Europe
Dresden Festival
Dresden, Germany, 11 May – 10 June
Tel. +49 (0)351 6560 6700
There’s magic in the air for the 45th edition of Dresden Festival’s month-long jamboree, corralling some 1,500 artists and a swathe of historic venues in its 66 concerts. Opening night features a multi-media production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute directed by Roman Coppola; and there’s more sorcery from Thomas Adès who premieres a suite from his opera The Tempest. With cellist Jan Vogler as the festival’s artistic director, ‘Cello Mania’ returns, culminating in a ‘Long Night of the Cello’ mustering nearly 20 cellists including the likes of Mischa Maisky, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Pablo Ferrández and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
Prague Spring Festival
Prague, Czech Republic, 12 May – 3 June
Tel. +420 461 049 232
Web: www.festival.cz/en
Smetana’s Má Vlast might be mandatory to launch a Prague musical spring, but the festival has never been proprietorial. This year, national pride is entrusted to Daniel Barenboim and his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, and they’re not the only visiting orchestral heavyweights. Andris Nelsons conducts the Vienna Philharmonic and François-Xavier Roth prioritises versatility, with Debussy from his period instrument orchestra Les Siècles, not to mention conducting Janáček and Strauss with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln. Freiburg Baroque makes Bachian common cause with Vox Luminis, while Klangforum Wien rounds off the contemporary music strand.
Bergen International Festival
Bergen, Norway, 25 May – 8 June
Tel: +47 55 21 06 30
Web: www.fib.no
Bergen wears its 70 years lightly. After the opening al fresco sing-along, it’s down to business with the world premiere of an orchestral arrangement of Taylor Mac’s , described as a ‘mash-up of music, history, performance and art that were popular throughout the country from 1776 to the present day’. The Bergen Philharmonic also engages and a new work by Caroline Shaw. Strauss’s and a stripped-down operatic take on Dante’s offset piano music in Grieg’s parlour, and an evening of Grieg, Strauss and Wagner from Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen.
