JONDE > Schloß Weikersheim
La Traviata – Schloß Weikersheim
Schloß Weikersheim
La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi
La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi
Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland
International Summer Course in Schloß Weikersheim
Musical direction: Jakov Kreizberg, Amy Andersson
National Youth Orchestra of Spain, JONDE
State Youth Chorus of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Stage direction: Manfred Weiss
Scenography and costumes: Timo Dentler and Okarina Peter
Dramaturgy: Silke Meier
Premiere July 21, 2005
Schloss Weikersheim, Germany
Stage rehearsals from June 15, 2005
Nine performances until July 31, 2005
German Jeunesses Musicales presented the opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) in an open-air production in the courtyard of Weikersheim Palace on nine evenings in July 2005.
The cast for La Traviata in Weikersheim was very international, as always, but a unique aspect this time was that all three of the leading roles were sung by Koreans — one of whom was especially impressive, namely Ga-Seul Son as Violetta.
The orchestra was the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, JONDE, and the chorus was the State Youth Chorus of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
The stage was made of five large containers, of the type used on ocean-going container ships. This made for some nice visual effects and rapid changes of scene.
The Weikersheim International Opera Course
Mondigromax acted as a bridge for the Spanish National Youth Orchestra, JONDE, to be present at the opera course organized by the French Musical Youth at Weikersheim Castle, where young professionals premiere a production accompanied by established professionals.
Between Stimulus and Demand
The French Jeunesses Musicales International Opera Course at Schloss Weikersheim has set itself the goal of helping young artists on their way to professional life and facilitating these practical experiences. The number of those who have obtained a permanent contract in a theater or of those who have made an international career afterwards, shows that the objective has been fulfilled in recent years very satisfactorily.
This success is also due to the fact that more and more top international music directors have taken the time to work in Weikersheim. Dennis Russell Davies, Lothar Zagrosek or Yakov Kreizberg and Amy Andersson have enriched opera courses with their authority and experience and have distinguished them decisively. Also the attendance of highly renowned musical youth orchestras has contributed decisively to the quality of the work and the performances.
Another important factor is the tranquility and privacy of Weikersheim, which facilitate intense and concentrated work, unthinkable in an official music academy or in a professional theater. On the one hand, singers are helped to exercise in important roles -under the supervision of musical directors, stage directors and highly experienced singing teachers- on the other hand, some of them must be exposed, some for the first time, to psychological stress and physique of the performance before a large audience.