Franz Schreker: DER FERNE KLANG

Musical Direction: Christian Blex
Director: Calixto Bieito
Stage: Anna Kirsch
Costume: Anja Rabes
Light: Michael Bauer

Fritz: Evan LeRoy Johnson
Grete: Lidia Fridman
Dr. Virgelius/the Baron: Ashley Riches
Old Mrs. Graumann/a Spanish woman: Miriam Treichl
Old Graumann/a police officer: Mark Stone
The Count: Stefan Astakhov
Mary: Fan Zhou
Milli: Johanna Thomsen
Mizi: Laura Ulloa
An old woman/the waitress: Carole Wilson
Innkeeper / Second Chorus Member: Martin Summer
A second-rate actor/Rudolf: Ludwig Mittelhammer
The Chevalier/First Chorister: Alexander Marev
A shady character: Robert Watson

Orchestra and Chorus of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl

Festivals are places suited to realising ambitious ventures. The Tiroler Festspiele Erl accordingly now presents Der ferne Klang (The distant sound), Franz Schreker’s first major operatic success. This opera, which premiered in 1912, offers a vocal line still inspired by bel canto – Puccini might well have been a model for Schreker – though accompanied by richly coloured, iridescent late-Romantic harmony that pursues the path that Richard Wagner had opened up with his Tristan and Isolde .

The plot centres on the tragic figure of the composer Fritz, who devotes his life to a search for a “distant sound” – and in so doing so almost loses the woman who is the love of his life. He realises, too late, that the fulfilment he longed for had always been close to hand. The distant sound is a jewel of the operatic literature but is rarely performed. This production will be supervised by the polarising, in-demand international opera director Calixto Bieito. The orchestra will play under the baton of rising star Christian Blex, who in 2025 won the Herbert von Karajan Conductor’s Award at the Salzburg Festival.

Team

Christian Blex Musical Direction

Calixto Bieito Director

Anna Kirsch Stage

Anja Rabes Costume

Michael Bauer Light

Evan LeRoy Johnson Fritz

Lidia Fridman Grete

Ashley Riches Dr. Virgelius/the Baron

Miriam Treichl Old Mrs. Graumann/a Spanish woman

Mark Stone Old Graumann/a police officer

Stefan Astakhov The Count

Fan Zhou Mary

Johanna Thomsen Milli

Laura Ulloa Mizi

Carole Wilson An old woman/the waitress

Martin Summer Innkeeper / Second Chorus Member

Ludwig Mittelhammer A second-rate actor/Rudolf

Alexander Marev The Chevalier/First Chorister

Robert Watson A shady character

Orchestra and Chorus of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl

Tiroler Festspiele Erl Orchestra

The music springs from the enthusiasm of a motivated and exceptionally well-prepared ensemble that has grown together over the years. The Tyrolean Festival Erl Orchestra was first formed in the summer of 1999—and today, musicians from 20 nations play together. Already in its first year, the ensemble achieved unprecedented success, which would go on to bring international recognition to the Tyrolean Festival Erl. Top young talents, musicians from major international orchestras, chamber music specialists, and lecturers come together annually in summer and winter—and since 2017, also in fall and spring—as part of the Tyrolean Festival Erl. Under the direction of festival founder Gustav Kuhn, the orchestra garnered rave reviews from international critics and cemented its reputation as one of the world’s finest Wagner orchestras. With the start of Jonas Kaufmann’s tenure as artistic director in September 2024, Asher Fisch—a conductor in high demand internationally in both opera and concert settings—has taken over the helm of the orchestra.

In addition to Richard Wagner’s ten major music dramas and operas by Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, and Rossini, the orchestra’s repertoire includes Beethoven’s symphonies and many other key works from the concert repertoire spanning the Baroque and Romantic periods, as well as contemporary works and world premieres.

Tiroler Festspiele Erl Choir

Founded in 2007, the choir serves as an equal musical partner to the festival orchestra. The focus is on meticulous attention to individual parts. As part of the festival, the singers work on a wide range of projects, from a cappella programs to concert and opera productions. Since the opening of the Festspielhaus Erl in 2012, the repertoire has placed additional emphasis on bel canto works and Verdi’s operas.

The development of a Baroque choral sound in the works of Bach and his contemporaries is also a key focus of the ensemble’s work; since 2009, it has maintained close ties with Capella Minsk, the State Academic Choir of the Republic of Belarus. Founded in 1940, this choral ensemble has made it its mission to preserve Belarusian folk music and to premiere works by modern and contemporary composers.

The choir is distinguished by its precise intonation, harmony, versatility, and dynamic sound—qualities that have formed the basis for numerous tours throughout Europe in recent years. Its repertoire includes requiems, masses, cantatas, and sacred works, as well as operas. After Lyudmila Yefimova spent many years developing and shaping the choir’s quality, Olga Yanum took over as the ensemble’s director following her death in 2018.