Rebecca Lang
Conductor Rebecca Lang elicited a passionate performance from the Ulster Orchestra; from the opening shimmering in Act 1 prelude to dramatic final chords of the opera, Lang had us fully engaged.
Andrew Larkin – Bachtrack | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
The first opera to be produced in Frank Matcham’s magnificent 1895 theatre since it reopened last year after a £12m restoration, this TRAVIATA was deftly cast, impressively sung, perceptively conceived and direct in impact, no mean feat. Lang kept the pace swift but never lost touch with the music’s heartbeat pulse. The orchestra was responsive and agile.
Fiona Maddocks – The Guardian | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
Verdi's beautiful score – played with gusto and sensitivity by the Ulster Orchestra under the baton of the charismatic Rebecca Lang – ensures LA TRAVIATA's enduring appeal.
Ian Patterson – Theatre News | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
But it is the music that counts and conductor Rebecca Lang with musicians from the Ulster Orchestra gave us a rendition of Verdi's harmonic world that was both sensitive and dramatic.
Jane Hardy – Irish News | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
Rebecca Lang did an excellent job in ensuring cast, chorus and orchestra remained on track throughout the evening. I was struck by Lang’s close attention to detail and with the rich variety of textures and sonorities she coaxed from the Ulster Orchestra. The strings were highly expressive in the opening Prelude while the ensuing party music which opened the first act was full of boisterous energy. Lang and the Ulster Orchestra accompanied the singers beautifully, providing flexibility when required and adding colour to the vocal lines. The balance of sound between the orchestra and singers was spot on and at no point were the singers overwhelmed. Cast, chorus and orchestra combined well in the big set piece numbers including the famous drinking song in Act I which was greeted enthusiastically by the audience.
Robert Beattie – Seen and Heard International | NI OPERA LA TRAVIATA 2022
It’s hard to say which element steals the show in WA Opera’s Tosca, writes Bourby Webster – the set is breathtaking, the singing sublime,the WA Symphony Orchestra under Rebecca Lang world-class.
Outstanding orchestral playing in opera is utterly thrilling and the orchestra brought such a powerful contribution to the action on stage, credit needs to be given to each musician and to conductor Rebecca Lang for drawing such beautiful solos and ensemble playing from the orchestra.
Bourby Webster – SeeSaw Magazine | WA OPERA TOSCA 2022
Ultimately, the night belonged to the 30-piece orchestra, divided between the pit and the offstage wings, conducted by Rebecca Lang with real flair and feeling for the music's flowing romance and dramatic set pieces.
Michael Quinn – Opera Magazine, December 2021 | NI OPERA LA BOHÈME 2021
The intimacy of this production's orchestral setting – an ad hoc chamber group led with flair and sensitivity by conductor Rebecca Lang – adds sparkle, tenderness and pathos as needed.
Sarah McCleave – Opera Now, December 2021 | NI OPERA LA BOHÈME 2021
The orchestra, conducted by Rebecca Lang,with equal measures passion, grace and precision, merits special mention.
Ian Patterson – The Thin Air | NI Opera LA BOHÈME 2021
German-Australian conductor Rebecca Lang is undoubtedly one of the most versatile and charismatic artists of her generation.
Born in country Victoria (she has very little recollection), growing up in Melbourne (still one of her favourite cities in the world), Ms Lang is a former piano student of Mack Jost AM, Caroline Almonte and Dr. Elyane Laussade. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance (Piano) from the Victorian College of the Arts, a Licentiate in Music (Piano) from the Australian Music Examinations Board, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (Dean’s Honours) from the University of Melbourne and a Masters in Orchestral Conducting from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (yes, she still loves universities).
Since relocating to Germany in 2006, she has continued her extensive work as Musical Director, Pianist and Vocal Coach. While completing her Conducting Studies under Professor Christof Perick (former General Music Director, State Theatre Nuremberg), Ms Lang simultaneously held the position of Music Director at SeeLive Tivoli Hamburg. Career highlights have included new productions of Britten's THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Tchaikovsky's EUGENE ONEGIN and Massenet's CENDRILLON at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne (directed by Cameron Menzies) and Stravinsky’s L'OISEAU DE FEU with the Hamburger Symphoniker. 2011 - 2012, Ms Lang held the position of Conductor and Coach at the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landestheater Flensburg where she conducted several performances of Lloyd Webber’s EVITA and Lerner & Loewe's MY FAIR LADY (directed by Artistic Director Peter Grisebach). In 2012 she accepted the position of Acting Music Director and Conductor at Stage Entertainment’s Theater am Potsdamer Platz Berlin, where she conducted Udo Lindenberg’s long running hit musical HINTERM HORIZONT (occasionally with a guest appearance of Mr. Lindenberg himself, either on stage or in the bar afterwards). In February 2013 Ms Lang was invited to Melbourne to musically direct Cameron Menzies' production for Opera In The Park where, in front of an audience of 6000, she conducted her own arrangement for chamber orchestra of Giuseppe Verdi’s IL TROVATORE, starring Lianne Keegan and Michael Lewis. In September 2014 Ms Lang was appointed Head of Music and Conductor at Theater Hof GmbH in Bavaria where her conducting repertoire included Offenbach's LA VIE PARISIENNE and Richard O'Brien's Cult-Musical THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, directed by Artistic Director Reinhardt Friese. 2015 - 2017 Ms Lang was engaged as Musical Director and Chief Conductor of Michael Reed's ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK for Stage Entertainment at Theater des Westens Berlin, Deutsches Theater Munich, Raimund Theater Vienna, Landestheater Linz, Musical Theater Bremen, Festpielhaus Bregenz, Colosseum Theater Essen and at the Alte Oper Frankfurt. Rebecca Lang was the inaugural Music Director of Puccini's Toaster - Pop-Up Oper Berlin, where she conducted performances of Gian Carlo Menotti's THE OLD MAID AND THE THIEF and Giuseppe Verdi's LA TRAVIATA, in addition to curating Franz Schubert's WINTERREISE for 24 singers. In 2018 Ms Lang's collaborative instrumental ensemble, the KREUZBERGER KAMERATA performed the world premiere of Cyrus Meurant's HERAKLEITOS at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg to critical acclaim. In October 2018 Rebecca Lang took up the post as Director of Music at the Leuphana University in Lüneburg. She has since used this position to undertake the curation of various concerts and digital performances featuring female, queer, black, non-binary and contemporary composers. She is passionate about inter-disciplinary music performance and maintains an active performance career. In September 2021, Ms Lang conducted Cameron Menzies' new production of Giacomo Puccini's LA BOHÈME for NI Opera in Belfast to critical acclaim. Most recently, she co-produced and performed Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST FIVE YEARS with German Musical Stars ZODWA SELELE and SIMON PATERNO. Ms Lang looks forward to returning to her home country Australia to make her WA Opera debut with Giacomo Puccini's TOSCA in JUly 2022.
