Juliane Banse: Winterreise

‘These songs please me more than all the rest, and in time they will please you as well.’ Thus spoke Schubert to his dumbfounded friends after he first performed the songs of Winterreise for them. His prophecy was quite correct, and the cycle is now a staple of all concert halls. Tonight we hear it in a special version that premiered in Portugal in 2019 and has been performed all over Europe since then to rapturous acclaim: stunning choreography binds singer and dancer, and brings a fresh and moving perspective to this astonishing work.

Juliane Banse is one of the leading sopranos of our time, having appeared on all the world’s great stages and recorded many prize-winning discs. Pianist Alexander Krichel is an Echo Klassik prize winner and Sony recording artist. German dancer/choreographer Andreas Heise studied dance in Dresden before joining the Norwegian National Ballet, where he danced many leading roles. As a choreographer, his works in recent years have premiered at the Salzburg Festival, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Oslo, Madrid and Vienna. Hungarian dancer István Simon is a permanent guest performer of Dortmund Opera and a regular guest with many of the most admired opera houses and theatres of the world. He was a gold medal winner at the international ballet competitions of Helsinki, Brno, and St Pölten.