Also: “Icons of Austria” and “The Culture Week” – on July 28th from 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON
Vienna (OTS) – From the opulent local festival events to formative historical events – the “matinee” on Sunday, July 28, 2024, at 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2 and on ORF ON spans a broad cultural spectrum: This is what the documentary “Vom Nil to the Thames – in the Burgenland Festival Summer” first behind the scenes of the current productions of the Opera in the St. Margarethen Quarry and the Mörbisch Lake Festival – “Aida” and “My Fair Lady – The Musical”. Afterwards, the film “Wagner, Bayreuth and the Rest of the World” (9.30 a.m.) sheds light on the many myths and rituals surrounding the Bayreuth Festival. An edition of the short series “Icons of Austria” about the Vienna Reichsbrücke, which collapsed on August 1, 1976 (10.30 a.m.), is followed by “The Culture Week” (10.40 a.m.) with current reports and tips at the end of the ORF cultural morning presented by Peter Schneeberger.
“From the Nile to the Thames – in the Burgenland festival summer” (9:05 a.m.)
The two genres are worlds apart, but the Burgenland venues are only ten kilometers apart: “Aida”, performed by the “Oper im Steinbruch” in St. Margarethen, and the musical hit “My Fair Lady” at the Mörbisch Seefestspiele. Bettina fahrer and Silvia Freudensprung-Schöll accompanied both productions with their cameras until the premiere. Ancient Egypt has been ruling in the St. Margarethen quarry for weeks: a gigantic stage set with a pharaoh’s sarcophagus and obelisk, magnificent costumes from Milan and an international ensemble led by Leah Crocetto magnificently stage Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida” and tell of a love triangle, which leads to a dramatic decision between patriotic duty and true love. In Mörbisch, today’s London has conquered the lake stage for weeks: with melodies like “It’s green so green” or “I would have danced this night,” “My Fair Lady” has been delighting audiences for almost 70 years. It tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a girl from a poor background who becomes a fine lady in London society. A contemporary version is played in Mörbisch, with musical star Mark Seibert as Professor Higgins and Anna Rosa Döller as Eliza Doolittle.
“Wagner, Bayreuth and the Rest of the World” (9:30 a.m.)
Richard Wagner is a social phenomenon, and for some even a question of faith. The Bayreuth Festival Hall is still considered a place of pilgrimage by many. Director and music journalist Axel Brüggemann humorously examines the question of how such a hype and cult could have developed around this highly controversial artist to this day, who almost only seems to have admirers or opponents. How can it be that the festival hall in the Franconian province becomes a mecca for Wagner lovers from all over the world every summer? And how could Bayreuth remain the “living room of the Germans” in the monarchy of King Ludwig, in the fascist dictatorship and in democracy – despite the hard seats? The focus of the film, produced in 2021, is the Festival Hall in Bayreuth and the artistic work within the historic walls. Katharina Wagner, great-granddaughter of the composer, artistic director and managing director of the Bayreuth Festival, gives exclusive insights into her rehearsals and tells what it’s like to direct. Conductor Christian Thielemann takes the audience into the mystical Bayreuth orchestra pit. Wagner expert Alex Ross and the Franconian butcher couple Rauch open up completely new perspectives on Wagner’s world, the festival and the “opening circus” with political celebrities. A tongue-in-cheek look behind the scenes of the myth through the eyes of Wagner fans all over the world – between passion and music, politics, culture, glamor and bratwurst. The documentation also shows the conflict between the love of Richard Wagner’s music on the one hand and the rejection and criticism of the composer’s anti-Semitic views on the other. The film describes Wagner’s magnificent music with brilliant images and exclusively accompanies some rehearsals with world-famous artists such as Piotr Beczała, Valery Gergiev, Plácido Domingo, Barrie Kosky and Anja Harteros.