Great spectacle! This was PENELOPE 25

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8 characters, 14 singers, 26 instrumentalists, 2 conductors, 23 editors, 13 music educators, 5 music pedagogues, 1 composer, 3 stage directors, 5 video- and audio technicians, 1 light technician, 1 stage designer, 1 make-up artist, 1 taylor, 2 translators and a big number of collegues at the GMPU Klagenfurt, the Konzerthaus Klagenfurt and the Conservatorio di musica "Benedetto Marcello" in Venice, who were active around the production and next to the stage:

2 institutions, 1 composer, 1 librettist, 1 work, 1 passion = PENELOPE 25!

With a lot of passion, we presented the results of four semesters of project work and an intensive week of rehearsals in four performances in Klagenfurt. The dress rehearsals (May 20 / original version and May 21 / youth opera) were already attended by an appreciative audience. The public performances began on 22 May with two performances for school classes, who were introduced previously to the work and the plot surrounding Penelope and her “long-distance relationship” with Ulisse using educational materials provided in advance.

The premiere of the original version took place on 23 May, followed by the second and final performance in Klagenfurt on 24 May: The musically rich, emotional and humorous Penelope enchanted the enthusiastic audience with its lively, passionate and sophisticated music in an imaginative and colorful scene. With the encore of the final chorus, we gave our audience the timeless core message of the work to take on their way home: LOVE WINS!

The two versions (original version, youth opera) and the four casts (youth opera, 23.5., 24.5., 14.6.) of vocal parts were a particular challenge for the project, as this constellation meant that everything had to be rehearsed multiple times. It was particularly important to us not to create a fixed type of role and a uniform musical interpretation for the individual performers with ornaments that applied to everyone, but to give the pairs of performers the freedom to shape their role or part individually. In this way, each performance was unique and offered different versions of the characters, to which the orchestra reacted flexibly: in this way, baroque music becomes an exciting experience for everyone!