Heinz Fricke
Music Director, 1993-2010
Photo Credit: Anastasia Chernyavsky
Eminent German conductor Heinz Fricke was virtually unknown in the United States when he made his debut conducting Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer with The Washington Opera in 1992. A distinguished maestro in his mid-60s, Fricke’s long career had been spent behind the iron curtain as Music Director of East Germany’s leading opera house, the Berlin Staatsoper. His deep musical knowledge, outstanding conducting technique, and wealth of experience were immediately apparent to the musicians of the KCOHO and General Director Martin Feinstein engaged him as the orchestra’s new music director.
Heinz Fricke and KCOHO musicians at a post-performance party
The dynamic presence of Heinz Fricke inspired great changes for the orchestra. Audiences and the press loved him, and his charisma brought an attention to the orchestra that it had not experienced in its first twenty years. His leadership and artistic demands elevated the orchestra to a new level: the orchestra had begun a great transformation. Over the course of his 18-year tenure he selected over two thirds of the orchestra’s members through highly competitive international auditions. Through his initiative, the KCOHO began performing an annual concert on stage in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, for which he frequently chose principal players as featured soloists. The public responded to these free programs with standing room-only enthusiasm. In all, Fricke conducted a total of 33 productions of 28 different operas. According to Washington Post critic Tim Page, “Anybody who heard Heinz Fricke conduct the Washington Opera's magnificent Der Rosenkavalier last year knows that…Fricke is a genuine find; nobody in my experience has summoned better playing from the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.”
Maestro Fricke rehearses the orchestra and singers. Photo Credit: Anastasia Chernyavsky
In 1995 The Washington Opera’s General Director Martin Feinstein stepped down and world-renowned tenor Plácido Domingo was named artistic director. In 2003 he became general director, a post that he would hold until June 2011. The opera company was renamed Washington National Opera in 2004.
Domingo and conductor Emmanuel Villaume share a light moment with the orchestra. Photo Credit: Anastasia Chernyavsky
Domingo and Music Director Heinz Fricke collaborated on some of the most memorable productions in WNO history, including Parsifal, Die Walküre, and Pique Dame. The combination of Domingo on stage and Fricke in the pit created true artistic magic.
In April of 1999, the KCOHO was chosen to play at the White House for the 50th Anniversary of NATO. The program of opera highlights conducted by Heinz Fricke featured opera stars Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson. This historic performance on the White House grounds with President Clinton and numerous world leaders in attendance was a great honor and milestone for the orchestra.
Arguably one of our greatest adventures was an 18-day tour to Japan in June 2002. The company performed three operas – Puccini’s Tosca, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s Sly, and Verdi’s Otello, starring Plácido Domingo in his signature role. Heinz Fricke conducted Tosca and Otello, although renowned Russian conductor, Valery Gergiev stopped in to conduct a special performance of Otello. David Giménez Carreras conducted Sly, which featured his uncle, José Carreras in the starring role. The performances in Tokyo and Yokohama thrilled Japanese audiences, who rewarded the orchestra with some of the most appreciative ovations it had ever received.
The Japan tour: english hornist Carole Libelo with Japanese "extra" musicians as part of the on-stage banda for Otello
KCOHO musicians sightseeing at the Great Buddha in Kamakura
In November 2005, the WNO initiated a series of simulcasts with a live broadcast of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess on the National Mall, followed by a simulcast of Puccini’s La Bohème in 2007. More than 13,000 people attended the first performance, which was the first operatic event ever broadcast on the Mall. The second simulcast brought opera to another huge audience on the Mall, as well as to sixteen colleges, universities, and high schools across the nation. For over a decade, the WNO has partnered with the Washington Nationals, who now hosts the broadcasts at Nationals Park. Known as M&M’s Opera in the Outfield and sponsored by Mars Chocolate North America, this free event has become one of D.C.’s most popular family friendly activities.
In 2010, Maestro Fricke resigned his post as Music Director. Near the end of his tenure health concerns forced him to withdraw from international travel and conducting. He passed away on December 7, 2015, at the age of 88. The musicians of the KCOHO shared their appreciation of Maestro Fricke in this online memorial.