Great review of the RIWA26 concert with the Heilbronn Symphony Orchestra and soloists from the Karlsruhe University of Music
In the Heilbronner Stimme newspaper on 21 October 2025, Leonore Welzin praised the concert with soloists from the Karlsruhe University of Music and the Heilbronn Symphony Orchestra in the highest terms: "Cheers from around 1,600 visitors in the Harmonie for “Faszination Wagner” (Fascination Wagner), with which the Heilbronn Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is starting the new season. The collaboration between the HSO, the Karlsruhe University of Music and the Gottlob Frick Society in Neulingen, where the programme was performed the day before, is part of the “Riwa Project 26”. Under the baton of Alois Seidlmeier, Wagner's ‘Faust Overture’ is followed by highlights from ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’, “Parsifal” and ‘Tristan und Isolde’, with Hector Berlioz's ‘La Damnation de Faust’, Vincenzo Bellini's ‘I Capuleti e i Montecchi’ and Carl Maria von Weber's “Euryanthe”. The ‘Riwa Project 26’ was launched in 2021 by musicologist Stephan Mösch to mark the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival (2026). ... Mösch, the concept and idea generator, moderates the evening in a refreshing, confident manner and with enviable expertise.‘
Particular mention is made of the duet between Eglantine and Lysiart from the romantic opera ‘Euryanthe’, performed by bass-baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann and soprano Christiane Libor. ... ‘In Szene und Karfreitagszauber’ (Scene and Good Friday Magic) from the stage consecration play “Parsifal”, Wagner's final work, interpreted by Christian Elsner (tenor) as the Knight of the Grail and Sung Ha (bass) as Gurnemanz, outlines the dramaturgical dimension of Wagner's operas. Wagner once said: ‘The orchestra is my soul.’ Seidlmeier spreads his wings figuratively, allowing the orchestra to make the Tristan chord shimmer in pearlescent tones, while Libor experiences ‘Isolde's Transfiguration,’ better known as Liebestod. Goosebumps, standing ovations and many bravos!"
On 9 November, you will have the opportunity to experience this programme at the Karlsruhe University of Music.