Lorenz C. Aichner
When were you first enchanted by musical theatre? And how?
Even as a small child, I listened to my parents' records – Schubert, Mozart, but also the Beatles, Peter Alexander, etc. At the same time, I was allowed to visit my aunt in Vienna once a year and we went to the opera together. The Magic Flute and The Flying Dutchman were among my first experiences. I was also taken to performances at the Salzburg Festival and got to know and appreciate Strauss and Wagner at a very early age.
Why do people sing, and why don't they speak?
This answer probably comes up quite often, but it gets to the heart of our profession: when language is no longer enough to express what you want to say emotionally, you have to sing! In non-German-speaking countries, this also helps me on a very pragmatic level: in orchestra rehearsals, I can show much more clearly what I want musically when I ‘sing’.
What role can/should musical theatre play in our society?
A classic middle ground between entertainment and ‘arousing curiosity’ about new things would be desirable. If the audience feels ‘educated’, it loses its willingness to engage in new experiences. And sometimes first-class entertainment is simply good for you.
***
Born in
Salzburg (Austria)
Education
Extraordinary piano studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg
Studies in conducting, choral conducting, composition and accompaniment at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna
Important Engagements
Assistant to the General Music Director (2003) and Kapellmeister (from 2004/05) at the Erfurt Theatre
2007/08: Deputy Choir Director at the Hamburg State Opera
2008/09 – 2012: 1st Kapellmeister and Deputy Music Director at the Hof a.d. Saale Theatre
2012: Debut at Volksoper, musical director of numerous productions (Die spinnen, die Römer!, Kiss me, Kate, Die Zauberflöte, Ein Sommernachtstraum, Der Wildschütz, Der Zauberer von Oz, Frau Luna, La bohème, Im weißen Rössl, Eine Nacht in Venedig, Der Mann von La Mancha, Fürst Igor, Axel an der Himmelstür, Die Zirkusprinzessin, Wie man Karriere macht, ohne sich anzustrengen, Gypsy, Cabaret, Sweet Charity, Rigoletto, Das Dschungelbuch, La Cage aux Folles, ...)
Works with the Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the State Theatre at Gärtnerplatz, the Hof Symphony Orchestra, the ESO Taipei, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and the Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra.
Formative collaboration with these artists
I had the opportunity to perform with members of the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, the New York Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in the first concert of the World Union Orchestra as part of a five-concert tour of Korea. The different approaches to the wide-ranging repertoire we played, as well as the respective traditions of each orchestra in terms of ensemble playing and the final coming together as one ensemble, was a very impressive experience for me.
Debut at Volksoper Wien
Conductor Die spinnen, die Römer! (Season 2011/12)
Important prizes and awards
Certificate of Appreciation from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs for efforts to promote cultural exchange between South Korea and Austria
Website
https://www.lorenz-aichner.at/
* Use of the photograph solely for the purpose of current reporting on the Vienna Volksoper
