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A Viennese NEST of talent Vienna
Künstlerhaus
06/21/2025 -
Reynaldo Hahn: A Chloris
Richard Strauss: Mädchenblumen, op.22: 1.“Kornblumen”, 2.“Mohnblumen” & 3.“Epheu” – Der Rosenkavalier: “Mir ist die Ehre wiederfahren”
Gerald Finzi: Let Us Garlands Bring, op.18: 1.“Come away, Death”, 4.“O Mistress Mine” & 5.“It was a Lover and his Lass”
Otto Nicolai: Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor: “Wohl denn, gefasst ist der Entschluss”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: La clemenza di Tito, K.621: “Parto, parto” & “Ah perdona al primo affetto”
Gaetano Donizetti: Don Pasquale: “Quel guardo il cavaliere”
Gioacchino Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia: “Una voce poco fa”
Hannah-Theres Weigl (soprano), Anita Monserrat (mezzo), Gyeongtaek Lee (piano)
G. Lee, H.-T. Weigl, A. Monserrat (© Wiener Staatsoper/Michael Pöhn)
In 1868, a beautiful building called Künstlerhaus was inaugurated in Vienna. One of the earliest buildings on the Ringstrasse, it was designed in the style of an Italian Renaissance villa (actually after Jacobo Sansovino rather than Palladio). Initially, it was the meeting place of the Society of Young Artists and Academics, which merged with another artists’ society to form an association of Viennese painters, sculptors and architects. In 1897, several artists seceded from the Künstlerhaus to form the famous Vienna Secession movement.
It’s in this building, rich in history, that one of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, the Wiener Staatsoper, has planned a revival. On December 7, 2024, San Ambrogio’s day, perhaps as a clin d’œil to Milan’s Teatro alla Scala but more likely as a cheer coincidence, the venerable Viennese opera house inaugurated a new venue, NEST (short for “NEue STaatsoper”). Its mission is to reach out to a younger audience, as was confirmed by the many young people and even young families with children in this afternoon’s concert.
Though NEST’s modestly-priced offerings are quite varied, I naturally opted for an operatic program and was pleasantly surprised. Two young singers gave a one hour recital of the highest calibre. These singers, a young Austrian soprano, Hannah‑Theres Weigl, and a young British mezzo, Anita Monserrat, are part of the Wiener Staatsoper ensemble.
The program was excellently chosen, included both opera and Lieder, and was performed in German, Italian, French and English. The diction of both singers was exemplary throughout. The delightful aria of the soubrette Norina from Don Pasquale revealed Weigl’s charm and coquetteness. Her phrasing was spot on, and her facility in the upper register at the end of the aria was striking. Likewise, Monserrat’s aria from Il barbiere di Siviglia was a masterclass in interpretation. I wish a recently‑heard Rosina (just two days prior in Paris) would have heard it. This is exactly how Rosina ought to sound: coy, rebellious and yet still somewhat of an ingénue. By also singing Sesto’s famous aria “Parto, parto” from La clemenza di Tito, the young mezzo displayed her refreshing versatility.
As I was listening to such refined singing, I wondered how lovely it would be to hear these two young voices together in the most glorious repertoire of light lyric soprano-mezzo duets, the presentation of the rose, “Mir ist die Ehre wiederfahren”, from Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. Not having looked at the entire program, I was not aware that this enchanting duet was indeed the program’s final offering. What joy! The two voices blended wonderfully; Octavian’s rapture on first true love was perfectly conveyed by Monserrat, as was Sophie’s delight in her stratospheric vocal ascent to Heaven in her yearning for Octavian.
A final blessing was offered with a perfectly-chosen encore, the Sesto-Vitellia Act I duet “Ah perdona al primo affetto,” from Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. Weigl’s gorgeous soprano may have been somewhat light for the crafty Vitellia, but her expressivity and vocal beauty more than compensated. As for Monserrat, the trousers role of Sesto fit her like a glove.
Weigl and Monserrat have already have played leading roles in smaller opera houses and now sing small roles, such as Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana and Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette, in the larger Wiener Staatsoper. I look forward to hearing them in future productions at Vienna’s premier opera house, and have no doubt we’ll hear them – sooner rather than later – in such major roles as Sophie and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier; Susanna and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro; or even Vitellia and Sesto in La clemenza di Tito. I’m delighted to have witnessed two future opera stars so early in their careers.
Ossama el Naggar
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