15.12.2024

NIKOLA HILLEBRAND & ANTONELLO MANACORDA | Debut at Opernhaus Zürich

After her great success as Pamina at the Opéra National de Paris, Nikola Hillebrand can now be heard as Susanna in a revival of Mozart's Nozze di Figaro at the Opernhaus Zürich. In this production by Jan Philipp Gloger, Nikola Hillebrand is able to bring the role of Susanna to the stage with a great deal of humour and charm, escaping the long outdated ‘jus primae noctis’. She has the necessary warmth and sensuality and draws on a wide palette of colours. This enables her to breathe life into Mozart's complex characters.

Slender in sound but strong in expression and precise in detail - this is how Antonello Manacorda's Mozart conducting could be described in a few words. He is known for his lively, modern Mozart, which convinces with brisk tempi and manages to create a unity between the pit and the action on stage. He nevertheless leaves enough space for the orchestra to unfold, but challenges it in the rich instrumental passages and gives the singers the support they need.

We look forward to an enjoyable evening of opera!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro KV 492

Andrè Schuen, Il Conte di Almaviva
Elbenita Kajtazi, La Contessa di Almaviva
Andrew Moore, Figaro
Nikola Hillebrand, Susanna
Kady Evanyshyn, Cherubino
Irène Friedli, Marcellina
Jens-Erik Aasbø,Bartolo
Christopher Willoughby, Basilio
Martin Zysset, Don Curzio
Marie Lombard, Barbarina
Ruben Drole, Antonio

Antonello Manacorda, musical direction
Jan Philipp Gloger, staging
Ben Baur, stage design
Karin Jud, costumes
Martin Gebhardt, lighting design
Tieni Burkhalter, video
Ernst Raffelsberger, choral rehearsals
Claus Spahn, dramaturgy
Philharmonia Zurich
Zurich Opera House Chorus
Zurich Opera House Extras Association