In non-German speaking countries, Carl Maria von Weber’s 1821 opera “Der Freischütz” is a bit of a seltener Vogel. In the past five years, apart from Matthias Hartmann’s memorable production at La Scala in 2017 and Mark Elder’s concert version at the Royal Festival Hall the year before, Anglophone audiences remain largely unexposed to this groundbreaking romantic German opera. The {…}
The Festival d’Opéra de Québec has announced its slate for 2019. The big story revolved around the company’s new production of Richard Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer,” in a co-production with The Metropolitan Opera and the Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam. The festival assembled an international cast that includes Canadian baritone Gregory Dahl in the title role, German bass Andreas Bauer Kanabas as {…}
Johanni van Oostrum’s sensational Salome saves a fatally
flawed production from Florentine Klepper.
The starting point for any production of Peter Grimes lies in the interpretation of the opera’s central character, namely Peter Grimes himself: to what extent should the audience be encouraged to view the anti-hero as an outsider, a victim of the underlying, but all-pervading intolerance and hypocrisy which saturates the Borough, rather than simply as a sadistic sociopath? Clearly, any {…}
