The production is the second of five operas that are being performed in the finals.
Even though Strauss wrote the opera in 1916, its theme, the opposition between "high" and "low" culture, is still timely, said Baltic Opera director Marek Weiss.
At the heart of Ariadne auf Naxos are two interpretations of the same story by an opera company and a burlesque group.
Weiss warned that opera should not be allowed to become an art form only for "old people". Rather ways must be found to draw more young people to the opera, and they will find it is wonderful, he added.
Two contest finalists will sing in the production: Canadian mezzo-soprano Ariana Chris and French tenor Patrick Bladek. The Hungarian finalist Rita Rácz was also to have performed in the production, but she was forced to withdraw for health reasons.
In addition to Ariadne auf Naxos, there are four productions in the Opera Competition and Festival with Mezzo Television that feature up-and-coming talents whose voices are matched by their acting skills.
The Dicapo Opera Theatre (New York, USA) will perform Tobias Picker's Emmeline, directed by Róbert Alföldi. The Csokonai Theatre (Debrecen, Hungary) will show Last Day of a Condemned, by David Alagna, directed by Nadine Duffaut. The Théâtre Bienne Soleure (Bienne, Switzerland) will show two one-act operas: L'Heure Espagnole, by Ravel, and Alexandre bis, by Bohuslav Martinu, both directed by Bertalan Bagó. The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (Ostrava, Czech Republic) will present Life, by Marco Tutino, directed by Péter Telihay.
Mezzo will broadcast the performances in 39 countries with the cooperation of Hungarian public television Duna TV.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
