
Baroti appeared on the balcony to sing a beautiful Madonna of glory. The
performance was followed by thunderous applause from the capacity audience. Go back to Top |
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Content © 1996 -
2008 Adam Fischer & Haydn Orchestra Fan Club
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During
2007/08 season, Adam Fischer conducts two new productions at Zurich opera. The
first new production, Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” premiered on 2nd of December, 2007. 
October
is the time, when many of Orchestras in Germany starts their new season. This
year the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra invited Adam for the season opening. Adam
and the Bamberg Symphony have close relation these days. The orchestra needs a
good Haydn conductor, and Adam Fischer wants to perform Dvorak with good
orchestra. Therefore, the program is most of the case Haydn and Dvorak. This
time the program was Haydn symphony No. 88, Mozart Piano concerto No. 25 with
the young British pianist Paul Lewis, and Dvorak’s symphony No. 8.
As
well as Haydn, Mahler is an important composer for Adam Fischer. This February
he conducted Mahler Symphony No. 8. Its nickname “Symphony of Thousand” shows
how many performers are needed. The symphony requires one full size orchestra (Hungarian
Radio Symphony Orchestra), 2 choirs (Hungarian Radio Chorus, Hungarian National
Chorus, and Debrecen Kodaly Chorus), a children choir (Hungarian Radio Children
Choir) and 8 soloists (Anna Korondi, Beatrix Fodor , Eva Batori, Ildikó Cserna,
Bernadett Wiedermann, Janos Bandi, Viktor Massány, István Kovács). Adam Fischer
was always in control.