Since its founding in 2003, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra has become a global benchmark for Mahler interpretation. The opening concert of the 2025 Lucerne Festival will once again highlight this legacy, uniting some of today’s most distinguished artists. Under the baton of Music Director Riccardo Chailly, the orchestra will present Mahler’s unfinished Symphony No. 10 alongside the moving Rückert-Lieder, performed by world-renowned mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča.

This year’s festival opening also carries a special dedication: a tribute to Pierre Boulez, one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century and a central personality in the history of the Lucerne Festival. With Ute Feudel directing, the evening promises an extraordinary fusion of artistic mastery, reflection, and innovation.

The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, with its unique blend of virtuosity and tradition, continues to reaffirm its status as one of the world’s most remarkable ensembles.

Available on arte.tv until 14/08/2026
https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/126473-000-A/elina-garanca/

On June 14, 2024, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča captivated audiences at Carnegie Hall in a powerful performance of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. Joining forces with The Met Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Garanča portrayed Judith alongside bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Bluebeard in a concert version of the haunting one-act opera.

Critics praised Garanča’s deeply moving interpretation, highlighting both her vocal brilliance and emotional intensity, which illuminated the psychological depth of Judith even without staging. Her performance was noted as one of the evening’s defining triumphs, demonstrating her extraordinary affinity for this demanding role.

The concert formed part of the Met Orchestra’s tour and marked the conclusion of its 2023–24 season at Carnegie Hall. With Nézet-Séguin’s incisive conducting and the orchestra’s rich sound, the evening became a remarkable finale, celebrating both Bartók’s masterpiece and the artistry of one of today’s leading mezzo-sopranos.

Elīna Garanča stars in her long-awaited debut as Amneris among the superstar cast at the Wiener Staatsoper.

Deutsche Grammophon documents two such remarkable events, featuring mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča’s appearances at the Salzburg Festival in the summers of 2020 and 2021 with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Christian Thielemann.

Elīna Garanča has been captivating audiences in the world’s most prestigious concert halls for years with well-chosen programmes of art songs by composers ranging from Schubert and Schumann to Richard Strauss, Rachmaninov and her compatriot Raimonds Pauls. Only now, however, has she added to her already extensive Deutsche Grammophon discography an album documenting her exceptional skill in this genre and her ability to convey every nuance of both music and text.