On the splendid and sunny morning of 26 May 2017, Dr. Sigrid Meierhofer, mayor of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and internationally acclaimed conductor Alexander Liebreich formally confirmed Liebreich’s appointment as Artistic Director of the Richard Strauss Festival. The ceremony took place atop a mountain 1,750 meters above sea level overlooking the city and the surrounding region.
As part of this year’s festival, Alexander Liebreich will conduct an Opera Gala on 29 June featuring the most beautiful arias and duets from Strauss’s masterpieces Der Rosenkavalier, Die Liebe der Danae, and Ariadne auf Naxos. The singers will be Krassimira Stoyanova, Michelle Breedt, Christina Landshamer, and Michael Weinius. The final concert and artistic high point of this year’s festival will be a performance of “Eine Alpensinfonie” under Liebreich’s direction on 30 June. This concert, which will be followed by a reception honoring retiring director Brigitte Fassbaender, will mark the beginning of Alexander Liebreich’s tenure as the festival’s Artistic Director: “A music festival in the most beautiful natural setting imaginable, surrounded by the Bavarian mountains and ancient castles and cloisters! We will strive to find Strauss’s spirit in the here and now, and to create a lively and modern music festival from these historical roots.”
Photo: Sammy Hart