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NEW YEARS EVE CONCERT

Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Soprano: Maria Agresta
Orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl

Maria Agresta's career reads like a tour of the world's great opera houses: Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Salzburg Easter Festival, Metropolitan Opera in New York, plus Barcelona, Dresden, Rome, Venice ... There is hardly a world-class opera house where she has not already sung the great roles in her field. Now the celebrated soprano is coming to Erl to close the year 2026 with a glittering opera gala. She will showcase the full range of her repertoire with an impressive program. At her side is the Italian conductor and Verdi specialist Riccardo Frizza, who also conducts Anna Bolena in Erl. A festive end to the year with one of the most sought-after voices of our time.

Works by Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini

Team

Riccardo Frizza Conductor

Riccardo Frizza is from Brescia. He studied in Milan and Siena and is considered one of the leading conductors of his generation. He is the music director and artistic director of the Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo, as well as honorary conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. His engagements have taken him to the Opéra national de Paris, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, among others. In Italy, he regularly conducts at venues including the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Opera di Roma, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and at the festivals in Pesaro, Parma, and Macerata. As an orchestral conductor, he has led, among others, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Maria Agresta Soprano

Maria Agresta is from the province of Salerno. Since her acclaimed performance as Elena (The Sicilian Vespers) at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 2011, the soprano has been invited to perform the most important roles in her repertoire at the world’s leading opera houses. She has enjoyed great success as Mimì (La Bohème) including the Arena di Verona, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra national de Paris, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The title role in Norma She sang the role of Desdemona in Tel Aviv, Zurich, Turin, Paris, and Madrid (Othello) in Valencia, Zurich, Genoa, and London. At the 2015 Salzburg Easter Festival, she played Nedda (Pagliacci) and, at the 2016 Salzburg Festival, Marguerite (Gounod’s Faust). At the Vienna State Opera, she has appeared as Leonora, among other roles (Il trovatore), Nedda and Tosca on stage.

Orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl

The music springs from the enthusiasm of a motivated and exceptionally well-prepared ensemble that has grown together over the years. The Orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl 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 the Orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiele 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 Orchestra of the Tiroler Festspiele 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.