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Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

PRESS KIT

Fouché / Dramatic Opera by Franz Hummel

January 9, 2009, World Premiere, Posthof Linz, 8 PM January 10, 14 & 15, 2009, 8 PM Introductory remarks prior to each performance at 7 PM

PRESS CONFERENCE

Speakers

Wolfgang Winkler – Artistic director of LIVA Martin Heller – Artistic director of Linz09 Peter Androsch – Musical director of Linz09 Franz Hummel – Composer Susan Oswell – Director & Choreographer

Joseph Fouché was not only Napoleon’s minister of police. He was a monk and seminary instructor, a Jacobin deeply involved in political intrigues, an intellectual mass-murderer and the inventor of state surveillance on a massive scale. In 1820, he died in exile, after having been banished to Linz, where he was half-heartedly tolerated by Metternich. He is the chief protagonist of the dramatic opera “Fouché.”

A LIVA production commissioned by Linz09

A digital press kit and pictures are available online at www.brucknerhaus.at.

Mag. Pia Leydolt / Presse Mag. Gernot Kremser / Presse & Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Linz 2009 Brucknerhaus Linz, Untere Donaulände 7, 4020 Linz Tel +43732/2009–37, Fax +43732/2009–43 Tel +43/732/7612-2120, Fax: +43/732/7612-2130 [email protected], www.linz09.at [email protected], www.brucknerhaus.at

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

Fouché – Inventor of the Surveillance State

Napoleon’s minister of police, monk and seminary instructor, Jacobin deeply involved in political intrigues, intellectual mass-murderer and the inventor of state surveillance on a massive scale—near the end of his life during which he amassed a fortune, he flees into exile in Linz where, with Metternich’s half-hearted consent, he is permitted to remain. He goes about his business, day in and day out, repeatedly casting angst-ridden glances to a figure standing atop a distant hill. Is it Bonaparte? Is he being followed? Is he under surveillance?? Fouché’s language increasingly degenerates into egomaniacal, distorted abbreviations. He constantly dredges up recollections of his past in the garishly distorted abyss of his cryptic poetic dregs traversed by but few veins of intellectual clarity. Fearful visions alternate with hybrid phases and illustrate the increasing loneliness and isolation of this power-obsessed man, the perennial second fiddle, whose craftily woven web of surveillance, intrigue and betrayal made him a danger to Napoleon, the man of action whose coarse deceitfulness ultimately prevailed. When the sensitive and subtle, highly educated and utterly amoral Fouché arrives in Linz, the signs of wear and tear on this high-powered potentate are quite obvious. He personifies the uselessness of striving for meaning and the failure of the “will to power.” His conception of self increasingly runs up against the furies that he himself summoned forth. When, over the course of this work’s plot, his past emerges from the chorus in the form of former acquaintances and colleagues and drags, piece by piece, the tormenting reality of his career into the focal point of his mind’s eye, he commences to nervously reflect on—though still utterly incapable of objective articulation on the subjects of—politics. humanity, love, crime, guilt and punishment. And thereby betrays his self. He must inevitably be destroyed by the Unio mystica of perpetrator-victim. Nevertheless, as he approaches the end of stay in Linz, he comes under the thrall of a fatal automatism and refuses to give up hope of eventually finding final absolution in Trieste. Fouché, synonymous with abuse of power and corruption, remains, even in the role of the faithful and caring paterfamilias, the prototype of the depraved, loveless, unloved individual. He has been on his guard for decades, driven by a constantly pulsating urge to know everything about everyone in order to use it to his own advantage at the right time. The aftermath: a human wreck. The psychological causes and effects of this wreckage are the subject of this opera. The past that weighs heavily of Fouché forces him now into the hopelessness of the decrees that he had previously issued to target others. As an old man, severely ill with lung disease, he is literally left breathless. No friends remain; all have become enemies. There’s no one he could have trusted, no one with whom he could ever have shared an honest thought. Napoleon, Robespierre, Joséphine Bonaparte etc. reappear in his daydreams and torment his memory. Nothing had ever attained greater importance than himself for this gifted criminal, scheming perpetrator of regicide, Slaughterer of Lyon, priest, murderous apostate and secrecy-shrouded guest of the City of Linz. This opera is a psychogram of the obsession with power using the example of a public personality ideally suited to this inquest; a Hieronymus Bosch-style parable of a phenomenon that still—though less boldly and with far less esprit—haunts the corridors of democracy and does its St. Vitus Dance with a chimera of Political Correctness.

Franz Hummel

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

The Language of the Potentates

We have long since been able to see through the operetta-like melodramatic body language and listened with rapt attention to the injured utterances of the likes of Hitler, Göbbels, Stalin, Pinochet and Mussolini. The guttural staccato of their wasted souls should actually have betrayed them long before they had acquired even an iota of power. Joseph Fouché may perhaps have sounded less conspicuous, quieter, more refined that the 20 th century’s criminals whose voices have been documented with the technologies of their times. He was undoubtedly better educated than those who came after him; he had polish and finesse. Nevertheless, even in his case, tonal traces and nuances of articulation must have testified to murderous fundamental convictions and an ice-cold emotional make-up. This is the starting point of my libretto, in that it intentionally ignores the Fouché character’s narrative level. A domineering Alpha-male must structure, must maintain power. This never takes place via differentiation, but rather strictly by means of standardization and a tell-tale process of thinning out the language. A barely veiled melodiousness transforms even the most softly uttered incidental remark into a command. And no sooner does the merest shimmer of self-pity manifest itself than all present throw themselves to the ground to kiss the poor man’s feet. Indeed, most subordinates are not musical enough for such subtle tones; nevertheless, perhaps due to a certain affinity, they have a remarkably fine-tuned sense of their master’s current mood. The aesthetic of my Fouché libretto is essentially based on such observations. In spite of his attitude of dominion that repeatedly flares up and that certainly can be assumed to have mimicked Napoleon, the aged mass murderer sent into exile in Linz increasingly over the course of the opera loses his syntax, linguistic fluency and a sense for the rational context of his remarks. Gradually, everything gets tangled up into a jumbled mass of decayed remnants of words and phrases. The consummate repression of his psychic reprehensibility “pardons” him in the end by means of an Alzheimer-like loss of meaning-endowing articulation. The verdict: Justice is a chimera invented by maltreated souls that reality spits in our face every day. Fouché’s descendants are said to still be filthy rich.

Sandra Hummel

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

Historical Information about the Opera’s Most Important Characters

Joseph Fouché, duc d’Otrante (Duke of Otranto) Born: May 21, 1759 in Le Pellerin near Nantes; Died: December 26, 1820 in Trieste French politician during the French Revolution and minister of police during the Empire and the Restoration. Robespierre called him the “head conspirator.” Fouché organized an extensive espionage system that pervaded all strata of society. He financed these activities with revenues from gambling concessions from which he personally profited as well. He repeatedly succeeded in forming opposition coalitions against his enemies such as Robespierre—he thus brought about the fall and subsequent execution of his bitterest foe on the 9th of Thermidor (July 27, 1794). He was never officially connected with these events; he always manipulated the reins of power from behind the scenes. Directly affected by the January 6, 1816 Decree of Banishment of all those accused of regicide, Fouché emigrated to Austria, where, with the consent of Metternich, he was permitted to establish residence first in Prague and then in Linz.

Maximilien Robespierre (Maximilien Marie Isidore de Robespierre) Born: May 6, 1758 in Arras; Died: July 28, 1794 in Paris Called The Incorruptible by the people, he was a French politician and one of the most important figures during the French Revolution. He received a scholarship that enabled him to attend high school and then study law at the Collège Louis le Grand in Paris. Twelve years later, he passed the bar. Shortly thereafter, he published pamphlets critical of the privileges of the aristocracy and the clergy. He called for freedom of the press, general suffrage for men, abolition of slavery in the colonies and repeal of the death penalty. Reason was to by the universal foundation; virtue the mission of the state. Robespierre supported all measures against the so-called “enemies of the revolution,” which earned him a reputation as the French Revolution’s “executioner.” On July 28, 1794, Maximilien de Robespierre himself was sent to the guillotine, where he and many of his followers were beheaded.

Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord Born: February 2, 1754 in Paris; Died: May 17, 1838 in Paris One of the best-known French statesmen and diplomats during the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna. As foreign minister, he played a major role in creating the Napoleonic Empire and in 1804, the year it was founded, saw to it that no foreign power could pose a serious challenge to it. Nevertheless, his views and those of Napoleon regarding what was best for France soon diverged, and Talleyrand was dismissed in 1807.

Napoleon Bonaparte – Napoleon I Born: August 15, August 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica; Died: May 5, 1821 in Longwood House on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic The French general, statesman and emperor was the son of a Corsican family. Bonaparte rose through the ranks of the army during the French Revolution, displaying first-class military talent. In the years after the Peace of Tilsit, Napoléon was at the zenith of his power. He met widow Joséphine de Beauharnais and married her on March 9, 1796. Since the marriage produced no children, he divorced her in 1809. At the innermost center of his domain of power, the despotic tendencies grew stronger during this time, and Bonaparte became increasingly intolerant of critique of how he wielded power. Censorship became stricter, the press was muzzled, and the Theater Decree of 1807 restricted the latitude of Parisian theaters. On the other hand, a growing personality cult formed around the emperor. In 1810, Bonaparte married Marie-Louise von Habsburg, the eldest daughter of Austrian Emperor

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Franz I. She bore him the son he so longer for. In 1814, having lost all support from the army, political allies and close confidants, he was banished to the island of Elba. He finally died on the British island of St. Helena on May 5, 1821 due to stomach cancer in an advanced stage.

Marie Josephe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerin – Joséphine de Beauharnais Born: June 23, 1763 in Trois-Îlets, Martinique; Died: May 29, 1814 in Rueil-Malmaison Empress of France. She was a widow when she met General Napoleon Bonaparte, whom she married on March 9, 1796, though this union was by no means a marriage of love on her part. Rather, she did so at the insistence of her lover at the time, Paul de Barras, since she herself was well aware of the fact that her best days were already behind her. Napoleon, on the other hand, was passionately in love with this woman six years his senior. Nevertheless, Joséphine never even considered giving up her luxurious lifestyle and numerous lovers. It was due precisely to her way of life and the elements of the old aristocracy and the recent revolution that she combined that put her in a position to enable her husband to gain the social acceptance that he, due to his origins and career path, would never have been able to achieve on his own. In return, he gladly paid off her enormous debts. Politically disinterested, Joséphine did not play an active role in her husband’s political life beyond the Consul period.

Marie Thérèse Charlotte of France – Duchess of Angoulême Born: December 19, 1778 in Versailles; Died: October 19, 1851 in Schloss Frohsdorf near Lanzenkirchen Marie Thérèse Charlotte was the eldest child of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette of Austria. She grew up at Versailles Palace. Her stay there ended with a failed attempt to flee after the French Revolution, after which the family was banished from the Tuilleries to the Temple. The girl was the only member of the royal family to survive imprisonment, only to become a political football. In 1795, she was turned over to Austrian relatives in exchange for French prisoners of war.

Comtesse de Castellane – Countess de Castellane Presumably born in 1791 Sometime between 1815 and 1817, this 26-year-old daughter of an impoverished aristocratic family met Joseph Fouché. The marriage to this man—at the time: Excellency, Duke, respected Minister of His Majesty and the second-richest man in France—promised to make her one of the country’s most distinguished and respected women.

Hirondelle Fouché Fouchés daughter from his first marriage, born after the death of her sister Nièvre.

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Excerpt from: “Joseph Fouché” by Stefan Zweig

pp. 90f Hard, cold, conspiratorial and secretive in public and in politics, this very odd man was, at home, the most charming of spouses, the most tender paterfamilias. He passionately loved his horrifyingly repulsive wife and, above all, the little girl that she bore him during the time of the Proconsulate and whom he personally baptized Nièvre on the marketplace of Nevers. This small, delicate, pale child, his darling, suddenly became ill in those Thermidor days. Thus, growing concern for the life of his child was added to Fouché’s fear for his own life. The most terrible test he had to withstand: knowing that his weak, sick, beloved daughter was in the throes of death and, being hunted himself by Robespierre, … he could not be by his beloved child’s side as she suffered and died.

pp. 281 Linz – in Austria, the mention of this city’s name always brings forth a grin, the way it just instinctively rhymes with “province.” A petit bourgeois populace of rural origins—ship workers, artisans, mostly poor folks, only a couple of stately homes of old, established families of Austria's landed aristocracy. Nothing like Prague with its great and glorious tradition, no opera, no library, no theater, no social whirl of balls and parties. A real, old-fashioned, sleepy provincial town, an asylum for veterans. This was the new place of residence of this elderly man accompanied by two young ladies of almost the same age—one his wife, the other his daughter. He rented a splendid home and had it refurbished in grand style, much to the joy of Linz’s contractors and businessmen who were certainly not accustomed to such millionaires in their midst. A couple of families made the effort to socialize with these interesting and, thanks to their great wealth, somehow distinguished strangers. But the aristocrats very visibly displayed their preference for Countess Castellane, one of theirs by birth, to the son of a bourgeois upstart, this Monsieur Fouché, upon whose brittle shoulders the mantle of dukedom had been hung only by Napoleon, himself an adventurer in their eyes. Local government officials had been secretly instructed by Vienna to have as little to do with him as possible. And so this once so passionately active man now lived in almost complete isolation, practically shunned. The memoirs of a contemporary observer provide a very vivid description of his situation at one of the public balls: “Most conspicuous was the way the countess was celebrated whilst Fouché himself was neglected. He was a medium-sized man, solidly built but not fat, and had an ugly face. When attending a dance, he would always wear formal attire—blue jacket with gold buttons, white breeches and white stockings. He wore the large insignia of Austria's Order of Leopold. He usually stood alone by the fireplace and observed the dancers. When watching this formerly all-powerful minister of the French Empire, the way he stood there so lonely and solitary, and how happy he seemed to be when some minor official would engage him in conversation or invite him to play chess, my thoughts instinctively turned to a consideration of the transience of all earthly power and greatness.”

Stefan Zweig: “Joseph Fouché. Bildnis eines politischen Menschen ”, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 1952/2007 (First edition: 1929, Insel-Verlag)

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Dramatic Opera is a variety of musical theater that does not make use of purportedly flawless singing voices that intense training has polished to perfection and that, accordingly, conform to the tastes and expectations of opera lovers. Instead, it accentuates flaws and shortcomings of the human vocal spectrum as qualities and characteristics of the individual. I cannot imagine old Fouché—amidst the hell of his heavily burdensome past, imprisoned in the dungeon of growing dumbfoundedness—showering down upon us pearls of prettified singing in a musically-supported, vocalized tour de force. Above all, this dramatic work calls for good actors. And since experience shows that most of them like to sing, the invention of dramatic opera was the obvious thing to do. One very appealing aspect of this is to be found in the area of transition where language must morph into music. Therefore, the five lines for musical notes have been augmented with additional lines in order to maintain the impression of the customary note configuration but, at the same time, to undermine the precise stipulation of pitch. The performer is indeed made aware of the composer’s intention but is incapable of fulfilling it. In this hopeless situation, he must come up with his own solution—he composes these melodically vague prescriptions so to speak in accordance with his own imagination and uses his voice not only musically but also in a way that is characteristic of speech. The same applies to the chorus. Given a score that, here and there, is written out over ten lines instead of the usual five, the members must arrive at a form of vocal expression that is partly like speech and partly like song and thereby create a mass sound that can hardly be controlled. The fact that the notations written down in 10 lines appear so absurdly precise and do not simply employ convenient cluster symbols is one aspect of an effort to get the performers actively involved, a signal designed to warn them to avoid all-too-careless arbitrariness and, despite tremendous latitude, to seek coordination of their utterances. Where singing is usually called for, I have limited myself to melodies that anyone can sing. In most instances, these are lieder that might be found in folk literature or reminiscences of a figure that Fouché has recalled.

Franz Hummel

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

Franz Hummel is today considered one of Europe’s most prominent and most original composers. Discovered, supported and nurtured by Richard Strauss, Eugen Papst, Hanns Knappertsbusch and Elly Ney, the young Franz Hummel was a virtuoso pianist who was already composing at the age of seven. He has given concerts throughout Europe and the USA. His more than 60 recordings include almost the entire classical-Romantic repertoire as well as numerous modern works. His last major tour as a pianist took him through the USSR in 1973. Since then, he has dedicated himself almost exclusively to composing and has only sporadically appeared in concert. Hummel’s operas, symphonies, ballet music, concerts and chamber music works are performed by the world’s foremost musicians and orchestras. Several of the 16 operas he has composed—“Fouché” is the seventeenth—have been performed throughout Europe. For example, “Blaubart,” a parable about Sigmund Freud has been performed 120 times at venues ranging from Moscow, Paris, London and Rome. The German TV network ZDF recorded his entire oeuvre in 1985. The world premiere of his “Sinfonia funebre” in commemoration of the victims of the horrendous 1996 earthquake took place in Kobe, Japan in January 2006. That same year, Hummel completed his “33 Veränderungen über einen Walzer von Anton Diabelli.” Its performance by Argentine pianist Carmen Piazzini in a co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk will be coming out on CD on the neos label in January 2009. This approximately one-hour work was conceived as a modern answer to Beethoven’s famous “Diabelli Variations.” Since the completion of the dramatic opera “Fouché” for Linz09, Hummel has been writing a work for the stage about Friedrich Nietzsche; the working title is “Zarathustra.”

Sandra Hummel was born in 1967 in Dormagen and trained as a singer, lyricist and essayist. She has published numerous works, and also written opera libretti and radio plays, most recently “Bruckner, der Musikant Gottes” for a production by the Bayerischer Rundfunk, and Franz Hummel’s “Der Richter und sein Henker” that premiered on November 8, 2008 in Erfurt, Germany. She recently completed her libretto for composer Thomas Müller’s opera “Trotzki.” She has also begun to compose. In collaboration with teacher Ursula Galli (text), she wrote the music for a children’s musical entitled “Im Land der Aymathobolus.” Sandra Hummel is married to composer Franz Hummel and frequently writes the texts that are the foundation of his compositions.

Susan Oswell was born in England. She studied dance, acting and music in Tring and London, and was a soloist dancer in several ballet companies including Teheran, Bonn and Paris. She and Rosamunde Gilmore were lead dancers and choreographers of Germany’s internationally renowned Laokoon Dance Group. In 1984, the critics on the staff of “Theater Heute” magazine named Susan Oswell best actress of the year. In 1995, she began studying composition with Franz Hummel. In recent years, several of her orchestral and chamber music works have been performed to excellent reviews in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland and the USA. She is currently working on a chamber opera entitled “Zelda” based on the correspondence of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald (libretto: Jutta Georg) and on a cycle of lieder entitled “100 wasser” based on poems by Sabine Bergk. She also works as a director, choreographer and actress on a regular basis.

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Alexei Kornienko was born in Moscow. He received classic Russian training as a conductor and pianist, and possesses an enormous knowledge of the classical-Romantic repertoire. Kornineko is considered an excellent interpreter of modern as well as Romantic works, and has conducted numerous world premieres. He has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Orchestra and the Slovakian Philharmonic. Alexei Kornienko began his musical education at the age of five. He studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow (piano class Zak), in Charkov (conductor class Jordania) and was a prizewinner at the International Rachmaninoff Piano Competition in Moscow. Since moving to Austria in 1990, Kornienko has also made a name for himself as a competition juror and as a teacher at the Conservatory of the Province of Carinthia. He was co-founder of the Gustav Mahler Ensemble and is a member of the Bösendorfer Artistic Club. In 2000, he was appointed artistic director of the newly established Wörthersee Classics Festival. Numerous CDs document his career path. Selected opera productions: “Die kahle Sängerin” by Luciano Chailly, “An der schönen blauen Donau” by Franz Hummel, “Bastien und Bastienne” by W. A. Mozart, “Der Steinerne Gast” by Alexander Dargomyszky, “Sauschlachten” by Alfred Stingl, “Heimatlos – eine Wirtshausoper” by Anton Prestele, and “Die Nacht wird kommen” by Erling Wold.

Bernhard Hammer was born on January 26, 1961 in Stainz, Austria and currently lives in Vienna; apprenticeships in metalworking and carpentry, master class in interior design at the School of the Arts and Crafts in Graz, master class in stage set design at KUG–University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. He has worked on various architectural projects. Since 1995, he has been a free-lance set designer. Since 2004, he’s been working in photography: 2004 “Die Geschundenen,” 2005 “Die Suchenden,” 2007 “Die Disziplinierten.” He has worked on operatic and theatrical stage productions in Vienna (Volkstheater, Burgtheater, Akademietheater, Rabenhoftheater), Berlin (Volksbühne) and Amsterdam (Trusttheater) in cooperation with such top-name directors as Hans Kresnik, Theu Boermans, Karl Welunschek and Peter Pawlik.

Erika Landertinger was born in Salzburg. She has worked as a costume designer on more than 200 opera, ballet, dance and drama productions. She has worked with such directors as Hans Kresnik, Achim Freyer, Bosse, Antoine Uit Dehaag, Holger Schul and Judith von Simoa at major venues in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Zurich, Rotterdam, Vienna and Salzburg. Since 2003, she has taught costume design at the ABKM- Academy of Fine Arts Maastricht.

Gerhard Fischer was born in Vienna in 1958. He has done lighting design at numerous theaters in Vienna including the Akademietheater, Schauspielhaus, Wiener Kammeroper, Odeon, Museumsquartier, Jugendstiltheater und Künstlerhaustheater, and has worked together with Heiner Müller, Josef Svoboda, Feruccio Solieri, Hans Scharvernoch, Bernhard Hammer and Bernhard Kleber. He has done the lighting design for dramatic productions in Amsterdam (Theatercompagnie, Stadsschouwburg) and Belgium (De Singel / Antwerp), for opera productions (Oper Amsterdam; Semperoper Dresden), the Dresden Music Festival, and for opera houses in Ghent and Antwerp. He has toured with opera ensembles in the USA, Japan, China, Venice (Biennale), Belgium, Australia, Milan, Czechoslovakia, Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul and various cities in Austria. He is a lecturer in lighting at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna – stage set class Erich Wonder and at the Max Reinhardt Seminar.

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

Harald Heinz was born in 1946 in Wuppertal and received his training as an actor at HMTH–University of Music and Theater in Hannover. From 1970 to 1990, he worked at theaters in Kiel, Gießen, Dortmund, Basel, Braunschweig and Heidelberg and then for 11 years as a free-lance actor in various TV productions. He also has experience as a director: “Clavigo,” “Misery,” “Fülle des Wohllauts” and “Antilopen” by Henning Mankell in 2005. Nevertheless, he remains primarily an actor, working at such venues as the Staatstheatern Wiesbaden und Mainz, Neumarkttheater Zurich, in Heidelberg, Gelsenkirchen, Lübeck and at the Burgfestspielen Jagsthausen, Wunsiedel and Mayen. At Stadttheater Münster, Harald Heinz played Faust in “Faust I” and “Faust II” by Goethe, including several 8½-hour marathon performances. During the 2001-02 season, he was a member of the ensemble at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe and made guest appearances at Frankfurt Opera in Lucioano Berio’s “Un re in ascolto.” He has has been a free-lance actor and director since the summer of 2002. His most recent engagements include Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha,” “Biografie” at Altes Schauspielhaus Stuttgart, the world premiere of “Endgeil” by Gerd Heidenreich, Pater Lorenzo in “Romeo and Juliet” and “Alte Freunde” by Maria Goos.

Bettina Schönenberg began her acting career at the ADK-Academy of the Performing Arts in Ulm and has been making her way down the Danube ever since. Her first fixed engagement took her to Regensburg, where she played Sams in “Eine Woche voller Samstage,” Sonia Walsk in the two-person musical “Sie spielen unser Lied” and Mariedl in Werner Schwab’s “Präsidentinnen.” She has been singled out for recognition for her work in the one-woman show “Warum trägt John Lennon einen Rock?” and as Gretchen in Tabori’s “Mein Kampf.” For several years, Bettina Schönenberg has been a regular guest at Kammerspielen Landshut and at Altstadttheater Ingolstadt. In other outings, she played Eliza Doolittle at the Komödie im Marquart in Stuttgart, appeared at Landesbühne Hannover, and played “Hexe Hillary” at Staatsoper Nürnberg. She has also been appearing in Regensburg in her own musical cabaret program entitled “Zack! – Glück!” Her appearance in Linz is her first in Austria.

Léla Wiche A native of Vienna, soprano Léla Wiche artistic activities range across a wide music spectrum including opera, operetta, chamber music, lieder and oratorios. Following her training in acting and dance, she studied voice in Vienna and London. She has won prizes at international competitions and been the recipient of several master class grants. Her roles have included Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Arminda (La finta giardiniera), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Rosalinde (Fledermaus), Angèle Didier (Graf von Luxemburg) and Kurfürstin (Vogelhändler), and she has performed the Requiem (Mozart), Messa da Requiem (Verdi), Lobgesang (Mendelssohn) and Messias (Händel). Léla Wiche has appeared at the Musikverein, Neue Oper and Volksoper in Vienna, at the Sommerspiele Klosterneuburg, at concert halls in Vienna, Graz and Klagenfurt, at the Brucknerhaus Linz, Palau de la musica Barcelona, Philharmonie Luxembourg, at Jeunesse Musicale, RadioKulturhaus, Festivals Allegro vivo, KlangBogen, Spectaculum, Donaufestwochen, Haydn- Festspiele Eisenstadt, Musikwochen Millstatt, Steirisches Kammermusikfestival, Festwochen Gmunden, with Lower Austrian Tonkünstlerorchester in Schloss Grafenegg, on the ORF – Austrian Broadcasting Company, as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel and the USA.

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Stephanie Lang was born in Passau, Germany and lives in Vienna. She received her training at the Westfälische Schauspielschule Bochum and studied voice in the master class of Mirka Yemen Dzakis (Athens). Engagements took her to Schauspielhaus Bochum, the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and the Theater Oberhausen. She is a free-lance actress and singer, and has worked on numerous productions for film and television. Her roles have included Desdemona in “Othello,” Mädchen in “Roberto Zucco,” Polly in “Three Penny Opera,” Julie in “Fräulein Julie,” Elmire in “Tartuffe,” Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth,” Lena in “Leonce und Lena” and Judy Garland in “Judy.” Her work as a vocalist has included successful collaboration with pianist/composer Larry Lofquist (USA) and in the groups Treasure and F.A.ST. Since 2004, she has been a member of the Vienna Swing Sisters.

Ursula Langmayr was born in Linz and attended the Musisches Gymnasium. She studied voice with Ingrid Janser-Mayr and Wolfgang Holzmair at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She has worked with top-name artists including Dennis Russell Davies, Silvain Cambreling, Emilio Pomàrico, Beat Furrer, Russell Ryan, Klangforum Wien, Vienna Philharmonic, Ensemble Recherche and Wiener Akademie and appeared at such festivals as Wien modern, Wiener Festwochen, steirischer Herbst, styriarte, Bregenzer Festspiele, Salzburger Festspiele, Carinthischer Sommer, Berlin modern and Warschauer Herbst. She has performed in productions of Mozart operas, in the role of Eurydice in the Austrian premiere of “Orpheo” by Philip Glass in Salzburg, and the world premiere of Beat Furrer’s “Begehren” at Graz 2003. Soprano Ursula Langmayr has a very wide-ranging repertoire including classical opera, lieder and contemporary music; lieder evenings in Austria and abroad, including world premieres of works by Kurt Schwertsik; frequent collaboration with pianist Russell Ryan; numerous concert appearances (including Mahler’s Fourth Symphony conducted by Dennis Russell Davies in Salzburg, St. Matthew’s and St. John’s Passions as well as Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Wiener Akademie, “Ein deutsches Requiem” by Brahms, Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor, as well as great works of sacred music by Bruckner, Haydn and Schubert); concerts and tours in the USA, Japan, China, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. Most recently, she has appeared in the world premiere of “I hate Mozart” by Bernhard Lang at Theater an der Wien, and in the role of the angel in “Ich, Hiob” by Thomas Daniel Schlee at Carinthian Sommer 2007 and 2008 (which will also be performed at the Minoritenkirche in Linz in March 2009). In 2008, she performed at Opéra Garnier and Centre Pompidou in Paris, at the Salzburg Festival, the Graz Opera and at the Classical Music Festival in Mühlviertel, where her rendition of Gyögry Kurtag’s “Kafka Fragmente” received rave reviews. Her schedule for 2009 includes numerous lieder evenings as well as duets with mezzosoprano Christa Ratzenböck.

Tiberius Binder was born in 1975 in Klausenburg, Transsylvania; soloist with the St. Florian Boys Choir, training as a vocalist at the Mozarteum in Salzburg; assistant director in Vienna and Upper Austria; manager of the Wienerwald Boys Choir; speaker training; solo concerts as countertenor and guest appearances as singer/speaker at, among other venues, Schlachthof Wels and Landestheater Linz. Culture management: head of the production department of Linz09, artistic production bureau LIVA / Brucknerhaus Linz (including Klangwolke, Theater im Rosengarten), press relations for Jeunesse. Musikalische Jugend Österreich. NGOs: CEO of HOSI Linz, public relations work for UKI–Committee to Support Integration of Foreigners, integrative pedagogy for immigrants and people with handicaps – UKI, Educational Agency in Vienna, VHS Fünfhaus Vienna as well as language interpreter for Eastern Europe; kinesiologist, systemic coach and exhibition curator associated with Praxisgemeinschaft T3.

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Matthäus Schmidlechner 2001-05, studied at Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz under William Mason, Thomas Kerbl and Kurt Azesberger; master classes and workshops with, among others, Michael Schade, Felicity Lott, Barbara Bonney and Helmut Berger-Tuna. Since 2003, in addition to numerous activities in the field of oratorio, he been a guest performer at Landestheater Linz, where his roles have included Prinz Paul in the operetta “Die Großherzogin von Gerolstein,” Wenzel in “Verkauften Braut” and the Blind Man in “Fledermaus.” He has performed in Bad Hall (Belfiore in Mozart’s “La finta Giardiniera”), Berlin (Kronprinz Friedrich by Siegfried Matthus) and Vienna (Wiener Operettensommer). In February 2006, he accompanied the Franz Schubert Ensemble Austria on an operetta tour of Chile. At Ernst Krenek Tage in Linz, he sang the role of Cleon in the chamber opera “Tarquin” by Ernst Krenek in the Linzer Kammerspielen. Since the 2007-08 season, Matthäus Schmidlechner has been a member of the ensemble at Landestheater Linz. Current productions: Adam in Zeller’s operetta “Der Vogelhändler,” Basilio in Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” and Linfea in Francesco Cavalli’s opera “La Calisto.” In Summer 2008, he appeareded at Wiener Operettensommer and in the Theater in der Kulturfabrik Helfenberg as Moore in John F. Lampe’s opera parody “The Dragon of Wantley.”

Klaus Boris Theinschnack was born in 1976 in Linz; 1994-2003, studied solo voice at the Bruckner Conservatory Linz; since 1994, training in speaking and rhetoric with Eva-Maria Aichner (Landestheater Linz); appearances in numerous musicals and opera productions in Bad Leonfelden, Bad Hall, Steyr und Linz: Caiphas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” officer, minister in “Evita” etc; concert activities include work with the KEPLER-KONSort (J. S. Bach, H. Purcell et al.), Collegium Vocale Linz, the Linz Jeunessechor, Thomas Kerbl, Colin and William Mason; member of the ensembles Das Tribunal (2007: “Dieser verfluchte Montesqieu”). 2003, judge’s examination, since 2005, state’s attorney in Linz.

Josef Zwink The native of Oberammergau began his voice training with private instruction from Arthur Gross and Gabriele Weinfurter, and continued his studies at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, where he studied under Birgit Greiner and, since 2006, with Andreas Lebeda, and graduated with honors in 2008. Master classes with Kurt Widmner and Harry van der Kamp provided decisive impetus to his development. He sings in ensembles (KEPLER-KONSort Linz and Ensemble Cantissimo) and has worked with prominent directors including Andreas Lebeda, Colin Mason, Markus Utz, Ingo Ingensand, Till A. Körber and Thomas Kerbl. He has appeared as a solo artist in concert and in opera productions throughout German-speaking Europe. His repertoire includes classical works and New Music. Josef Zwink has worked with directors Henry Mason, Alexander Hauer, Christian Stückl and others.

Ensemble09 The new music-making formation for the Capital of Culture. Linz09 didn’t just summon a royal court orchestra; instead, it developed its very own group. The Ensemble09 is designed to be an institution that lives on beyond the end of the Capital of Culture year. One dedicated to “living” music, one that sets the standard in reflecting our contemporary culture, and one that exerts a fertile and lively influence on pedagogical and musical institutions. Ensemble09 defines itself as a mediator, go-to source and communications forum for composers, performers and audiences representing all strata of society.

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______Fouché / Dramatic Opera by Franz Hummel

January 9, 10, 14 & 15, 2009, Posthof Linz, 20:00 Uhr

Idea// Otto M. Zykan

Composition// Franz Hummel

Libretto// Sandra Hummel

Susan Oswell, Director & Choreographer Alexei Kornienko, Musical Director Bernhard Hammer, Set Designer Erika Landertinger, Costume Designer Gerhard Fischer, Lighting Design Monika Krestan & Gerda Fischer, Make-uü

Harald Heinz, Joseph Fouché Bettina Schönenberg, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte Léla Wiche, Hirondelle Fouché Stephanie Lang, Joséphine Bonaparte Ursula Langmayr, Komtesse de Castellane Matthäus Schmidlechner, Talleyrand Boris Theinschnack, Robespierre Tiberius Binder, Napoleon Bonaparte Josef Zwink, Erzbischof Laurent

Anton Bruckner Private University Linz: Soloist Ensemble from the Department of Song and Voice: Veronika Arnold, Susana Bento, Catherina Pamela Berzé, Michaela Editha Diermeier, Alexandra Diesterhöft, Eliska Dvorakova, Martina Fender, Iris Hartung, Beate Kornter, Stefanie Leitner, Christine Lindorfer, Christine Ornetsmüller, Regina Riel, Christina Schauer, Julia Michaela Schick, Yuqian Zhou; Philipp Dürnberger, Songwei Liang, Emmanouil Marinakis, Serkan Temel, Yiwei Wang; Chorus Dancers and Graduates of the Institute for Dance Arts: Helmut Fixl, Conny Friedl, Blazej Jasinski, Amandine Petit, Anna Reitbauer, Aureliusz Rys, Emmanuelle Kim-Oanh Vinh, Rosalie Wanka

Kurt Dlouhy, Rehearsal Chorus Christian Schmidbauer, Rehearsal Soloist Ensemble & Musical Assistants Kunihiro Kashiwagi, Répétiteur

Katharina Gerstmayr, Assistant Director Conny Friedl, Assistant Choreographer Falko Herold, Assistant Set Designer Stephanie Lenzeder, Assistant Costume Designer Dido Sargent, Assistant Costume Designer

Hubert Wolschlager, Technical Director Marie-Therese Rudolph, Production Director

Pressekonferenz Fouché 12. Dezember 2008 ______

Ensemble09: Thomas Schaupp & Rieko Aikawa, Violin Gunter Glössl, Viola Elisabeth Ragl, Violoncello Alvin Staple, Contrabass Thomas Frey, Flute Andrea Glaser, Oboe Christoph Kieleithner, Peter Rohrsdorfer & Hubert Kerschbaumer, Clarinet Thomas Fischer & Christian Pöttinger, French Horn Konrad Hametner & David Klingler, Trumpet Johann Reiter, Manuel Schachinger & Stefan Spieler, Trombone Markus Nimmervoll, Tuba Andrej Serkov, Accordion Kunihiro Kashiwagi, Piano Manuel Hofstätter, Kettledrum Vladimir Pertrov, Drums

Brucknerhaus Staff & Posthof Staff

Stage Set Production, Sico Costume Production, ART for ART Theaterservice GmbH, www.artforart.at

Commissioned by Linz09 as a LIVA Production In cooperation with Anton Bruckner Private University and Landestheater Linz

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