Omer Meir Wellber’s concerts at the beginning of 2024 (February 2024)

After his New Year’s Eve and New Year’s concerts at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Omer Meir Wellber will be devoting January to the Vienna Volksoper and “his” Ranaana Symphonette in Israel, with which he spent a three-day-festival in Eilat. At the end of January and beginning of February, Omer Meir Wellber will return to Paris to the Orchestre National de France with a special program of Bach/Webern, Aziza Sadikova and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.

This will be followed in early February by a symphony concert with L’Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in Rome and performances of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, before he then goes on tour with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Japan, Korea and Taiwan in March. In April, Omer Meir Wellber will perform with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

Omer Meir Wellber and the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini can be experienced on the YouTube channel of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele:

Omer Meir Wellber conducts Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Ella Milch-Sheriff’s “The Eternal Stranger” at New Year’s Eve concerts at the Wiener Konzerthaus (December 2023)

Omer Meir Wellber will conduct the New Year’s Eve concerts at the Wiener Konzerthaus on December 30 and 31, 2023 and January 1, 2024. The program includes Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which the Wiener Symphoniker and the Wiener Singakademie traditionally perform at the turn of the year. On December 30, there will also be the Austrian premiere of “The Eternal Stranger”, a monodrama by Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff with actor Eli Danker, who is well-known from film and television.

December 30                    Vienna, Konzerthaus
Wiener Symphoniker
Ella Milch-Sheriff: The Eternal Stranger. Monodrama for an actor and orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125
Omer Meir Wellber, conductor

December 31, January 1              Vienna, Konzerthaus
Wiener Symphoniker
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor op. 125
Omer Meir Wellber, conductor

Omer Meir Wellber: I Capuleti e I Montecchi premiere and stream on 26.11.23 (November 2023)

Today, Omer Meir Wellber will conduct the premiere of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

The performance of the opera on Sunday, November 26, 2023 will be streamed live on teatromassimo.it from 5.15 pm (CET) and will be available for 30 days.

“We are opening the season with a ‘Sicilian’ masterpiece such as I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Bellini’s favorite opera”, says Omer Meir Wellber, “with a combination of music and dance created with director and choreographer Idan Cohen (…). The protagonist couple, Romeo and Juliet, are entrusted to two female voices, as in Bellini’s score, with Romeo being “en travestie”. A stylistic choice that has to do with the customs of the time and which also has a political value today, as it shows how similar the characters of the two conflicting parties are, both vocally and as human beings.”

“The setting of the opera is a dystopian taxidermic museum with infinity mirrors, masterfully designed by Riccardo Massironi. The costumes designed by Edoardo Russo enhance the atmosphere and contribute to the portrayal of the young female lovers in this unique setting,” adds Idan Cohen.

November 22 Palermo, Teatro Massimo          Premiere

Vincenzo Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi
Idan Cohen –  director
Further performances: November 23, 24, 25, 26, 28

Omer Meir Wellber at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig (October 2023)

On 19 and 20 October, Omer Meir Wellber, together with the Gewandhausorchester, Michael Schönheit on the organ and Geir Draugsvoll on the accordion, will present the world premiere of Aziza Sadikova‘s work Strahlen des Feuers for orchestra, accordion and organ. The work commissioned by the Gewandhaus will be paired with works by Haydn and Bruckner.

More information here.

19, 20 October  Leipzig, Gewandhaus
Gewandhausorchester
Haydn: Sinfonie d-Moll Hob
Aziza Sadikova: Strahlen des Feuers für Orgel, Akkordeon und Orchester (world premiere)
Bruckner: Sinfonie d-Moll (“Die Nullte”)
Michael Schönheit – Organ
Geir Draugsvoll – Accordion

Omer Meir Wellber with Salome at the Volksoper in Vienna (September 2023)

Today, 15 September, Omer Meir Wellber presents an opera production at the Volksoper Wien that is very special for him – Richard Strauss’ Salome. Omer Meir Wellber had a special relationship with Luc Bondy (1948 – 2015) since his collaboration with him for a production of Rigoletto at the Theater an der Wien in 2011 and his direction of two further productions, La Traviata (2012) and Il Trovatore (2013), during Luc Bondy’s directorship of the Wiener Festwochen. Now Luc Bondy’s production of Salome, which premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 1992, is premiering in Vienna under the musical direction of Omer Meir Wellber in a scenic rehearsal by Marie-Louise Bischofberger-Bondy.

15 September Vienna, Volksoper              premiere
Richard Strauss: Salome
Recreation of the 1992 Salzburg Festival production by Luc Bondy
Scenic rehearsal Marie-Louise Bischofberger-Bondy
Further performances: 18, 22 September, 23, 26, 29 October

Baton handover at the Volksoper Wien (September 2023)

Omer Meir Wellber announces his resignation as Music Director of the Volksoper Wien for personal reasons as of 31 December 2023. His successor as of 1 January 2024 is the British conductor Ben Glassberg.

It is with a heavy heart and after careful consideration that Omer Meir Wellber announces his resignation as Music Director of the Volksoper Wien from 31 December 2023 for personal reasons. Wellber’s artistic visions have brought extraordinary performances to the Volksoper, creating lasting memories for both artists and audiences. The young British conductor Ben Glassberg will become Music Director of the Volksoper Wien on 1 January 2024. He has been Principal Guest Conductor at the house and celebrated a great success with the premiere of The Merry Wives of Windsor.

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Omer Meir Wellber on tour with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie (August 2023)

Omer Meir Wellber will tour Germany and Spain in August and September with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. In ten concerts at the Musikfest Bremen, Rheingau Musik Festival and Festival Internacional Santander, among others, Wellber will present together with violinist Hilary Hahn a program with works by Mozart and Schubert as well as with choir and soloists a program with works by Beethoven and Haydn.

Please find more information about the concerts here.

22 August     Bremen, Musikfest
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Mozart: Overture from “Don Giovanni” KV 527
Mozart: Concerto for violin and orchestra no. 5 in A major
Mozart: Symphony No.. 1 Es-Dur KV 16
Schubert: Symphony No. 2 B flat major D 125
Hilary Hahn – violin

23 August     Lübeck, Musik- und Kongresshalle, Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August

25 August     Wiesbaden, Kurhaus
Rheingau Musikfestival
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August

27 August     Pollenca, Mallorca, Claustro de Santo Domingo
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August 29 August      San Sebastián, Auditorio
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August

30 August     Santander, Palacio de Festivales, Sala Argenta
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August

31 August     Santander, Palacio de Festivales, Sala Argenta
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 in C major op. 21
Haydn: Missa in agnustiis “Nelson Mass” in D minor Hob.XXII:11
Heidi Stober – soprano
Rachel Frenkel – mezzo-soprano
Martin Mitterrutzner – tenor
Stefan Cerny – bass
Andra Mari – choir

1 September     San Sebastián, Auditoro
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 31 August 29 September     Düsseldorf, Tonhalle
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August

1 Oktober     Bad Wörishofen, Kurhaus
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Program see 22 August

Omer Meir Wellber’s Novel Published in Hebrew (July 2023)

Tomorrow the Hebrew edition of Omer Meir Wellber’s novel ארבע פעמים התעלף חיים בירקנר (The four faints of Chaim Birkner) will be published by Keren Publishing House. A publication event will take place tomorrow, 7 July 2023 at the Guitar Loft in Tel Aviv/Israel, more information can be found here.

The book which the author wrote in his native tongue Hebrew tells the story of Chaim Birkner, a tired and broken man who is forced by his daughter to face life one last time. Originally published in German by Berlin Verlag in autumn 2019, the novel was also published in Italian by Sellerio Editore in 2021 and in French by Éditions du sous-sol in 2022.

Omer Meir Wellber with the Münchner Philharmoniker (June 2023)

Omer Meir Wellber is currently a guest with the Münchner Philharmoniker at the Isarphilharmonie – the program includes works by Schumann, Tchaikovsky and the world premiere of a work by Manfred Trojahn. In an interview with BR Klassik, Wellber talks about the special program, as well as his current projects and future in Hamburg, listen in here.

The concert of June 15 will be broadcast next week on Wednesday, June 21 on BR Klassik here.

Concert program:

Robert Schumann: »Manfred«-Ouvertüre
Manfred Trojahn: »Achérōn«, Auftragswerk und Uraufführung
Peter I. Tschaikowsky: »Manfred«-Symphonie