Deutsche Oper Berlin 2017-18 Review – Nabucco: Željko Lučić Stands Tall While Keith Warner’s Printing Press Production Needs Serious Editing

https://operawire.com/deutsche-oper-berlin-2017-18-review-nabucco-keith-warners-printing-press-production-needs-serious-editing/

With over 150 opera productions to his credit, British director Keith Warner is hardly a neophyte in the lyric theatre. The mystery is how this respected regisseur could have made such a muddle out of “Nabucco” for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. After all, it is not so difficult to stage Verdi’s first great operatic triumph. Jean-Paul Scarpitta managed to come {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2018 Review – An American Soldier: A Moving Tribute To The Distressing Death of Private Danny Chen

https://operawire.com/opera-theatre-of-st-louis-2018-review-an-american-soldier-a-moving-tribute-to-the-distressing-death-of-private-danny-chen/

There is only one point in which the character of Private Danny Chen leaves the stage in composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang’s “An American Soldier,” seen in its world premiere this past weekend at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. It is near the end when the soldier dies and his final words when alive are as such: {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review – La Traviata: Not Even Plácido Domingo Can Save Jean-François Sivadier’s Misguided Production

https://operawire.com/vienna-state-opera-2017-18-review-la-traviata-not-even-placido-domingo-can-save-jean-francois-sivadiers-misguided-production/

It is not too difficult to stage Verdi’s ever-popular tear-jerker “La Traviata.” Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto and stage directions are so detailed any director with access to a few lengths of velvet and some stock chandeliers can create a plausible mis-en-scène to serve Verdi’s marvelous, emotive music. French director Jean-François Sivadier, whose operatic resumé is shorter than a Rossini semiquaver, {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra de Lyon Season 2017-18 – Attila: Verdi Opera Rants & Rampages But Daniele Rustioni Reigns

https://operawire.com/opera-de-lyon-season-2017-18-attila-verdi-opera-rants-rampages-but-daniele-rustioni-reigns/

Giuseppe Verdi didn’t think much of political oppressors no matter if they were civilized Habsburg princes with good table manners or arriviste autocrats with one hand on the guillotine and the other in the till. Some of the least attractive characters in his operas ranged from pushy regicidal wives and vengeful Venetian psychopaths to homicidal high priests of Ptah and {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Gran Teatre del Liceu 2017-18 Review – Andrea Chénier: Sondra Radvanovsky Steals the Show From Jonas Kaufmann in Barcelona

https://operawire.com/gran-theatre-del-liceu-2017-18-review-andrea-chenier-sondra-radvanovsky-steals-the-show-from-jonas-kaufmann-in-barcelona/

There is something of Halley’s comet about Umberto Giordano’s most famous opera “Andrea Chénier.” It reappears every so often (happily not so infrequently as every 75 years) excites and dazzles, leaves verismo fanatics in paroxysms of delight, then vanishes back into the operatic firmament. With the recent notable exception at La Scala, productions of “Andrea Chénier” have invariably been connected to {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Opéra National De Paris 2017-18 Review – Don Carlos: Jonas Kaufmann, Elīna Garanča, Sonya Yoncheva & Company Deliver Performance For the Ages

https://operawire.com/opera-national-de-paris-2017-18-review-don-carlos-jonas-kaufmann-elina-garanca-sonya-yoncheva-company-deliver-performance-for-the-ages/

The hotly anticipated production of Verdi’s five-act grand opera “Don Carlos” opened at the Opéra National de Paris on 10 October to a mixed reception. The outstanding cast comprised of German tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, French baritone Ludovic Tézier as Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa, Russian basses Ildar Abdrazakov and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Philippe II and the Grand {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review – Salome: Vocal Brilliance Throughout, If Not a Complete Package

https://operawire.com/vienna-state-opera-2017-18-review-salome-vocal-brilliance-throughout-if-not-a-complete-package/

Boleslaw Barlog and Jürgen Rose’s production of Richard Strauss’ “Salome” was first performed in 1972, under the direction of Karl Böhm, with Leonie Rysanek in the title role. It has now notched-up well over 200 performances and is still going strong. After 45 years you would be forgiven for thinking that it may have lost some of its sheen, that {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Santa Fe Opera 2017 Review – Golden Cockerel: Emmanuel Villaume Leads An Impressive Cast In Rimsky-Korsakov’s Masterpiece

https://operawire.com/santa-fe-opera-2017-review-golden-cockerel/

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov probably knew that a tale of an appallingly incompetent royal would still resonate with audiences almost 108 years after its Moscow premiere. On August 3, 2017, the Santa Fe Opera presented Rimsky-Korsakov’s seldom-performed “The Golden Cockerel,” marking its SFO debut. At the podium was conductor Emmanuel Villaume, paired with famed English director Paul Curran. Years ago, when Santa Fe Opera {…}

Reviews, Stage Reviews

Festival d’Aix-En-Provence 2017 Review – Carmen: Tcherniakov’s Production Will Change the Way You See Bizet’s Masterpiece

https://operawire.com/festival-daix-en-provence-festival-2017-carmen-tcherniakovs-production-will-change-the-way-you-see-bizets-masterpiece/

“Carmen,” Georges Bizet’s Spanish-inspired masterpiece, was performed at the Festival d’arLyriqueue d’Aix-en-Provence’s 2017 season in an unconventional production. Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov’s has consigned the traditional Sevillan mantillas, toreros, and abrigos de luz to distant memory and, for the hugely popular opera’s return to Aix for the first time in 60 years, has fully reviewed the story to give it {…}

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Deutsche Oper Berlin 2017-18 Review – Nabucco: Željko Lučić Stands Tall While Keith Warner’s Printing Press Production Needs Serious Editing

Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2018 Review – An American Soldier: A Moving Tribute To The Distressing Death of Private Danny Chen

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review – La Traviata: Not Even Plácido Domingo Can Save Jean-François Sivadier’s Misguided Production

Opéra de Lyon Season 2017-18 – Attila: Verdi Opera Rants & Rampages But Daniele Rustioni Reigns

Gran Teatre del Liceu 2017-18 Review – Andrea Chénier: Sondra Radvanovsky Steals the Show From Jonas Kaufmann in Barcelona

Opéra National De Paris 2017-18 Review – Don Carlos: Jonas Kaufmann, Elīna Garanča, Sonya Yoncheva & Company Deliver Performance For the Ages

Vienna State Opera 2017-18 Review – Salome: Vocal Brilliance Throughout, If Not a Complete Package

Santa Fe Opera 2017 Review – Golden Cockerel: Emmanuel Villaume Leads An Impressive Cast In Rimsky-Korsakov’s Masterpiece

Festival d’Aix-En-Provence 2017 Review – Carmen: Tcherniakov’s Production Will Change the Way You See Bizet’s Masterpiece