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Favola in Musica. Musik & Kulturverein

The non-profit music and cultural association “Favola in Musica” was founded in 2012.

Fotografie © Theresa Pewal in Schloss Pöckstein

 

Honorary members

Thank you for the support of our honorary members

Glenys Linos

Mezzosopran

Glenys Linos, daughter of a Greek mother and English father, was born as Glenys Birch in Cairo in 1937 and died in Vienna in 2020. She grew up in Great Britain, where she also attended school. She received singing lessons from the famous opera singer Elvira de Hidalgo in Milan; later she asked Dennis Hall in Bern for advice on vocal techniques. Until 1974 she performed under the name Glenys Loulis.
As a member of the Zurich Opera ensemble, she sang the Messagera in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (1978; musical direction: Nikolaus Harnoncourt, staging: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle), the Countess Geschwitz in Lulu (1979 in the Swiss premiere of the version supplemented by Friedrich Cerha , Directed by Götz Friedrich), the Charlotte in Werther [1] (1979, with Alfredo Kraus and Peter Dvorsky), the Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde (1980), the Giulietta in Hoffmanns Stories (premiere 1980, directed by Hans Neugebauer, also with Alfredo Kraus as a partner).
In Zurich she also appeared as Bizet's Carmen for several seasons (in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's production). She sang this role over 200 times in the course of her career at various stages, including at the Opéra de Paris in a series of performances in the Palais des Sports, at the Bavarian State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in Bern, Cardiff and at other French houses such as Toulouse (under Michel Plasson), Nancy (under Marc Soustrot), Orléans and with the Paris Opera Ensemble (under Pierre Dervaux, with Guy Chauvet as José) in a special performance in the bullring in Bayonne.
In 1971 she was a guest at the Bayreuth Festival, in 1978 at the Munich Opera Festival as a wet nurse in the opera Die Frau ohne Schatten. In 1979 she sang at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden as Adriano in Richard Wagner's early work Rienzi. Of the numerous international guest appearances pars pro toto, her appearance as Baba the Turk in 1982 at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Ken Russell's production of Stravinsky's Rake's Progress should be mentioned. From 1984 to 1986 she sang the mother role of Storge in a scenic implementation of the oratorio Jephtha at the Salzburg Festival. In 1985 she appeared at the Opéra National de Paris as Laura in the opera Der Steinerne Gast by Alexander Sergejewitsch Dargomyschski. In 1986 she took over the Geneviève in the opera Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala in Milan. There is also a live recording of these performances under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado, which was later published on CD.
As Leokadja Begbick in a new production of Kurt Weill's opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, she took her leave of the opera stage in 1992.
After the end of her career, Linos worked intensively as a singing teacher and professor, first in Zurich in the 1990s and at the Royal Academy of Music in London in London, then in Vienna.

Teresa Berganza

Mezzosopran

Teresa Berganza, born in Madrid, was educated in piano studies, harmony, chamber music, composition, organ, and cello, and she achieved her goal of “bene fundada est domus iste”. With all this knowledge she worked in singing, an art that she defines as a “leafy tree seeded at the shore of the river of life”. And, in this complex and tough world, she got to mark the operatic interpretation of the XX century, “recovering musics, and inventing new ways of seeing it”. Alumna de Lola Rodríguez de Aragón, se vinculó definitivamente al canto, disciplina en la que se graduó con el premio fin de carrera y el Lucrecia Arana. Pupil of Lola Rodríguez de Aragón, definitely linked to singing, discipline where she graduated with the end of degree award and the “Lucrecia Arana”. Distinguished representative of the denominated Generation of the ’51 and, because of it, member of the generation that since 1958 started to move the spanish music from the lethargy that the post-war circumstances had plunged it into, Teresa Berganza is the tangible demonstration that that was not a passing adventure, and that this generation did not just act in the creation, but also in the interpretation. The ins and outs sometimes unknown of this interpreter, take us to remember that she took part in several movies from her childhood, participated in multiple zarzuela recordings since the fifties and she was also an exceptional case that from her youth dedicated effort and time to recital, with the inclusion of the German lied and the French song. A lot of time has passed since the Teresa Berganza’s official debut, at the Madrid Athenaeum, February 16th of 1957, with the first of a serial of recital in where she interpreted the Shumann Amor cycle and life of woman. Her scenic debut was done with the part of Trujamán for “El retablo” of master Pedro de Falla at the RAI Auditorium in 1957. But her real debut happened in 1957 at the Aix en Provence Festival with the part of Così fan tutte’s Dorabella.<br />
In 1958 would be her famous appearance as Cherubino in Glyndenbourne, and her presentation in America at the Dallas Opera with the Medea de Cherubinin, with María Callas and Jon Vickers. The next years are a succession of successes and debuts at the more important operatic centers worldwide. Her presence at the Vienna Opera in 1969 with “The Marriage of Figaro”, under Karajan’s directions. With this piece she participated at the Royal Festival Hall directed by Giuliani. In the Sixties, the Aix en Provence Festival, opened its doors again to debut as Dido in “Dido and the Aeneas” by Purcell staring her main contribution to the baroque opera, lately other pieces as “The Orontea” by Cesti in Milan, “Alcina” by Haendel, taken to the disc, or “La incoronazione di Poppea” by Monteverdi at Aix en Provence.<br />
Teresa debuted at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1962 as Cherubino. She also seduced New York the same year. A year later she would debut at the Covent Garden with Solti in Cherubino. In November, she participated in a “The Barber of Seville” with Kraus and Boris Christoff.<br />
The Sixties are full of events. The Metropolitan opened its doors with “The Marriage of Figaro” and the Scala surrended to her with “The Barber of Seville” by Abbado. From this succed, came a bit lately her record, transformed in one of the Rossinians’ icons.<br />
Other especial moments were her meeting with Rafael Kubelik in 1970, her debut at the Lyceum in 1971 with “Cenerentola”, the reunion with Karajan at the Salzburg Festival of 1972 in “The Marriage of Figaro”; the presentation in 1976 at the Vienna Opera with “The Cenerentola”; her debut as Carmen in 1977 at the Edinburgh Festival under the direction of Claudio Abbado and the “Charlotte” debut at Werther in 1979, the record of the “Don Giovanni” for Losey with Maazel, the inauguration of the National Auditorium with the Atlantic and the return to the Zarzuela in 1991.<br />
Teresa Berganza gets to singing supported in her exceptional natural skills but considering her job as another way to know the world, and of course, a battle from the heart and the intelligence, two essential elements to guide an artist. The diva has not just limited to sing good; but she has also found her favorite authors, two above the others, Rossini and Mozart, but also with Handel, Bizet, García or Toldrá, Granados, Turina, Falla and García Abril, convinced of the transcendence of her mission, or her demiurgical power and, because of it, from a radical requirement; from there have emerged without any doubt her exquisite musicality and her high sense of interpretation. She understands her function from this position; “Lying, -she says- no override, means disrespect to oneself and also to the public and to the ineffable art reality. No override also means the overvaluation of oneself, lack of humility, reckless disregard to the divine gift in the delivery to the idols of a subtle vocal technique, or to an always insufficient medical science” From this meeting and the requirerments the miracle of her versions the miracle of her songs emerged, and taking interpretation as a cause. Every single part is studied and developed with extreme precision, with that wonderful ductility, with those supreme gifts (naturally gotten, but also developed by personal effort) for bound song, and above all, to those agilities for “fiorito singing”, almost miraculous. This miracle happened this way, because her voice gathers the most demanding requirements for the lyrical contemporary art, but also the essence of a perfect voice apart of times and trends.

Gerhard Persché

Musicologist, dramaturge, music critic

Gerhard Persché, born 1942 in Graz, member of the Vienna Boys' Choir. Studies: musicology, German language and literature. Trained as a secondary school teacher. At the same time editorial trainee, then feature editor at Graz daily newspapers. From 1966 press officer at the Graz theatre, from 1969 assistant director and evening director for the music theatre in Bonn, from 1972 music dramaturge successively at the theatres in Lübeck, Dortmund (where he also taught at the Heinrich-Heine-Gymnasium), Wuppertal, Mannheim, Bern. From 1983 editor of the magazine "Opernwelt" Berlin, since 1992 freelance music journalist, from 2002 to 2009 freelancer for the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". Correspondent for "Opernwelt", "Fono Forum", "Opera" London. Member of the Critic's Circle London.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The emergence

Prepared for a long time

From the idea to realisation

Maria Weiss, founder of the “Favola in Musica” music and culture association, gained her first organisational know-how as a revival manager and assistant director at the Graz Opera, where she worked alongside her singing studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. But it was only after successfully completing her training as a cultural manager at the Institute for Cultural Concepts Vienna that she dared to embark on the great adventure of founding her own cultural association in 2012 and realising her own projects together with other musicians and artists.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Read more
The idea

Seeking the new in the old and the old in the new

Following in the footsteps of Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” and its subtitle “Favola in Musica”, the interweaving of this work of prima and seconda pratica, to create artistically across genres and to combine old & new. To courageously break new ground and at the same time – in the artistic luggage – to take the knowledge of the traditional with them.

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