Mainly Opera and Ballet
After Wagner’s death in 1883, an Englishman named Houston Stewart Chamberlain promoted a Wagner cult, inveigling himself with the great composer’s widow Cosima. Chamberlain was the sort of man who needed a cause, and his antisemitism helped propel an unhealthy attitude towards Wagner’s music. This German opera by an Israeli composer tackles these issues in …
Parsifal, Wagner’s final opera was produced in 1882 and this production starts with costumes of the time, but it then veers wildly off the story by treating the whole thing as if it were a Chekhov play. There is no spear, Kundry’s anguish is absent, but the singing was superb and Robin Ticciati worked wonders …
Musically this was outstanding under the baton of Antonio Pappano, who has just been made the Royal Opera’s first Conductor Laureate. The singing was excellent all round, and the only thing to mar one’s enjoyment was Barrie Kosky’s production with its obsession in having a naked Erda on stage for most of the time — …
This new production by the Welsh National Opera portrays Grimes, brilliantly performed by Nicky Spence, as a bully. Brutal but with a hugely vulnerable side that is desperate for the love of the young widow Ellen Orford. She would take him in a heartbeat, but he insists on acquiring the respect of the local community …
If you ever wondered about the history of Mary Stuart and her period on the throne of Scotland this opera by Thea Musgrave explains the intrigue, the competition for her hand in marriage, and the religious tensions. The only downside is that there is no let up from the tension — see my review in …
This new work by Mark Anthony Turnage is an operatic adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg’s claustrophobic family drama that unfolds over the course of a single evening. The title means celebration, in this case of the 60th birthday of Helge, paterfamilias and sexual abuser — see my review in The Article.
Wow. Under the baton of Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša, now music director designate of the Royal Opera, this was a terrific performance of Janáček’s opera Jenufa. As the emotional tension ratcheted up there is no doubt that the original play had been turned into a great opera — see my review in The Article.
This was a very welcome revival of Mike Leigh’s colourful production, which appeals, as Gilbert always intended, to both the eye and the ear. The singing was not on the same level as when the production was new, but everything otherwise worked very well – see my review in The Article.
Quite why director Harry Fehr decided to update this opera to a 1960s television sitcom about the air war against Germany in World War Two I do not know, but the fact that the garish uniforms were the wrong colour blue might suggest this was very much tongue-in-the-cheek. Fine singing and conducting though — see …
E. T. A. Hoffmann was an inspired writer of stories that melded fantasy and reality, and three in particular informed this opera by Offenbach. It is unquestionably the greatest work by this French master of operetta, and a new production at Covent Garden is hugely welcome — see my review in The Article.
