05.07.2024

MANUEL WALSER returns to the Tirol Festival Erl for Wagner's Ring Cycle

Now a regular guest at the Tiroler Festival Erl, Manuel Walser returns once again this season to take on the same two prominent Wagnerian roles from his previous successful appearances. The role of Donner in Das Rheingold requires an undoubtable commanding presence on stage to embody the God of Thunder, while the role of Gunther, King of the Gibichungs, in Götterdämmerung, is central in the tragic unfolding of events and crucial to the themes of power, betrayal and downfall, and a character which Walser has been previously hailed for portraying with elegance and authenticity “with a distinctive, unmistakable timbre”.

In addition to his operatic appearances, Manuel Walser is this year invited to open the Festival on 4 July as a soloist in Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht, a cantata capturing the festive and rebellious spirit of the ancient Druidic festival of Walpurgis Night, and a work which combines the composer’s characteristic lyrical style with dramatic intensity. Following the theme of Mendelssohn, in between his performances in Erl, Walser joins the Münchener Bach Choir and Orchestra in the composer’s oratorio Elijah as the prophet himself a demanding role both vocally and emotionally, which sets every Baritone’s heart racing.