IRAK DIE WIEGE DER ZIVILISATION

SAVOIR-VIVRE THE VIENNA BOYS‘ CHOIR
IM GESPRÄCH MIT | A TALK WITH
INFO
Sängerknaben
gesucht
Choir Boys
wanted
Singen kann jeder, ist
Gerald Wirth, künstlerischer
Leiter der Wiener
Sängerknaben, überzeugt –
man muss es nur ein wenig
trainieren. Für singbegeisterte
Buben finden
regelmäßig Schnupperwochen
statt. Vorsingen ist
selbstverständlich auch
jederzeit erwünscht.
Gerald Wirth, Artistic
Director of the Vienna
Boys Choir, is convinced
that anyone can sing – all
you need is a bit of
training. If you love singing
and fancy getting a feel for
what it’s like to be a
member of the Vienna
Boys Choir, try-out weeks
are offered regularly. You’ll
need to audition first, of
course.
INFO:
www.wienersaengerknaben.at
Die Sängerknaben am Dach des Wiener Rathauses.
The Boys Choir on the roof of Vienna’s Rathaus.
Palm Desert, 19th February 2015. The Vienna
Boys Choir starts its US tour at the elegant
McCallum Theatre, in front of 1,130 spectators.
And in a few days, it’ll be time for the members
of the Vienna Boys Choir to pack their bags all over
again, board the tour bus and head 140 miles southwest
to San Diego for the next concert, at the Copley
Symphony Hall. After that it’s Pasadena, California,
shortly followed by Santa Barbara, and Alto, New
Mexico.
The extensive concert tour takes the world’s most
famous boys choir across nine states in just 30 days,
until they finally hang up their sailors’ suits – for the
moment, at least – at the Upper St. Clair HS Auditorium,
Pennsylvania, and head out to the airport, just
in time for the flight back to Vienna. The Vienna
Boys Choir performs over 300 concerts a year. As
well as the US, their tour schedule regularly includes
Japan, almost every state in Europe, China, Taiwan,
South Korea, Australia, Africa and the Arab world.
The members of the Vienna Boys Choir are frequently
referred to as “Austria’s youngest ambassadors”,
and not without good reason. The famous
choir was not always quite as fond of travelling as it is
today, however. Founded in 1498 as part of the Imperial
Court Chapel, of Kaiser Maximilian I, the ‘Hofcapell-Singknaben’
sang exclusively for the Imperial
Court for some 420 years, as well as for Sunday Mass
at the Hofburg Chapel (a tradition that the choir
continues to this day, together with the musicians of
the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra). Then, in 1918,
the fall of the Habsburg Monarchy brought with it a
reorientation of the famous Choir. From now on,
along with appearances in productions by the Vienna
State Opera and at the Salzburg Festival, they would
begin touring concert halls across the world, from
New York to Beijing. They perform the enormous
workload of the world-famous choir divided into
four choirs – because after all, the boys have to overcome
the rigours of school, as well as their musical
education and concerts.
In December 2012, the Vienna Boys Choir was finally
given a concert hall of its very own, the MuTh.
It’s just a few steps from the Baroque Palais Augarten,
where the boys attend boarding school, to the stage.
Huddled up against its Baroque neighbours, the futuristic
building initially appears humble from the
outside. Inside, however, the concert hall is generously
laid-out and intelligently partitioned. In
addition to all those regular appearances by the
Choir, the MuTh (the slightly unusual name is a
mash of the words ‘music’ and ‘theatre’) has quickly
established itself as one of Vienna’s premier venues
for concerts by smaller orchestras and unconventional
productions since its triumphant opening
concert under the leadership of Franz Welser-Möst,
according to current Director Eva Hesse. It is also
home to intense rehearsal sessions, of course – because
it’s never long before the Boys Choir is due to
be hitting the road again. At the end of March they’re
off to Canada for a week, and from the end of April
until June, the schedule of Austria’s youngest ambassadors
includes 22 appearances in Japan.
PHOTOS: LUKASBECK (2), HELMUT KARL LACKNER
Elke Hesse
Direktorin des MuTh | Director of the MuTh
PERSONAL DETAILS
Elke Hesse studierte Musik- und
Theaterwissenschaften in Wien,
arbeitete als Schauspielerin, Referentin
von Direktor Hans Gratzer am Theater in
der Josefstadt und war Intendantin der
Festspiele Bad Hersfeld. Seit 2012 ist sie
Direktorin des MuTh.
Elke Hesse studied Musicology and
Dramaturgy in Vienna, before going on
to work as an actress, advisor to
director Hans Gratzer at the Theater in
der Josefstadt, and Artistic Director of
the Bad Hersfeld Festival. She has been
Director of the MuTh since 2012.
Büro im Stadtpalais
Palais Breuner
1010 Wien
Büroräume mit beonderem Flair
(tw. Kamine und Kasettendecken)
Nutzfläche: 439 m 2
Lift, gute Ausstattung
2 Garagenplätze
Was bedeutet der neue Konzertsaal für die Sängerknaben?
Das MuTh ist der Ort, wo die Wiener Sängerknaben in der
Nähe ihres Zuhauses auftreten können. Es haben jetzt viel
mehr Menschen die Möglichkeit, die Sängerknaben auch in
Wien hautnah zu erleben, und nicht nur von ihrem Erfolg im
Ausland zu hören.
Die Konzerte im MuTh gehen natürlich weit über die
Aufführungen der Sängerknaben hinaus. Wie würden
Sie die Linie Ihres Hauses charakterisieren?
So wie die Architektur des Hauses soll auch das Programm
für eine Offenheit stehen, die die klassischen Genres
überwindet. Auf der anderen Seite ist das MuTh natürlich
als erste Bühne für den künstlerischen Nachwuchs
positioniert. Es soll einfach ein buntes Treiben sein in
diesem Haus.
Wie fühlt es sich an, als Frau in einem „Männerverein“
wie den Sängerknaben eine tragende Rolle
zu spielen?
(Lacht) Ich habe ja vorher die Festspiele Bad Hersfeld
geleitet, da war ich auch die erste Frau – insofern ist es für
mich nichts Neues. Aber ich finde es spannend, dass bei den
Wiener Sängerknaben gerade ein ziemlicher Umbruch
stattfindet, und ich fühle mich sehr wohl, dass ich da mit
dabei sein darf.
Ihr persönliches Programmhighlight der laufenden
Saison?
Stolz bin ich, dass Angelika Kirchschlager und Marianne
Sägebrecht bei uns auftreten und Maria Happel die Regie
bei „Der Bettelknabe“ übernommen hat. Das freut mich
sehr!
What does the new concert hall mean for the Boys
Choir?
The MuTh enables the Vienna Boys Choir to perform close
to home – it means that far more people are now getting the
chance to experience the Choir right up close in Vienna,
rather than just hearing reports of their success abroad.
There’s a great deal more to concerts at the MuTh than
just the performances of the Boys Choir, of course.
How would you characterise the venue’s philosophy?
Like the architecture of the building, the programme’s
designed to stand for an openness that goes beyond
classical genres. On the other hand, of course, the MuTh is
positioned as a first stage for the next artistic generation.
It’s just supposed to be filled with noise and life.
How does it feel, as a woman, to be playing a key role in
a ‘men-only association’ like the Boys Choir?
(Laughs) Well, I used to manage the Bad Hersfeld Festival,
and I was the first woman ever to be given the job there
too – so it’s really nothing new to me! But I do find it
exciting that there’s something of a cultural upheaval
taking place at the Vienna Boys Choir at the moment, and
it’s fun to be part of that.
What would be your personal highlight for the current
season?
I’m proud that Angelika Kirchschlager and Marianne
Sägebrecht are appearing with us, and that Maria Happel
has taken over the direction of “Der Bettelknabe”.
I’m enormously happy about that!
98 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2015
Tel.: 02735/2205
Info: Ing. Gerald Türk
www.metternich.at
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2015
99