Bregenz Festival

A whistling concert as a tribute to Elisabeth Sobotka

A congenial duo: Nikolaus Habjan and Ines Schüttengruber.(Bild: ©anja koehler | andereart.de)

In the festival series "Music and Poetry", Nikolaus Habjan and Ines Schüttengruber gave a song recital without words.

Where else can you hear opera hits such as the torero song from Bizet's "Carmen" and Mozart's "Queen of the Night" in one evening? Perhaps at a prominent opera gala, such as the recent "Lech Classic", or in the lakeside studio of the Festspielhaus Bregenz. Just two artists, Nikolaus Habjan, here as a virtuoso piper, and Ines Schüttengruber on the piano, rolled out the great world of opera in pocket format. And under the title "Ich pfeif' auf die Sobotka" (I don't give a damn about Sobotka), this was also a tribute to the outgoing director of the festival, Elisabeth Sobotka. Not quite, because there were also flashbacks to the era of Alfred Wopmann with Verdi's "Masked Ball" or David Pountney with Mozart's "Magic Flute".

Elisabeth Sobotka was clearly having fun(Bild: ©anja koehler | andereart.de)

Virtuoso sounds
Nikolaus Habjan has become an integral part of the festival with his ingenious puppet productions, to which he also lends his voice with great modulation skills, and he enchants audiences not only at Lake Constance but also at the major opera houses with his own productions. He has appeared as a guest piper in prominent concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. He is always accompanied by his sworn piano partner, Ines Schüttengruber. She follows his rubato-like performance with lively facial expressions and sensitive playing, allowing Habjan to unfold freely, in his body language as well as in his virtuoso notes, which he conjures up, albeit gently amplified, with pursed lips. It's a bit of artistry, but as a connoisseur of the works, you also enjoy following the complex music, such as the coloratura of Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto".

More could have been expected from the moderation, which could have been a witty commentary on Elisabeth Sobotka's era. Nevertheless, the audience cheered at the end and applauded two encores - and Ms. Sobotka seemed particularly happy.