Eytan Pessen (born 30 August 1961 in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) is a pianist and voice teacher, currently at the Opera houses of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna (Volksoper), Zürich and international festivals. He was former opera director of the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, artistic advisor to

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its i ...

in Palermo, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and former casting director of the Staatstheater Stuttgart.

Early years

Born in

, Israel, to parents of German heritage, he studied Piano (with Dr. Nilly Shilo, Walter Aufhauser, Irina Zaritskaya and Dina Turgeman), composition (with

Andre Hajdu André Hajdu ( hu, Hajdú András; he, אנדרה היידו; 5 March 1932 – 1 August 2016) was a Hungarian-born Israeli composer and ethnomusicologist. Biography Hajdu studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Endre Szer ...

and Daniel V. Oppenheim), and musicology at the

Tel-Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Loc ...

Rubin Academy, with a Bachelor of Music, summa cum Laude, in 1983, and a Masters of Music, magna cum laude, in 1984. Further Piano studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with

Vladimir Sokoloff Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokoloff (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Соколо́в; December 26, 1889 – February 15, 1962) was a Russian-American character actor of stage and screen. After studying theatre in Moscow, ...

, (voice studies at Curtis with Robert Grooters), and at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York with Marshal Williamson, Margo Garrett and Alberta Masiello. In New York he worked as pianist and coach for the Metropolitan Opera young artist's programme.

Stuttgart Opera 1991-2006

As head of music staff and the casting director at the Stuttgart Opera in Germany, he worked under the German Dramaturge-Intendant Klaus Zehelein and Co-Intendant Pamela Rosenberg. When she left for San Francisco in 2001, he became casting director. In Stuttgart, Pessen launched the international carriers of conductors Constantinos Carydis,

Nicola Luisotti Nicola Luisotti (born 26 November 1961, in Viareggio, Italy) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds the title "Director Principal Invitado" (principal guest conductor) of Madrid's Teatro Real. Biography Luisotti grew up in Bargecchia. He ...

, Carlo Montanaro and

Robin Ticciati Robin Ticciati (born 16 April 1983, in London) is a British conductor of Italian ancestry. Biography Ticciati's paternal grandfather, Niso Ticciati, was a composer, arranger, cellist, and keyboardist. His father is a barrister, and his mother ...

. Singers Lucas Meachem and

Eva-Maria Westbroek Eva-Maria Westbroek (born 26 April 1970) is a Dutch soprano opera singer. Training Westbroek studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1988 to 1995. Her vocal teachers included Iris Adami Corradetti and the American tenor James McCr ...

began their international careers during his Stuttgart tenure as well. Other guest artists were

Brandon Jovanovich Brandon Jovanovich (born 5 October 1970) is an American operatic tenor whose repertoire encompasses Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Britten, and from early Baroque to world premiere operas. He is most known for his passionate portrayals of Slavic, Frenc ...

, Catherine Naglestad and

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born 10 July 1969) is a German operatic tenor. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recitalTommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Tenor Finds Energy ...

, who explored Italian repertoire as Barbiere-Almaviva, Rodolfo and Alfredo. In Stuttgart Pessen promoted a series of unknown baroque and classic works, and conceived the chamber music series for the orchestra at the Mozart-Saal, which is still running today. Under Zehelein's leadership the Stuttgart Opera won the ''Opera house of the year'' award of European critics six times during the fifteen years.

RUHR.2010 2007-2010

Eytan Pessen was artistic advisor to the

RUHR.2010 Ruhr.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas was the name of the campaign in Germany's Ruhr region that earned it recognition as a European Capital of Culture in 2010. This was the first time a region was considered, as Essen represented all 53 towns ...

cultural festival under music director

Steven Sloane Steven Sloane (born 1958) is an Israeli- American conductor. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Sloane developed an interest in conducting at age 16. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in music. ...

. An intense collaboration ensued with the composer

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...

, 2010 became a year-long Hans Werner Henze project, which spanned many cities, opera and ballet companies as well as symphony orchestras and chamber music groups. Henze wrote his last opera, '' Gisela!'' For the RUHR.2010 (an opera for and about youth, premiered at the

RuhrTriennale The Ruhrtriennale (compound of ''Ruhr'' and ''triennale'' "lasting 3 years"), also known as Ruhr Triennale, was founded in 2002 and is a music and arts festival in the Ruhr-area of Germany which runs between mid-August and mid-October, and happens ...

Semperoper Dresden 2010-2013

As opera director of the

, he invited the composer

and the director

Stefan Herheim Stefan Herheim (born Oslo, 13 March 1970), is a Norwegian opera director, based in Germany. __NOTOC__ Life He studied cello while working as a production assistant at Norwegian National Opera in Oslo. From 1994 to 1999, he studied opera directio ...

to return each season for different projects. He chose to collaborate with a young generation of directors including Bettina Bruinier, Jan Phillip Gloger, Florentine Klepper, Axel Köhler, Michael Schulz, Elisabeth Stöppler and Manfred Weiss.Biography in the programme for the May 10, 2013 Wagner-Soiree ‚A birthday song-bouquet for Richard Wagner’, Semperoper Dresden Interested in the artistic benefits of a stable musical ensemble working together over a long period, he chose to extend the Ensemble and the young ensemble (the Dresden opera's studio programme) rather than invest in established guests. Artists such as Scott Connor, Emily Dorn, Vanessa Goikoexea, Evan Hughes, Christopher Magiera, Amanda Majeski, Marjorie Owens, Tichina Vaughn,

Rachel Willis-Sørensen Rachel Willis-Sørensen (born 1984) is an American operatic soprano, vocal contractor / vocalist , conductor. Studies She has a bachelor's degree and a masters, the latter in vocal performance and pedagogy, both from Brigham Young University. A ...

and Sebastian Wartig belonged to the permanent ensemble. Conductors that made their debut in Dresden include Josep Caballé Domenech,

Julia Jones (conductor) Julia Jones (born 28 April 1961) is a British conductor. Biography Jones was born in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, England. She grew up on the Isle of Man, and attended the Chetham's School of Music, where she studied piano, clarinet, and singi ...

Michele Mariotti Michele Mariotti, born in 1979 in Urbino, near Pesaro, is an Italian conductor, the ''direttore musicale'' since 2014 of Teatro Comunale di Bologna. A graduate in composition of Pesaro's Conservatorio Rossini, where he also studied orchestral con ...

, Carlo Montanaro, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Henrik Nánási,

Daniel Oren Daniel Oren (Hebrew: דניאל אורן; born 1955) is an Israeli conductor. Biography Daniel Oren was born in Jaffa, Israel. His paternal grandfather, a Muslim from the prominent Sikseck family who was married to a Jewish woman, rescued Jews ...

and

Omer Meir Wellber Omer Meir Wellber (Hebrew: עומר מאיר ולבר; born 28 October 1981, Beersheba) is an Israeli conductor and composer. Biography Wellber began musical studies at age 5, on accordion and piano. He became a composition student of Tania Tale ...

. Pessen widened the repertory span to include commissions from :de:Miroslav Srnka and Lucia Ronchetti, as well as

Karl Amadeus Hartmann Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. Sometimes described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century, he is now largely overlooked, particularly in English-speaking countries. Life Born in ...

’s ''

Simplicius Simplicissimus ''Simplicius Simplicissimus'' (german: link=no, Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch) is a picaresque novel of the lower Baroque style, written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and probably published the same year (althou ...

'',

Jaromir Weinberger Jaromír, Jaromir, Jaroměr is a Slavic male given name. Origin and meaning Jaromír is a West Slavic given name composed of two stems ''jaro'' and ''mír''. The meaning is not definite: * Polish ''jary'' (archaic) = „spry, young, strong“; '' ...

’s ''Svanda Dudák'', ('' Schwanda the Bagpiper''), Kurt Weill’s '' Street Scene (opera)'', Hans Werner Henze's '' Gisela!'' and ''

We Come to the River ''We Come to the River – '' is an opera by Hans Werner Henze to an English-language libretto by Edward Bond. Henze and Bond described this work as "Actions for music", rather than an opera. It was Henze's 7th opera, originally written for The Ro ...

''. For this performance the famous theatre interior (by the architect Gottfried Semper) was completely rebuilt with three vast set parts (designed by Rebecca Ringst and Anette Hunger) jutting into the audience space and reaching up toward the balcony. Henze We Come to the River, at the Semperoper

Henze We Come to the River, at the Semperoper

For the Wagner year 2013 he conceived a mini-festival that explored Richard Wagner's development years in Dresden, combining Wagner's ''

The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

'' with

Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...

's ''

La Vestale ''La vestale'' (''The Vestal Virgin'') is an opera composed by Gaspare Spontini to a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy. It takes the form of a ''tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. It was first performed on 15 December 1807 by the Académie Impé ...

'' and Halevy's '' La Juive''. Semperoper Ensemble, 2011

Opening up the Semperoper to the general public, he often wrote essays and editorials; in one case counting the calories burnt going to different operas, or imagining a conversation with the Gargoyles decorating the new building of the Semperoper. For the programme notes of Alcina he wrote a poem describing the first performance of Alcina through the eyes of a young boy.

Pianist, Voice teacher and coach

Eytan Pessen now teaches voice and piano; since 2007 at the Frankfurt Opera, since 2014 at the IOS in Zürich, since 2018 at the

Dutch national opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

and since 2020 at the Hamburg State Opera. He often gives masterclasses for singers, pianists and accompanists at the Les Azuriales festival, Meistersinger Akademie in Neumarkt, the Scuola d’Opera in Bologna Duszniki Zdroj, Oberlin in Italy, San Francisco Opera, North Carolina School of Arts, Kyoto University of the Arts, Kaunas Music Academy, New Israeli Opera, Vinterakademi Voksenåsen (Oslo), the Mikhailovsky theatre in Saint Petersburg Festival FAOT in Sonora, Mexico, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, The Turku festival in Finland, and the theatres of Stuttgart, Graz and Dresden, Ópera de bellas artes in Mexico City, Fundación Ibáñez Atkinson al Teatro Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santiago, Chile, the Theaterakademie in Munich, the Académie of the Paris national opera and from 2013-2020 at the Akademia Operowa of the

Grand Theatre, Warsaw The Grand Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Wielki w Warszawie), known in full as the Grand Theatre–National Opera, is a theatre and opera complex situated on the historic Theatre Square in central Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Grand Theatre is home ...

(Teatr Wielki i Opera Narodowa w Warszawie), as well as numerous workshops for ENOA. Pessen performs in recitals and concerts with Giorgio Berrugi, Justina Bluj, Emily Dorn, Gala El Hadidi, Andrzej Filończyk, Armelle Arménouhi Khourdoïan, Pawel Konik, Maciej Kwaśnikowski, Keith Lewis, Angela Liebold, Amanda Majeski, Markus Marquardt, Danylo Matviienko, Christa Mayer, Paula Murrihy, Marjorie Owens, Michał Partyka, Christoph Pohl, Matthias Rexroth, Katharina Ruckgaber, Iurii Samoilov, Michal Shamir, Merto Sungu, Mikołaj Trąbka, Tichina Vaughn,

and Jan Żądło. With Motti Kastón and Helene Schneiderman he produced a CD of songs in Jiddish and Ladino. Recent appearances include the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rheingau Musikfestival, Bochum Symphony, and the theatres of Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Dresden, the

Rossini in Wildbad Rossini in Wildbad is a bel canto opera festival in Bad Wildbad, Baden-Württemberg, specialising in the lesser-known operas of Gioachino Rossini and his contemporaries. The festival commemorates a stay by Rossini at the town's spa in 1856, whic ...

Festival, the Miskolc Festival, as well as radio broadcasts NDR Hamburg, DeutschlandRadio Berlin, the Berlin Philharmonie and Stuttgart opera.

Consulting and Judge

He was jury member of the Stanislav Moniuszko competition in Warsaw, Antonina Campi International Voice competition in Lublin, Concorso Voci Verdiane Busseto, the Belvedere competition in Vienna,Musical America, July 12, 2006 as well as the Marcello Giordani competition in Catania, the Aviv competition in Tel Aviv, El Premio de Canto Ciudad de Bogotá, The 5th International Solomiya Krushelnytska Opera Singers Competition, Concorso Internationale di Assisi, Concorso Aslico in Como and the

Queen Sonja International Music Competition The Queen Sonja International Music Competition is a music competition for young singers taking place every two years in Oslo, Norway. The competition was arranged for the first time in 1988. Participants are selected by a screening committee on t ...

. He was advisor to the Juan Pons International Competition in Palma de Mallorca. The year 2011 he was artistic advisor for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and from December 2012 to 2014, was advisor to

in Palermo, where he programme
Richard Strauss’

Feuersnot ' (''Need for (or lack of) fire)'', Op. 50, is a ''Singgedicht'' (sung poem) or opera in one act by Richard Strauss. The German libretto was written by Ernst von Wolzogen, based on J. Ketel's report "Das erloschene Feuer zu Audenaerde". It was S ...

Jaromír Weinberger Jaromír Weinberger (8 January 1896 – August 8, 1967) was a Bohemian born Jewish subject of the Austrian Empire, who became a naturalized American composer. Biography Weinberger was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary, into a family of Jewish or ...

's Schwanda the Bagpiper and

's Gisela!.

Sources

* Interview:

Marietta Piekenbrock :''Note:This article is based on a translation of the German Wikipedia article ( :de:Marietta Piekenbrock)''. Marietta Piekenbrock (born 1964 in Westfalen) is a German art curator, dramaturge, author and a cultural manager. Her projects combine t ...

''der schauplatz ist oberhausen'', Steven Sloane and Eytan Pessen in conversation with Kulturhauptstadt Europas Ruhr.2010, published by Ruhr2010, 2009 * Interview: REGJO Wagnerspuren ‚Semper Wagner’ S.22-24 Special edition Wagnerspuren Sachsen, April 2013 * Michael Kerstan ''Gisela!'', 13 April 2008, in Hans Werner Henze, work diary excerpts published in ''das henze-projekt neue musik für eine metropole'', 2009, RUHR.2010 * Biography in the programme for the May 10, 2013 Wagner-Soiree ‚A birthday song-bouquet for Richard Wagner’, Semperoper Dresden * Joachim Lange, ''An der Schwelle zur Professionalität'', '' Die Deutsche Bühne, January 2012, S.40-41 * Revolution in der Semperoper, Sächsische Zeitung 11.12.2012 * Adieux Frau Hessler, Sächsische Zeitung 24.11.2012 * Staatstheater Stuttgart, Spielzeit 2004/05 und Spielzeit 2005/06
Video interview, teatro Massimo in Palermo
(retrieved July 2013)
Youtube Eulogy for the deceased general director of the Semperoper, Ulrike Hessler.
(retrieved July, 2013)
Radio Interview (in Polish) Moniuszko Competition

Writings

Poems * Eytan Pessen

, in C. E. Chaffin, The Best of the Melic Review, 2001 pp. 88–93, ISBN pending * Eytan Pessen
''Chamber Music''
in Kammerkonzerte 2004/05, Staatstheater Stuttgart p. 74 * Eytan Pessen ''„Alcina“ in Covent Garden, 1735'', in Programmheft Alcina, Semperoper Dresden, October, 2011 Essays(selection) * Eytan Pessen, ''Endings and Beginnings'', in ''„Anders“'', raumzeit3 Verlag, (2006) * Eytan Pessen, ''Über Musen, Masken und Magie'' in „Saisonvorschau Semperoper Dresden“ 2011/12 pp. 14–17, Yearbook – season catalogue for 2011/12, published by Semperoper Dresden * Eytan Pessen, ''Zusammenhängende Reliquien, Eine Geschichte über Richard Wagner und Gottfried Semper''. Special publication for the Wagner year 2013, Semperoper Dresden. *A row of essays in the opera programme notes of the Semperoper Dresden, letters to composers (selection) Sehr verehrter Maestro Hasse August, 2010, Lieber Hans September, 2010, Dear Kurt Weill, Juni 2011, Sommo Maestro Monteverdi, Februar 2011 * Eytan Pessen, ''Rozhinkes mit Mandeln'' in ‚Ulrike Hessler Errinerungen’, in Semper Nr. 2, 2012-2013 * Eytan Pessen, ''Heart in the south'' (in German) (of Hans Werner Henze) in Semper Nr.3, p. 51,2012-2013

You Tube Links

Cilea, Giorgio Berrugi, Wigmore HallAlban Berg, Op. 2, Christa Mayer, Semperoper DresdenRobert Schumann, Der Einsiedler, with tenor Maciej KwaśnikowskiFranz Liszt, three songs, with Baritone Pavol Kuban, Semperoper DresdenGaspare Spontini, Mignon, with Emily Dorn, Semperoper DresdenWagner Lieder, Markus Marquardt, Semperoper DresdenRichard Strauss, Morgen, Carolina Ullrich, Semperoper DresdenRachmaninoff, Andrej Dunaev, Semperoper DresdenRespighi, Giorgio Berrugi Wigmore HallGliere, Danylo Matviienko, Warsaw, Teatr Wielki
Yiddish
Unter Beymer, Yiddish song, with Motti Kaston, EsslingenEynzam, Yiddish, with Mateusz Hoedt, Warsaw Teatr WielkiYankele, with Marcjanna Myrlak, Warsaw, Teatr WielkiRozhinkas mit Mandlen, with Christoph Pohl, Semperoper
Folk
Rumanian Christmas Carol, With Roxana Incontrera, Semperoper DresdenAl la una yo naci, Giorgio Berrugi, Wigmore Hall

References

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pessen, Eytan People from Haifa Juilliard School alumni Curtis Institute of Music alumni Israeli classical pianists Jewish classical pianists Living people 1961 births Vocal coaches Accompanists Classical accompanists Israeli music arrangers Musicians from Stuttgart Voice teachers Piano pedagogues