Offenbach, New York Riccio - The Opera

In 1947, the Offenbach opera RICCIO was the first opera to be premiered in the Free State of Bavaria after the end of the Second World War. The work had its premiere at the Landestheater Coburg, followed by a second production at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1950. After that, the opera fell silent - the young Federal Republic of Germany placed particular emphasis on the classical canon in its repertoire, as well as the latest here and there. In this context, there was little demand for the extremely appealing nature of a furious youthful work at the very end of the late Romantic period.

RICCIO follows a highly emotional love-and-death plot in the condensed form of a grand opera one-act, which was very much in vogue in the 1920s. It is not only the reviews in the contemporary press that emphasize the proximity to Richard Strauss' "Salome" - it is indeed unmistakable.

But this is only one of the work's features. Rather, the score conveys the whole maelstrom of aesthetic directions and possibilities that this fast-paced era gave to an enthusiastic author and an artistically hungry young composer. In places, the music even shimmers with a sharp expressionist edge.

Thanks to generous support, we are now able to bring RICCIO back to the stage in concert 75 years after the last production - in the city where it was created almost one hundred years ago. The production will be conducted by Yuval Zorn, whom the renowned British phono magazine 'Gramophone' describes as "one of the most distinguished symphony and opera conductors of the present day" and who is intensively involved with music from the period in which RICCIO was written.

Erich Riede (1903-1986)
Martha Wertheimer (1890-1942)
RICCIO
(1926/1929)
Opera in one act

Concertante revival after 75 years

Large ensemble of soloists
Stage projections: Tim Seger
Score reconstruction: Michael Strecker
CAPITOL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Conductor: Yuval Zorn