Over 100 years ago, Adolphe Appia sketched designs for Tristan und Isolde that have influenced theatre design from Alfred Roller to Wieland Wagner. Appia’s vision came to life on stage at the Royal Opera House this week. This new production has far deeper roots in tradition than its detractors realize.
Year: 2009
San Francisco Opera: Puccini’s Il Trittico and Verdi’s Il Trovatore
The complexity of staging Puccini’s evening of three one-act operas, Il Trittico, has kept this masterpiece from appearing on opera stages as frequently as, say, Turandot or Tosca.
Opera Vivente stages Rossini’s ‘Cinderella’
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bal-ae.artsscene29sep29,0,2156188.story
James Levine to Undergo Back Surgery, Cancels Performances
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/james-levine-to-undergo-back-surgery-cancels-performances/?hp
VERDI: Otello — Vienna 2006
Otello: Dramma lirico in four acts.
Music composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Arrigo Boito after The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice by William Shakespeare.
‘Siegfried’ at Los Angeles Opera
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/09/siegfried-at-los-angeles-opera-.html
Incomparable Schubert — Goerne at the Wigmore Hall Part 2
This programme of mostly solemn, elevated music based around songs on such themes as Evening, Death and Immutability was part of Matthias Goerne’s ‘Journey with Schubert’ during which he is recording the songs on eleven CDs and presenting the series in recitals all over the world. If the singing on this occasion is anything to go by, these recordings are set to become the standard to which other singers should aspire.
The Met’s Twist on ‘Tosca’? It’s the Audience That Gets the Knife.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092200045.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Goerne sings Schubert at the Wigmore Hall
When Matthias Goerne sings, it’s never superficial. Lieder is a genre that needs almost as much engagement from listeners as from performers. “It’s like a church in there”, someone said to me about the Wigmore Hall. “They’re really listening”.
Die schˆne M¸llerin by Mark Padmore, Wigmore Hall
Schubert’s first song-cycle is a perfect choice with which to open a
new concert season, and the Wigmore Hall was packed on Friday evening in
anticipation of this recital by tenor Mark Padmore, much admired for the focus
and concentration of his ‘story-telling’, and Paul Lewis, one of
the most expressive and poetic of pianists today.