Dvořák – Andris Nelsons, Kristine Opolais, Gewandhausorchester

Andris Nelsons has been no stranger to Leipzig. Starting from 2011 he has been conquering the hearts of the audience and the orchestra with a total of eight concerts – even before his official inauguration as a Gewandhaus Kapellmeister. The New York Times has described him as a “young dynamo” and the New Yorker certified his “full-body impact.”

When Nelsons steps up to the podium of the Gewandhausorchester in March 2018 as its new musical director, Leipzig will indeed undergo a makeover. Apart from Felix Mendelssohn, his famous predecessor, he is the youngest conductor in the history of the orchestra being only 37 years old.

In the program Nelsons focuses on Dvořák – the “Otello” overture is followed by extracts from his opera Rusalka. Nelsons’ spouse, Kristine Opolais, takes over the arias of the title role, which she has already performed at the New York Met and the Bavarian State Opera. The fact that Nelsons also selected Dvořák’s 9th “From The New World” can be seen as a programmatic omen: Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester now enter new territory, so to speak, on a joint musical journey.

“The triad of Dvořák, Nelsons, and the Gewandhausorchester sounds fabulous [..] Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester shapes its Dvořák sound out from the middle, singing the melodies with tender, warm, soft colors which the composer hid in every layer of his music.”
Leipziger Volkszeitung