Elmar Lampson

"Why do I have to sing Mozart all the time?", the tenor in Bernhard Lang's opera "I hate Mozart" cries out in despair. Well, why always listen to Mozart operas and not an opera of the early 21st century for a change? With their provocatively named contribution to the Viennese Mozart Year 2006, composer Bernhard Lang and librettist Michael Sturminger succeeded in creating a parody of the opera business that loses none of its sharp wit in the CD recording. The "backstage insights" supplied on DVD reveal the abysses of singerdom and the respective worlds of conductors, managers and agents. Lang shamelessly avails himself of the latest DJ and sampling techniques, employing loops of popular melodies and familiar communication patterns to chase the stressed-out artists through their personal neuroses. The result is music of exceptional brilliance, superbly presented by the original ensemble.