Michael Haneke to Present Mozart Production for CIty Opera

New York City Opera General Manager Designate Gerard Mortier will present a production of Mozart's Così fan tutte, directed by Austrian film director Michael Haneke.  Currently slated for City Opera's 2012 season, this production will mark Mr. Haneke's second collaboration with Mr. Mortier and his second opera production.  His first production for Mr. Mortier was Mozart's Don Giovanni for the Paris Opera, set in the financial district of Paris and commissioned in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.  Michael Haneke is currently in New York for the March 14 premiere of his new film Funny Games starring Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Michael Pitt.

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, one of contemporary film's boldest and most provocative voices, releases Funny Games (starring Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Michael Pitt), the American remake of his similarly titled 1997 film, in New York this weekend.  After working as a film critic, editor, dramaturg, playwright, stage director, and television director, Haneke made his feature film debut in 1989 with The Seventh Continent.  In 1992, he achieved wide public acclaim with Benny's Video.  His greatest critical and popular success came in 2001 with The Piano Teacher, winner of Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prize, and starring frequent collaborator Isabelle Huppert.  In 2006, he staged his first opera, a sold-out Paris Opera production of Don Giovanni commissioned by Gerard Mortier to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.