Moskva, Cheryomushki at Lyon

Moskva, Cheryomushki, Opéra de Lyon, France By Francis Carlin Published: December 29 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 29 2004 02:00 Wanted: a warm-up guy for chronically frigid audience. The…

Acis and Galatea at Teatro Marrucino di Chieti

Haendel in salsa mozartiana Acis and Galatea Pastorale in 2 atti di Georg Friedrich Haendel. (orchestrazione W. A. Mozart, K566) libretto di John Gay dalle Metamorfosi di Ovidio edizione Edizioni…

Die Presse Reviews Das Rheingold at Covent Garden

Covent Garden: über 193 Stufen nach Walhall VON PETRA HAIDERER Mit “Rheingold” begann der neue “Ring”-Zyklus in Londons Covent Garden Opera – Bryn Terfel sang erstmals den Wotan. This is…

Schnittke’s Gesualdo — Another View

Staatsoper: Neuer Versuch mit dem Kindsmord VON WILHELM SINKOVICZ Alfred Schnittkes “Gesualdo” wieder auf dem Spielplan: exzellent besetzt, aber nach wie vor problematisch. Das Stück wird nicht besser, wenn man…

Schnittke’s Gesualdo at the Wiener Staatsoper

Gesualdo Vienna State Opera By Larry L Lash Published: December 27 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 27 2004 02:00 In a house where world premieres are rare and successful…

Il trovatore at Munich

Gefahr für die Luftröhre Staatsoper: Neu besetzter “Troubadour” bq. Eine Produktion mit Hustenreiz-Garantie. Denn wenn sich der Vorhang zum hochgradig verstaubten Staatsopern-“Troubadour” öffnet, dann sträuben sich in der Luftröhre die…

Hoffmann at Marseille

Tales of Hoffmann, Opéra de Marseille By Francis Carlin Published: December 23 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 23 2004 02:00 We have surely not heard the last word on…

Haydn’s The Creation at The Sage, Gateshead

Haydn’s Creation couldn’t have been a more appropriate choice for the opening concert at The Sage Gateshead complex, although it must have felt more like “paradise found” for the Northern Sinfonia than Paradise Lost, the Milton poem on which the oratorio is based.
In the performances of the uninhibited soloists – Geraldine McGreevy, Thomas Walker and Michael George (placed, perhaps unwisely, behind the orchestra) – there was a sense of the architectural accomplishment and, more obviously, the human joy contained in Haydn’s great work. The one artistic achievement matched the other splendidly.

Shostakovich’s The Nose at Théâtre Graslin, Nantes

The Nose/Angers-Nantes Opéra, Théâtre Graslin, Nantes By Francis Carlin Published: December 22 2004 13:05 | Last updated: December 22 2004 13:05 Now merged with nearby Angers, Nantes is still flying…

Carmen at De Vlaamse Opera

The sigh of relief was almost audible during the short love duet after “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”. Carmen started to strip down, fumbled a little bit with José’s pants and both started their love making. So after all, Bieito’s signature tune was being played. In reality apart from the many lewd gestures, both singers remained firmly and fully clothed. The only full nude was a male dancer during the prelude to the third act and even he was lighted in clair-obscur. Another Bieito-feature, horrible violence, was also somewhat muted. Granted, José gutted Carmen in the finale of the opera in plain sight and in the well-known way Islamists treat those poor people they can lay their hands on and therefore it was a bloody affair but still everybody knows “this is theatre”.