Mainly Opera and Ballet
This first revival of Keith Warner’s dark 2017 production, once again under the baton of music director Antonio Pappano, was musically thrilling, with Ermonela Jaho as Desdemona, Gregory Kunde as Otello, and Carlos Álvarez as Iago — see my review in The Article.
Wow, this semi-staged concert performance under the direction of Edward Gardner with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra was sensational — see my review in The Article.
This year over December and January the Royal Ballet presents Sleeping Beauty and Coppélia, the first a wistful hope for a reawakening of the French monarchy after a hundred-year sleep, the second a merry spoof on romanticism — see my review in The Article.
This new production of Britten’s final opera is a sell-out. With Mark Padmore as the ageing writer Gustav von Aschenbach, and Gerald Finley in multiple roles (Traveller, Elderly fop, Gondolier, Barber, Hotel Manager, etc.) this was an outstanding performance, and the whole run was a sell-out before it opened — see my review in The …
Glass’s opera, based on a film by Jean Cocteau, is the final one in ENO’s Orpheus quartet, and Netia Jones intriguing production reveals Orphée’s mysterious wanderings on the edges of death and immortality. Terrific performances by Jennifer France as The Princess and Nicky Spence as her chauffeur — my review in The Article.
Harrison Birtwistle’s Mask of Orpheus is a complex, multi-layered composition, more symphony than opera, but high camp is not the right way to stage it. This was director Daniel Kramer’s swan song after his ill-starred role as artistic director, and confirms that the ENO did the right thing in dispensing with his services. My review …
This new production at the Royal Opera follows its Paris premiere in March, and is brilliantly performed with a cast headed Bryn Terfel and Russian-German soprano Olga Peretyatko. Glorious comic timing by both under the sensitive and lively baton of Evelino Pidò. See my review in The Article.
Christian Thielemann conducted this performance in Vienna on 10 October 2019, 100 years to the day after its premiere in the same location. The superb cast was headed by Camilla Nylund, Nina Stemme, Mihoko Fujimura, Stephen Gould and Tomasz Konieczny. See my review in The Article.
Premiered in February 1933, Kurt Weill’s Silbersee gives an insight into the Germany in which Hitler had just come to power. It is a story of guilt, remorse, anger, resentment, and ultimately redemption, superbly brought to life in James Conway’s theatrically sensitive production — see my review in The Article.
The dramatic lighting effects in this Wayne McGregor production are a hallmark of his work for the Royal Ballet, as is his choreography for the furies and shades. This enlivened Gluck’s wonderful music, conducted by Harry Bicket with glorious singing from the chorus and three principals: Alice Coote (Orpheus), Sarah Tynan (Eurydice) and Soraya Mafi …
