(Credit: Bernd Uhlig) The Deutsche Oper Berlin’s current “Nabucco” is a production by Keith Warner, first presented in 2013. It’s not an unconventional production, at least by Berlin standards. Where Berlin opera is often characterized by the most provocative nontraditional productions—Frank Castorf’s recent “Forza” premiere, for instance, provoked a near-riot among its Deutsche Oper audiences—Warner’s “Nabucco,” by contrast, feels tame. {…}
(Credit: Johannes Ifkovits) Piotr Beczala has canceled the final performance of Verdi’s “La Traviata” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Beczala is currently on vocal rest after vocal chord issues caused by a burst blood vessel. While the tenor returned to the stage in Hamburg for a concert with Angela Gheorghiu, he previously announced that he would not be able to {…}
Eva-Maria Westbroek has canceled the final performance of “Cavalleria Rusticana” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on Sept. 20, 2019. The Deutsche Oper Berlin announced that due to illness Westbroek was forced to cancel. As a result, Elena Zhidkova will sing the role of Santuzza. Zhidkova recently performed the role of Eboli in Verdi’s “Don Carlo” and will reprise the same {…}
(Credit: Johannes Ifkovits) Piotr Beczala has canceled performances of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” in Berlin. The Deutsche Oper Berlin announced via social media that Beczala was ill. The company stated, “Due to problems with his vocal chords, Piotr Beczala has to cancel his performances as Gustaf III in ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’ on 15/19/23 Sept at the Deutsche Oper.” As {…}
Pretty Yende has canceled her upcoming performance of Bellini’s ”La Sonnambula” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The soprano announced that due to health conditions she would not be able to perform the role of Amina. She said, “It grieves my heart and soul that I have to unfortunately not perform my scheduled engagements as Amina Deutsche oper Berlin due to the {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced its 2019-20 season, which will include six new productions and dozens of revivals with some of opera’s greatest stars. New Productions The first new production of the season will be Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.” The production will be directed by Frank Castorf and will star Russell Thomas and Marcelo Alvarez as Don Alvaro. {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin has long been a mecca for iconoclast regie theater directors ranging from Hans Neuenfels and Claus Guth to Ole Anders Tandberg, whose recent staging of “Carmen” had more viscera on the stage than verismo. Curiously, the extant production of “La Traviata” by the former Deutsche Oper Intendant Götz Friedrich, dating back to 1999, is surprisingly uncontroversial. In his {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin had a problem for its final presentation of “Rigoletto” on Thursday night. The baritone Markus Bruck was forced to cancel around noon that day from his scheduled appearance in the title role. Fortunately, the company had a tremendous solution at hand. The Serbian baritone Zeljko Lucic was available since he was present to perform in “Nabucco” {…}
The scene is set: a masked ball, set into the morning audience of King Gustavo III of Sweden – scarlet taffeta capes and gowns, coal-black hats and boots, creme and black masks. Donald Runnicles’, Music Director of the Deutscher Oper Berlin, lifts his baton with the brisk and lively overture to Verdi’s “Un Ballo In Maschera” and the curtain rises. {…}
Many opera directors today fall onto a particular idée fixe and refuse to let it go, no matter what dramaturgical or textual incongruities ensue. Vera Nemirova’s fazzoletto-laden “Otello” in Bucharest, Hans Neuenfels’ laboratory rats “Lohengrin” in Bayreuth or Krzysztof Warlikowski’s “Brokeback Mountain” “Eugene Onegin” in Munich immediately spring to mind. Joining the ignominious list is Norwegian theatre director, Ole Anders Tandberg’s {…}
The Deutsche Oper Berlin was forced to shut down after the stage was flooded. Per reports, faulty sprinklers were at the root of the problem, ending any hopes audiences had of seeing Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” take the stage. The flooding reportedly took place on Christmas Eve. The company also had to shut down its performance of “The Barber of Seville” {…}