Damiano Michieletto’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni for the Teatro La Fenice could suggest a certain restraint in its cold colours, entirely indoors setting and elegant boiseries, but the nightly atmosphere proves to be a space of unbridled passion: Don Giovanni’s assault on Donna Anna is extremely violent, the Commendatore is beaten to death with [...]
Archive for May, 2010
Don Giovanni, Teatro La Fenice, 28.05.2010
Posted in Reviews, tagged Aleksandra Kurzak, Antonello Manacord, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Teatro La Fenice on May 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Norma, Teatro Real (Madrid), 26.05.2010
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Bellini's Norma, Sonia Ganassi, Teatro Real, Violeta Urmana on May 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In view of Violeta Urmana’s debatable success in Verdi, one would tend to dismiss her incursion in bel canto without even hearing a note of it. Nevertheless, her Adalgisa to Nelly Miricioiu’s Norma in Amsterdam back in 1999 was a most satisfying performance. Of course, the title role in the opera is a far more [...]
L’Étoile – Staatsoper Unter den Linden, 19.05.2010
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized, tagged Chabrier's L'Étoile, Giovanni Furlanetto, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Staatsoper unter den Linden, Stella Doufexis on May 19, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Often while I read a review of a French opera performance in Diapason magazine, where many a famous singer is dismissed for “not being French enough”, I think to myself that French should learn to accept the trade-off involved in the internationalization of their national repertoire, in the same way Italy and Germany have done [...]
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Komische Oper Berlin, 15.05.2010
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized, tagged Agneta Eichenholz, Jens Larsen, Komische Oper Berlin, Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail on May 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Calixto Bieito’s 2004 infamous production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail for the Komische Oper is sometimes referred to as “the-naked-Osmin-Entführung” and my only surprise, if we have in mind the Catalan director’s reputation, is that the bass was actually the only naked singer on stage (don’t worry – there are plenty of other [...]
Claudio Abbado/Berliner Philharmoniker – Schubert/Schoenberg/Brahms – Philharmonie Berlin, 14.05.2010
Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized, tagged Berliner Philharmoniker, Brahms's Rinaldo Cantata, Claudio Abbado, Jonas Kaufmann on May 15, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Almost all tickets for three evenings sold in a couple of hours – Claudio Abbado’s mystique is more alive than ever, especially in what regards his collaboration with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Although many a detractor would blame the Italian maestro for the loss of Karajan’s deluxe sonic perspective, I reckon that, in hindsight, the nay-sayers [...]
