Few works demand such a precarious equilibrium between fantasy and coherence as Les contes d’Hoffmann. Too much caricature, and the piece collapses into vulgarity; too much restraint, and its surreal…
IL TROVATORE | Hamburgische Staatsoper
Il trovatore is, perhaps more than any other Verdi opera, a work of extremes: structurally fragmented, dramatically implausible at times, yet propelled by an almost unmatched musical urgency. It lives…
RIGOLETTO | Bayerische Staatsoper
New Rigoletto at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Should we go? And if so, why? For the story? Not really, as it belongs to that category of operas whose libretto reveals all…
LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK | Komisch Oper Berlin
The aesthetic violence matches the musical intensity. Remembering that, for its composer, this opera was a “satirical tragedy”, where “satirical” means an indictment of the cynicism and contempt of Russia’s…
DON CARLO | Deutsche Oper Berlin
Long acclaimed for its merits, the current Don Carlo at the Deutsche Oper nonetheless proves a revelation to those approaching it anew. The eye is first caught by Marco Arturo…
ONEGIN | Bayerische Staatsoper
Created in 1965 by John Cranko and part of the repertoire of the Bayerisches Staatsballett since 1972, Onegin remains one of the most enduring narrative ballets of the 20th century….
SEMIRAMIDE | Teatro Massimo Palermo
Rossini’s monumental opera, composed for Venice’s La Fenice, where it premiered on February 3, 1823, with Isabella Colbran in the title role, returns to Palermo after an absence of nearly…
FIDELIO | Bayerische Staatsoper
What a magnificent production of Fidelio by Calixto Bieito. A director whose work can sometimes feel conceptually overbearing here finds an almost perfect balance between strong imagery and dramatic clarity….
MACBETH | Teatro Regio Torino
Some evenings at the opera are planned weeks in advance. Others are dreamed about for months. For me, this Macbeth at the Teatro Regio di Torino belonged firmly to the…