05.10.2024

NIKITA IVASECHKO | Role debut as Wolfram von Eschenbach at the Graz Opera

Former member of the Vienna State Opera's opera studio and now a newly appointed member of the Graz Opera ensemble, Nikita Ivasechko will make his eagerly awaited role debut as Wolfram von Eschenbach in Wagner's Tannhäuser on 5 October, the opening premiere of the current Graz season. Shooting star Evgeny Titov, who has conquered the major opera houses in Berlin, Zurich and Munich, among others, in a very short space of time with his haunting works, will direct the production, while Graz Opera's chief conductor Vassilis Christopoulos will conduct the music.

In his uncompromising behaviour, Tannhäuser has completely cut himself off from the outside world and locked himself away in his wild artistic fantasies. The artist's non-conformity holds great fascination - and at the same time harbours conflict: because in his uncompromising nature, Tannhäuser is simply not socially acceptable. He offends even those who are well-disposed towards him. In the end, there is once again only the path to isolation, which can only end in madness.

Even Wagner cannot resolve the irresolvable contradictions of his Tannhäuser. The disparate elements are part of the score from the very beginning, which the composer - in contrast to his other works - repeatedly subjected to new revisions over the course of his life without arriving at a final version. He still owed the world Tannhäuser, Wagner said just three weeks before his death. In terms of obsession and uncompromisingness, he was hardly inferior to his Tannhäuser. This is what makes this work so fascinating to this day.

We wish Nikita a big ToiToiToi for his role debut!

Cast:

Wilfried Zelinka, Landgrave Hermann
Samuel Sakker, Tannhäuser
Nikita Ivasechko, Wolfram von Eschenbach
Ted Black , Walther von der Vogelweide
Markus Butter | Ivan Oreščanin, Biterolf
Euiyoung Peter Oh, Henry the Scribe
Will Frost, Reinmar von Zweter
Erica Eloff, Elisabeth
Mareike Jankowski , Venus
Ekaterina Solunya, A young shepherd
Dominika Blazek / Agustina Calderón / Ingrid Niedermair-Miller / Lenka Jombíková, 4 Noble Boys