Sascha Goetzel conducts at the Vienna Volksoper
Sascha Goetzel returned to the Vienna Volksoper this month, receiving warm reviews for his conducting of the opening night of a new production of Lehar’s Land of Smiles.
“…the young Sascha Goetzel embraces the richly coloured score with freshness, courage and also the necessary pinch of naivety, convey intuitive feeling for the delicate sound colours at the podium of a Volksoper Orchestra in brilliant form … one heard much more than just a trace of the refinement which this genre so desperately needs…”
Die Presse, 24 February 2008
“…the conductor Sascha Goetzel succeeded in obtaining a depth of sound and contrast from the orchestra indicative of a drama far removed from the light and lively…”
Der Standard, 24 February 2008
"...Orchestrally, the Volksoper achieved a quantum leap here. That is thanks to the conductor, Sascha Goetzel, who rehearsed extremely well, and brought the best out of the ambitious musicians. Goetzel makes Léhar’s cosmos sound wonderful, emphasises the Puccini-esque aspect of the score and shows how ‘modern’ Léhar was... Rarely has Léhar sounded so exciting, rarely too has the orchestra been that good. Congratulations!..."
Kurier, 24 February 2008
There will be further performances on 27 February, 2, 18, 24 and 27 March: www.volksoper.at. Goetzel’s other forthcoming engagements include performances on 12 and 13 March with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, with whom he will conduct Schubert Symphony No.8 and the Bruch First Violin Concerto with Vadim Repin.
