The concept astonishes, the impact resounds. Thus begins an evening in which, summoned to the stage, the orchestra ignites from the very first bars of an overture foreshadowing the fatal…
NORMA | La Monnaie de Munt
For my last European weekend trip by plane, my heart was set on Norma in Brussels. After Milan, Gstaad, and Bern, I wanted to revisit Bellini’s masterpiece, especially with everything…
TOSCA | Greek National Opera
One hundred and twenty-five years after its first performance in Rome on January 14, 1900, Athens also paid homage to Puccini’s masterpiece with a series of for months sold- out…
L’ELISIR D’AMORE | Liceu – Barcelona
Let me start with something bold: this production of L’Elisir d’Amore is without a doubt in my Top 10 operas of the entire year. And honestly, if I had to…
LUCREZIA BORGIA | Teatro de la Maestranza
I travelled to Seville almost entirely for one reason: to see Marina Rebeka in her role debut as Lucrezia Borgia. I had been excited for months—truly convinced that this role…
DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES | Wiener Staatsoper
“I watched over every note, paid attention to the right vowels on the high sounds, ensured a completely natural prosody, while allowing the voice to pour out to the fullest…
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN | Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin
Pene Pati’s role debut as Hoffmann and the provocative Lydia Steier’s direction of this iconic opera were more than enough to justify a trip to the German capital. We won’t…
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR | Wiener Staatsoper
Laurent Pelly proves once again that he is among the finest interpreters of Donizetti on stage. His production, already familiar to Vienna, remains sharp, fluid, and theatrically intelligent — the…
SALOME | Komische Oper Berlin
In Richard Strauss’s one-act Salome, the audience’s collective verdict is revealed only at the curtain call. Yet the fervour of the applause last night at the Komische Oper Berlin left…
OTELLO | Teatro Bellini – Catania
Two weeks after my Otello in Prague, you would think the excitement would calm down… but no. I arrived in Catania as thrilled as if I were seeing Otello for…