"The Kammeroper is truely innovative" - Prof. Peter West FRS, King´s College London

Dear Dr. Schmied, I was very concerned to learn that the funding for the Kammeroper is being reduced and then withdrawn. Over the last few years I have been working in Vienna for a few months each year. One big advantage of this arrangement for me was that I could go to the opera often, as indeed I did. Of the many operas I saw the two I enjoyed best were Pasifal (with Thomas Quasthoff) at the Staatsoper and "Nascimento dell Aurora" by Albinoni at the Kammeroper.
The Kammeroper is truely innovative; indeed I believe that this was the first time that an opera by Albinoni was performed in recent times by any opera house. It really was a magical performance, and I can, even now, recall many sections of it; without doubt it is one the best operas I have ever seen. In contrast, I have sometimes found the operas at the Staatsoper to be a bit predictable and not always to have a cast whose singing was, to my ears, of the highest quality. I do hope that this decision can be reconsidered and Vienna can continue to be a the very forefront of innovative opera. Yours sincerely,
Professor Peter West FRS
King´s College London
(by Email on July 24, 2011 to Dr. Claudia Schmied, bmukk)