On November 9, 11, 14 and 17, Eric Cutler joins the Vienna State Opera for his company debut as Bacchus in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Mr. Cutler sang his first performances of the role at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2018, earning rave reviews and cementing him as one of today’s leading tenors in the Germanic repertoire.

“… Eric Cutler, once again proving himself a Straussian tenor of distinction. He sang his punishing music as if it were the easiest thing in the world.  Where so many before have run out of gas, he had room to spare.  He was also able to pull back and shade the tone ravishingly.  The final few minutes saw Cutler opening up and soaring on high in the most memorable way.”(Operatraveller)

Presented initially to Viennese audiences in 2012, Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s staging brings an intimacy to the light-hearted work with minimalistic set design by Rolf Glittenberg and effective costuming by Marianne Glittenberg. This production will also feature Camilla Nylund as Ariadne, Christina Bock as Komponist, Caroline Wettergreen as Zerbinetta, Thomas Eberstein as Tanzmeister, and Michael Arivony as Harlekin, among others. Thomas Guggeis conducts.

Performances will take place on Sept 18, 21, 29, October 2, 5, 8 and 18.

Today, the 72 recordings that form the second round of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2022 are revealed in a free-to-view digital magazine. From this list of celebrated recordings, an album will be chosen as the winner in each of the 11 recording categories, and from that shortlist, a single album will be named ‘Recording of the Year’ on October 4.