We are pleased that the relaxation measures in Switzerland approved by the Federal Council, will enable the Zurich Opera House to resume rehearsals and performances before the summer break. Unfortunately, the originally planned programme cannot be performed, as not only performances but also rehearsals have not been permitted since April. We are therefore all very pleased that numerous artists closely associated with our house are making it possible for us to experience music together again after the lockdown. From 4 to 12 July we present great artists such as Diana Damrau, Camilla Nylund, Julie Fuchs, Sabine Devieilhe, Piotr Beczala, Thomas Hampson, Javier Camarena, Benjamin Bernheim, Fabio Luisi and Riccardo Minasi at our Music Festival «Finale».

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The 2020/21 concert season will be one marked by the spirit of saying goodbye: At the end of the season, Fabio Luisi will conclude nine-year his tenure as general music director of the Opernhaus Zürich. Before bidding farewell, Luisi will conduct three final concerts. For the first, he will continue his cycle of Beethoven piano concertos with the young pianist Beatrice Rana. Then he’ll conduct the Fourth Symphony by composer Franz Schmidt, a composer he holds in highest esteem. And for his last concert, he’ll interpret a giant of the symphonic repertoire: Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. Fabio Luisi will also go on tour in Germany and Austria with the Philharmonia Zurich, clarinetist Sabine Meyer, and Beatrice Rana.

The general music director designate, Gianandrea Noseda – currently music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. – will likewise introduce himself in the 2020/21 concert season. He will appear at the podium of the Philharmonia Zürich with Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, one of the most popular oratorios of the 19th century. In addition, he’ll appear with the orchestra at the Stresa Festival in northern Italy with works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann. The Johannes-Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach under the baton of Riccardo Minasi is another important sacred work on the program this season. The Orchestra La Scintilla will present a concert series featuring concerti and symphonies by Bach’s sons, serenades by W. A. Mozart und Joseph Haydn, as well as music from the Neapolitan school. The Ensemble Opera Nova will dedicate a special concert to American composers of the 20th century determined to forge their own compositional path.