(Photo: Národní divadlo Brno) Fairytales often speak directly to our unconscious, revealing drives and truths that are not always apparent to our conscious selves. It is therefore not surprising that many tales are replicated across countries and cultures, even if the characters and details vary. The Slavic fable of Rusalka, for example, has counterparts with the French Melusine, Germanic Nixie {…}
Having seen soprano Jana Šrejma Kačirková’s splendid performance as Ellen Orford in “Peter Grimes” at the Brno Opera, OperaWire took the opportunity to find out more about her with a short, light-hearted interview. In November, she will be performing as Rusalka in this year’s Brno Janacek festival, which OperaWire shall also be covering. OperaWire: What is the next opera you {…}
(Photo Brno: Marek Olbryzmek) Britten’s “Peter Grimes” is a director’s dream. Who is Grimes? It is certain he is a loner; an outsider and a social misfit open to fits of temper. Yet there is also a sensitive side to his nature that comes out intermittently throughout the opera, notably in his aria “Now the Great Bear and the Pleiades” {…}