V pĆĂrodÄ â In Nature’s Realm â is the opening panel of a DvoĆĂĄk triptych of concert overtures the symphonic circuit prefers to leave on the shelf, and on Friday…
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO | Dutch National Opera
Two scars across an otherwise glowing evening. Dutch National Opera‘s new Nozze di Figaro gives us Mozart at the level the work deserves on almost every front â a Netherlands…
A MIDSUMMER NIGHTâS DREAM | Deutsche Oper Berlin
When an opera is based on a comedy, one is entitled to expect at least some trace of humour. A modicum of entertainment, at the very least; laughter would be…
RECITAL ETIENNE DUPUIS | Opéra National de Lyon
After a triumphant portrayal of Henri Ashton in the production of Lucie de Lammermoor at the OpĂ©ra Comique, the Canadian baritone treated us to an anthology worthy recital at the…
HAYDN, ADĂMEK, BRAHMS | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Two end-points of a great musical spectrum, the Gasteig brochure called this programme, with OndĆej AdĂĄmek‘s Where Are You? set between them as the unstable hinge. The copy, for once,…
IL TROVATORE | Bayerische Staatsoper
Caruso is supposed to have said that all Il trovatore requires is âthe four greatest singers in the worldâ â a line that has been gently mocked for a century,…
LA FORZA DEL DESTINO | BĂŒhnen Bern
I was extremely excited about this one. Last year, when the new seasons were announced, I saw that both Zurich Opera and Stadttheater Bern were programming La forza del destino…
BRUCKNER 7 | Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
The Adagio of the Seventh â written in part as a tombeau for Wagner, scored for the first time in Bruckner‘s output with four Wagner tubas â is the longest…
SIMON BOCCANEGRA | MĂŒnchner Rundfunkorchester
There is a snobbery about concert performances of opera that the genre rarely deserves and almost never bears out. Strip away the costumes, the projections, the trapdoors and the directorial…
RECITAL NETREBKO/TEZIER | Teatro Verdi di Busseto
I donât even know where to start. Actually⊠I do. I think Iâve reached the peak. The absolute maximum of what I could hope for as an opera lover. If…