It is not long into Act One of Mignon at Geneva’s Grand Theatre when Diana Damrau glides on stage as Philine, commands our rapt attention, and sweeps all before her.
Author: john_y
Zagreb’s Wagner Casts Its Spell
Croatian National Opera, in collaboration with W¸rzburg’s (Germany) Mainfranken Theater has made quite a forceful case for Parsifal.
OpÈra Comique’s Muted Auber
Paris’ OpÈra Comique has summoned forth a respectable (if spare) set design for Bluebeard’s Castle, but unfortunately the opera they were performing was Auber’s La Muette de Portici.
Zurich’s Magnificent ‘Other’ Moor
Right to the musical ‘score’ board: Zurich Opera stared down the mighty challenge posed by Rossini’s Otello ossia il moro di Venezia, and knocked it out of the ballpark.
Michael Spyres — A Fool for Love
Tenor Michael Spyres’ star is on the rise and his highly enjoyable debut recital disc offers ample proof as to why.
Amsterdam’s Invisible, Risible Kitezh
A breath-taking stage picture at curtain rise of Netherlands Opera’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia indeed made us involuntarily gasp as one.
Drapes ‘n’ Drops in Paris Forza
Paris Opera has lavished quite a monumental staging on Verdi’s musically rich (and Piave’s dramatically vapid) La Forza del Destino.
Colossal Hercules in Essen
Apparently the Aalto Theater didn’t get the memo that oratorios often make weak theatre pieces, since the company presented such a gripping dramatic case for Handel’s Hercules.
Amsterdam’s Adventurous Idomeneo
Straight to the point: Netherlands Opera has mounted as luminous and emotionally engaging an Idomeneo as is imaginable.
Antwerp’s Puzzling Tchaikovsky Rarity
From the moment the curtain rose to reveal a loony bin instead of the 15th Century Inn of the libretto, it seemed likely the Flemish Opera was going to raise more questions than it answered about Tchaikovsky’s rarely performed The Enchantress.