35 search results for…

DVD and CD Reviews, Reviews

DVD Review: Zurich Opera’s ‘Ring Cycle’

https://operawire.com/dvd-review-zurich-operas-ring-cycle/

Historically, Wagner stagings have stirred up controversy. They are–to put it bluntly–like a fashion show: seasonally recurrent, fanciful (for better or for worse), and tailored, if you will, to fit just about anything, the blatant as much as the abstruse. New productions, then, warrant a healthy degree of skepticism–especially when, as so often happens, the integrity of the work is {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opernhaus Zürich 2024-25 Review: Elias

https://operawire.com/opernhaus-zurich-2024-25-review-elias/

(Photo: Monika Rittershaus) After thirteen years as artistic director at the Zurich Opera House, Andreas Homoki leaves his post to Matthias Schulz and presents his last production in Zurich: a staged performance of Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elias.” Mendelssohn wrote the oratorio in 1846, in a style reminiscent of Baroque oratorios, with Bach and Handel as its clear inspirations. The music blends Baroque and classical polyphony {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opernhaus Zürich 2024-25 Review: Un ballo in maschera

https://operawire.com/opernhaus-zurich-2023-24-review-un-ballo-in-maschera/

(Photo by : Herwig Prammer) In 1857, when the Teatro San Carlo in Naples commissioned a new opera from Giuseppe Verdi, he selected a libretto by Antonio Somma, inspired by the real-life assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden. The king was shot in 1792 by political opponents during a masked ball at the Stockholm Opera. Somma added a romantic {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Zurich Opera House 2024-25 Review: Lucia di Lammermoor

https://operawire.com/zurich-opera-house-2024-25-review-lucia-di-lammermoor/

(Photo © Zurich Opera House. All rights reserved.) “She let herself go to the rocking of the melodies and felt herself vibrating with all her being as if the bows of the violins had been walking on her nerves.” -“Madame Bovary,” part II, Chapter XV As Emma Bovary is overwhelmed by “Lucia di Lammermoor,” so too was the audience at {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opernhaus Zürich 2023-24 Review: Andrea Chénier

https://operawire.com/opernhaus-zurich-2023-24-review-andrea-chenier/

“Andrea Chénier” is the greatest masterpiece of Umberto Giordano, one of the most prominent exponents of Verismo. The plot is based on historical events: poet and scholar André Chénier, who had sympathized with revolutionary ideas, was guillotined in 1794 during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution of 1789. The libretto features a love story between Chénier and Maddalena {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opernhaus Zürich 2023-24 Review: I vespri siciliani

https://operawire.com/opernhaus-zurich-2023-24-review-i-vespri-siciliani/

(Photo:  ) Giuseppe Verdi’s “I vespri siciliani” recounts the story of a historical revolution: the uprising of the Sicilian people against their French rulers in 1282, leading to the liberation of the island from their occupation. The political narrative is intertwined with the personal lives of the main characters. Duchess Elena, whose brother was killed by the French, seeks vengeance {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opernhaus Zürich 2022-23 Review: Tosca

https://operawire.com/opernhaus-zurich-2022-23-review-tosca/

Opernhaus Zürich’s presentation of “Tosca,” on December 17, 2022, featured an almost holy trinity of artists with Jonas Kaufmann, Sondra Radvanovsky, and Sir Bryn Terfel, turning out brilliant performances. Undoubtedly one of Puccini’s finest masterpieces musically, it can be a bit hard to swallow in terms of plot, even though that accusation flies in the face of a lot of {…}

News

Gianandrea Noseda Extends Contract With Zürich Opera House

https://operawire.com/gianandrea-noseda-extends-contract-with-zurich-opera-house/

Conductor Gianandrea Noseda has extended his contract as the General Music Director of the Zürich Opera House through 2027-28. He assumed the position back in 2021-22. “Since the beginning of my tenure as General Music Director in 2021 my impression of the Zurich Opera House as one of the world’s greatest opera houses has only grown. The artists of the {…}