Born in Kitzbuhl, Austria, he has made a name for himself appearing in such diverse/provocative productions as the Mozart's DG at Linz, as First Soldier in a homoerotic Strauss' SALOME directed by Brigitte Fassbaender, whose greatest coup de theatre (oh boy!) is the infamous "Dance of the Seven Veils." Rather than remove her own clothing, Salome strips Wilde, dons each garment and then lets Herod take it from her. The freaky, sensuous pas de deux culminates in Wilde's nudity. Wilde's body doubles for the usual papier mache severed head of Jochanaan, and when Herod orders the necrophiliac's death, it comes at her creator's hands.
But also in serious pieces such as Kepler in "KEPLER" by Philip Glass at BAM and others.
Houses in Europe are mounting such daring productions hoping to draw in the younger crowds so used to sex, nudity and violence from TV and the movies.
In the interviews (roughly translated) following, the opera going public's comments range from "It's an update" to "Mozart's Music is being abused" ;finally to "Mozart surely meant it this way", by the director/producer.
If you ask me, as if any director would, some of these "current improvements" of old favorites are purely and simply in atrocious taste.. anything for a few moments of fame!
But the music of the great masters will outlast even these degrading, debasing abuses, or so I truly hope.
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