D'Albert: Tiefland

Eugen D'Albert (1864-1932) was a thoroughly cosmopolitan musician, a composer and pianist who trained with figures as varied as Arthur Sullivan, Hans Richter and Franz Liszt. Tiefland was the most successful of his remarkable back catalogue of twenty operas and was staged across Europe and in New York shortly after its 1903 Prague premiere. A music drama suffused by the influence of both Wagner and the Italian verismo tradition, Tiefland is a hot-blooded story of rural life and love. This rare staging at the Sarasota Opera House is directed by Michael Unger and conducted by David Neely, with Kara Shay Thomson in the lead soprano role once taken by Maria Callas.