Inkinen’s debut at the Bayreuth Music Festival in 2023 was a huge success: “He may be remembered as one of the most inspired conductors to ever conduct the Ring in Bayreuth” (Das Opernglas), “A triumphant procession for Inkinen” (Südwest Presse), “All in all, the orchestra was a character of its own, just as Wagner intended” (The New York Times).
Two Wagner veterans, soprano Catherine Foster and heroic tenor Andreas Schager, perform highlights from the last two operas of the Ring cycle.
Catherine Foster is one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos and has set herself apart internationally through her work with the Wagnerian repertoire. She is considered one of the most important soloists to have appeared at the Bayreuth Festival over the past decade singing Brünnhilde and Isolde. Little did she know, when starting out professionally as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Welsh National Opera and English National Opera, that her path would soon take her to Germany, where she was engaged to sing her first Wagner role – Elisabeth in Tannhäuser.
Today, roles like Brünnhilde, Isolde, and Elektra are central to her repertoire. Foster has worked with some of the world’s greatest names in conducting, including Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Marek Janowski, Adam Fisher, Philippe Auguin, Kent Nagano, and Pietari Inkinen. She has performed from Tokyo to Madrid, and from London to Melbourne. This season includes Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung and Elektra at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Following his studies at the University for Music in Vienna, Andreas Schager started his career singing operetta and lyrical roles in the operas by Mozart before switching to the Helden roles in the works by Wagner and Strauss. In summer 2009, he made his highly regarded debut at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. His appearances as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, at the BBC Proms 2013 and at the Teatro alla Scala resulted in his international breakthrough.
Andreas Schager has established himself as the leading Heldentenor performing at the most renowned houses and festivals worldwide including the Metropolitan Opera New York, Opéra Bastille, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, State Opera Hamburg, as well as the Bayreuth Festival. He has worked with renowned conductors, such as Philippe Jordan, Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, and Daniele Gatti.
Pietari Inkinen became the first Finnish conductor ever to lead Richard Wagner’s complete Ring of the Nibelung tetralogy at the Bayreuth festival. Conductor himself described the event as the most significant moment of his career.
Opera – especially Wagner’s music – holds a central role in Inkinen’s artistic path. His earlier Ring cycle in Melbourne also garnered widespread recognition: he received Australia’s Helpmann Awards in 2014 for Best Music Direction and a Green Room Award for Best Opera Conductor in 2016. Other opera productions have taken him to the Finnish National Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, Staatsoper in Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera
Inkinen served as chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie from 2017 until the end of the most recent season. He has also held roles of principal conductor with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra and served as music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra in South Korea. Inkinen is also an accomplished violinist.
Yes, but only before or after the concert. During the concert we just want you to enjoy the music. This way you won’t disturb the musicians or other audience members.
Only the orchestra has a dress code. You can dress as you like.
You can give the ticket to a friend or donate it to a music student by calling 09-3102 2700 or sending an e-mail to helsinki.philharmonic@hel.fi by 3pm on the day of the concert.
