»The new Junges Ensemble introduces itself« – this somewhat prosaic title actually describes an array of highly talented young artists who are being prepared for brilliant careers via a two-year course of education and training programme at the Semperoper. The 2023/24 season will once again see the launch of a new international Junges Ensemble in Dresden. Accompanied by the programme director, Leonard Martynek, this is a unique opportunity to experience and meet these »newcomers« at close quarters in their own artistic programme.

Travelling along the upper reaches of the Elbe, it’s only a short two-and-a-half-hour train ride from Dresden to Prague. And in the European City of Görlitz/ Zgorzelec, the border between Saxony and Poland is quite literally bridged ... Inspired by this proximity to our nearest and more distant eastern neighbours, the vocal soiree »Písne milostné/ Love Songs« features songs by Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček and Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky. Attentive listeners will certainly note a close connection to the opera programmes of previous years, which included major works of the Slavic repertoire such as Smetana’s »The Bartered Bride«, Dvořák’s »Rusalka« and Tchaikovsky’s »Pique Dame/ The Queen of Spades«. The upcoming season also offers opera fans the chance to enjoy a new production of Leoš Janáček’s »Káťa Kabanová«.

In the words of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the »eternal yearning« for things unattainable such as love, the moon, home, redemption or even death form the emotional core of German Romanticism. Joseph von Eichendorff gave expression to this feeling in his poem »Sehnsucht« of 1834 – but it can also be found in Franz Schubert’s »Winterreise« or in Richard Wagner’s motif of yearning in »Tristan und Isolde«. Dedicated to this feeling, this matinee song recital embarks on a journey that begins with Robert Schumann’s »Mondnacht«, based on a poem by Josef von Eichendorff, before taking us to various places and people, including »Pirate Jenny« by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.