Philipp Stˆlzl’s production of Benvenuto Cellini, from the 2007 Salzburg Festival, is weird almost beyond belief.
Month: May 2011
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf in Der Rosenkavalier
Classic films often receive the honor of a full “restoration,” especially when a new viewing format appears.
John Adams: Nixon in China
A quarter century having passed since its premiere, Nixon in China appears to have secured a niche in the opera repertoire, at least of American opera houses.
La Prigione di Edimburgo
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Opera-review-Edinburgh-Grand-Opera.6769954.jp
L.A. Opera takes to the radio airwaves with ‘Il Postino’ and five other productions
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/05/la-opera-takes-to-the-radio-airwaves-with-il-postino-and-five-other-productions.html
Orfeo ed Euridice, Metropolitan Opera
Gluck’s Orfeo is, intentionally, free of clutter. If you cut
out the scenes of balletic rejoicing just before the finale (and I can’t
think of any good reason not to do so), it’s less than ninety minutes of
music.
Die Walk¸re, Metropolitan Opera
There’s a lot to be said for lowered expectations. After last
fall’s cramped, over-busy staging of Das Rheingold, I was
prepared for a rough night at Die Walk¸re—and enjoyed the
occasion very much, the staging, the direction, most of the singing, even the
costumes.
Rigoletto, Theatre Royal, Glasgow
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3f0e015c-7d7d-11e0-b418-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1MpT5AwTw
Houston makes sense — and music — of Ariadne
Ariadne auf Naxos, the next major endeavor of the Richard Strauss/Hugo von Hofmannsthal collaboration after Der Rosenkavalier in 1911, has been a special challenge for American opera companies.
A Fond Remembrance of Hildegard Behrens
Hildegard Behrens died in August of 2009. Considered one of the great
Wagnerian sopranos of her day, many tributes were pubished acclaiming her
virtues and accomplishments on and off stage. Previously unknown information,
however, has come to light concerning her personal life that spans from before the flowering of her career and thereafter. This is an informal account of events by Charles Pratt as told to Shirley Hessel.