It has been a cold and gray winter in the south of France (where I live) made splendid by some really good opera, followed just now by splendid sunshine at Trafalgar Square and two exquisite productions at English National Opera.
Tag: ENO
Thebans: World Premiere at ENO
Julian Anderson’s Thebans at the Coliseum, London, absolutely justifies the ENO’s mission: opera, in English, and of national significance. Anderson is one of the most influential figures in modern British music.
Philip Glass: The Perfect American
Philip Glass’s The Perfect American at the ENO in London is a visual treat, but the libretto is mind-numbingly anodyne.
Bizet’s Carmen at ENO
Drawing on the dark viciousness and bitter malevolence of Prosper MÈrimÈe’s ethnographical novella, Calixto Bieito’s Carmen rejects any notion of flamboyant exoticism and alluring eroticism, and presents us instead with a sordid twilight zone of sexual violence and brutal malice.
Martin? : Julietta, ENO
The ENO gave the British premiere of Bohuslav Martin?’s Julietta many years ago, so this new production was eagerly awaited. But what will audiences new to Martin? get from this production? It’s a myth that the English language makes opera more accessible. That just means audiences focus on words, rather than really listening or understanding.
Detlev Glanert’s Caligula, ENO
Detlev Glanert’s Caligula at the ENO shows how powerful modern opera can be. Caligula was a tyrant, but this opera isn’t sensationalist.
Wolfgang Rihm’s Jakob Lenz by ENO
When the ENO does really innovative work, it does so with style. Wolfgang Rihm’s Jakob Lenz may have taken 34 years to reach London fully staged, but this ENO production made such a strong impression that it might be years before it will be forgotten.
John Adams — Death of Klinghoffer, London
John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer is on at the English National Opera, London.
The Passenger, ENO, London
The circumstances behind Mieczys?aw Weinberg’s The Passenger at the ENO, London, are extraordinary.