Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten is one of the most formidable works in the operatic repertoire – it is like performing Mahler’s 6th Symphony with the cast of Verdi’s Il Trovatore with stage requirements of Wagner’s Ring. These superhuman requirements demand the sympathetic ear of the audience and probably also some gratitude. It is such a [...]
Archive for September, 2009
Wenn Übermächte nicht im Spiel sind…
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Deutsche Oper, Doris Soffel, Johan Reuter, Manuela Uhl, R. Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Muss man leicht sein?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Philippe Jordan, R. Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, Staatsoper unter den Linden on September 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The Straussian credentials of the Philippe Jordan+Staatskapelle Berlin team have been more than sucessfully presented in this year’s season opening concert, when they treated the audience to an exemplary rendition of the Alpensinfonie. Playing in the Lindenoper’s pit has not prevented them from offering a truly symphonic approach to Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. From the first [...]
Pelle autostrade del piacer!
Posted in Reviews on September 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A moment that lasts forever – that seems to be the what Peter Mussbach’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata (available in the video from Aix-en-Provence with Mireille Delunsch) wants to show. Many people portray one’s final moment as a “flashback” and that seems to be the point here, reinforced by the fact that both act [...]
Così, così
Posted in Reviews, tagged Arttu Kataja, Jeremy Ovenden, Roman Trekel, Staatsoper Unter den Linden; Mozart's Così fan tutte; Adriane Queiroz on September 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Some performances are so unequal that they should be entitled to more than one review. This evening’s Così fan Tutte at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, for example. Musically speaking, Act I felt like a rehearsal (and I am not speaking of a Generalprobe) and the proceedings seemed only to warm after the intermission. But [...]
Seufzer en escarpins
Posted in Reviews, tagged Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Deutsche Oper, Ekaterina Siurina, Elina Garanca, Karel Mark Chichon on September 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Although Bellini’s operas have been now and then disputed as old-fashioned, they have never failed to catch the heart of even those who recognize their touches of saccharine (especially in what regards the plots and simplistic orchestration), such as Richard Wagner himself, who was deeply impressed by the performance of the great Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient as [...]
