Close Up

An extraordinary compedium of opera history as made by Ioan Holender, who reflects on the 118 premières of his 19-year term as director of the Vienna State Opera. On 632 pages, Ioan Holender, former director of the Vienna State Opera, recollects all 118 premieres of his term, which lasted from 1991 to 2010, relating his impressions in a very personal and intimate way. During numerous meetings with editor Lois Lammerhuber, Ioan Holender described the turbulent and moving, sometimes dramatic and sometimes joyful, course of these productions. The stories reflect Ioan Holender's deep passion for opera and its protagonists. Axel Zeininger's photographs provide a great variety of insights into 19 years of opera, with the stars of generations of singers, from Placido Domingo to Anna Netrebko. Facsimile prints of the original playbills make this book an extraordinary document. The volume is rounded off with analyses by arts journalists Gert Korentschnig, Karl-Heinz Roschitz, Heinz Sichrovsky and Wilhem Sinkovicz. Text in English & German.