Although Lully’s operas are still not widely seen – certainly not outside of France, despite their fundamental part in the development of 17th century music drama – Atys (1676) fares…
Author: Curtis Rogers
Christophe Rousset completes his Lully opera cycle in refined form with Cadmus et Hermione
Reaching the end of his remarkable cycle of Lully operas (in recordings, with performances also usually presented alongside them) Christophe Rousset comes almost to the beginning of that body of…
The Banality of Evil Is Transcended by Silvery Glitz in Das Wunder Der Heliane for Strasbourg
From even the last phase of his life, on his return to Europe from the USA, Korngold has tended to be ignored as a not very serious composer, a late…
A Brilliant, Entertaining Merging of Two One-Act Comedies for the Donizetti Opera Festival
The two one act comic operas in this double bill were written as entirely separate works, in 1836 and 1841 respectively. But Stefania Bonfadelli pairs them brilliantly as two sides…
Donizetti’s Historical Epic Caterina Cornaro Has an Added Contemporary Dimension at Bergamo
Caterina Cornaro was a real figure in history, daughter of a Venetian nobleman who became Queen of Cyprus in the mid-15th century when the Republic was at the height of…
The Donizetti Opera Festival’s Temperate and Thoughtful Interpretation of Il furioso nell’isola di San Domingo
Nineteenth-century Romantic opera is notorious for its trope of the person who goes mad – usually a woman whose struggle between her own individual desires, and the expectations imposed on…
Katie Mitchell’s Farewell to Opera with an Utterly Absorbing and Stimulating The Makropulos Case for The Royal Opera House
Who would want to live for 300 years? That is the question posed by Janáček’s all too rarely seen but fascinating opera The Makropulos Case: initially an open one perhaps,…
Delius’s Problematic Conception in The Magic Fountain Not Overcome in Wexford’s Production
The inspiration for Delius’s The Magic Fountain (1895) stems from his time in Florida, when he ran an orange plantation for his father. It was the first in a trilogy…
Wexford’s Riveting Blend of Comedy and Tragedy in Handel’s Last Italian Opera
In the last three or so of his operas, Handel demonstrated a fascinating move towards mixing elements of comedy within the format of opera seria that he had worked with…
Verdi’s Il trovatore Becomes Subdued in its French Version at Wexford
Famous for presenting rare operatic repertoire, it might come as a surprise to find Il trovatore programmed to open this year’s Wexford Festival. Presented in its French version, however, this…