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Reviews Februar 2014

01.02.2014 | REVIEWS

Reviews vom 28.2.2014

London
Where has the British classical music talent gone?
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Dido and Aeneas, Opera UpClose, King’s Head, review

Purcell’s tragic opera relocated to an American high school? If you’re not a purist, it works, says Rupert Christiansen
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Mozart Undone: ‘Everything has to be hosed down afterwards’
Condoms, mud, bluegrass – Imogen Tilden finds out how the Danish craze for the ‘theatre concert’ has shaken up Mozart
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LSO/Harding/Walker review – Huw Watkins’ Flute Concerto
Barbican, London
Huw Watkins’ Flute Concerto, written for the extraordinary Adam Walker, is a virtuosic rollercoaster ride
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Glyndebourne
Special report: Glyndebourne’s £16m boost to Sussex economy
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New York
Performing Beethoven as a Birthright
Vienna Philharmonic Plays the Ninth Symphony
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Carnegie’s “Vienna: City of Dreams” festival off to a drowsy start under Welser-Möst
“Welser-Möst’s conducting of Schoenberg and Beethoven Tuesday night at Carnegie Hall felt aimless from the first”
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‘Vienna: City of Dreams’ opens with VPO in Beethoven and Schoenberg
“This Ninth was pretty routine, something that no Beethoven and certainly no Ninth should ever be.”
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Met Opera: A Fresh Look at Doomed Love in Massenet’s “Werther
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An Orchestra Plays Backup Band as a Countertenor
Takes Center Stage Philippe Jaroussky Performs at Metropolitan Museum
Mehr Info

Salzburg
Salzburger Mozarteum auf Weg nach Bologna
Designierter Rektor Siegfried Mauser plant umfangreiche Reformen
Mehr Info

 

Reviews vom 27.2.2014

London
The Fairy Queen, Bury Court Opera
Purcell goes back to school
http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/fairy-queen-bury-court-opera

Beauty in the Details
“The Sleeping Beauty’ Evolves at the Royal Opera House
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Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio/Fedoseyev review
Royal Festival Hall, London
Vadim Repin’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was relaxed, if a little loose, while the orchestra shone in Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony
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Birmingham
Tanz
The Prince of the Pagodas, review
beautiful but bland David Bintley’s version of The Prince of the Pagodas, at Birmingham Hippodrome, has many merits but fails to win over Mark Monahan
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New York
Peter Gelb is re-energising the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and taking opera to the world
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Knights in Shining Opera, at the Met
Gotham Chamber Opera’s performances in galleries at the Metropolitan Museum shed new light on the surrounding art.
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Chicago
Singing, playing as good as it gets in Lyric’s “Rusalka’
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Poignant heroine, splendid staging, make Lyric’s first ‘Rusalka’ a winner
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Lyric’s dark and unfocused “Rusalka” fails to touch the heart
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Water nymph meets prince: Rusalka at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
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Reviews vom 26.2.2014

Wien
Adriana Lecouvreur debuts at the Vienna State Opera with mixed result
http://theoperacritic.com/tocreviews2.php?review=mp%2F2014%2Fvsoadrian0214.html

Stockholm
The Return of Master Blomstedt
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London
Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London – review
The Philharmonia’s Brahms cycle concludes with a programme that includes a brave choice
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The Labèque Sisters, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – review
The pianist siblings were undeterred by an interruption to their performance
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Bristol
Bristol New Music Festival, review
Oddball composer Harry Partch’s weird invented instruments were the highlight of the Bristol New Music Festival, says Ivan Hewett
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New York
Tao Dance Theater, NYU SkirballCenter, New York – review
Choreographer Tao Ye’s dances are rigorous and richly allusive – sometimes exhaustingly so
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Vorschau
Customizing a Mash-Up
The Metropolitan Opera Revives “The Enchanted Island’
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George London Vocal Contest Recognizes American and Canadian Singers

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Los Angeles
Weitere “Billy Budd”-Reviews
Billy Budd’s’ return to L.A. is musically powerful, but it is not about sex
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Relentless, Musically Exceptional: LA Opera’s Billy Budd
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Overnight Review: L.A. Opera’s “Billy Budd” sets sail at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
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Placido Domingo is bringing Operalia to Los Angeles in August

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Feuilleton
Christian Curnyn: too hot to Handel
He’s putting the shock into the baroque – and he couldn’t care less about all the outrage he’s causing. Maverick conductor Christian Curnyn says why sex, swearing and Stratocasters are just what early opera needs
http://www.theguardian.com/music/classicalmusicandopera

München/ Biennale
Die letzte Frage lautet immer: Warum komponieren Sie eigentlich?”
Interview mit Peter Ruzicka, Intendant der Münchener Biennale
Mehr Info

 

Reviews vom 25.2.2014

Berlin
Ominous Stirrings
In a Fitful Realm
Georg Friedrich Haas’s “dark dreams,’ at Berlin Philharmonic
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Dancing, When the Devil Calls the Tune
“Damnation de Faust,’ Staged by Christian Spuck in Berlin
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Paris
Cullberg/de Mille, Paris Opera Ballet, Opéra Garnier, Paris – review
Two revived works by female choreographers share a vivid theatricality
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London
ENO’s Peter Grimes on screen: a test of what opera-in-cinemas can deliver
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Nine Songs, Sadler’s Wells, London – review
Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre performs a curious “ritual’ based on the poems of Qu Yuan
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New York
A Show of Love: Farewell, City Opera
City Opera Farewell Includes Plácido Domingo
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Balanchine and Robbins, With Echoes of a Long-Ago Star
New York City Ballet Stirs Memories of Tanaquil le Clercq
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Seattle
Seattle Opera revives a gripping, polished “Consul’
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Los Angeles
Review: A shipshape ‘Billy Budd’ caps Britten 100/LA
Los Angeles Opera’s seafaring drama ‘Billy Budd’ is an in-your-face standout, led by an engaging Liam Bonner as Billy and James Conlon’s powerful conducting.
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San Francisco
Ghosts, Shades and the Exotic Firebird at San Francisco Ballet
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Feuilleton
Interview
Kasper Holten: On Eugene Onegin and why opera matters
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Reviews vom 24.2.2014

Brussels Philharmonic, Cadogan Hall, review
The Belgian orchestra, led by Michel Tabachnik, brought to life an evening of French music that danced and glowed
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New York
Vorschau
Darkness Arrives Onstage
Berg’s “Wozzeck’ at the Metropolitan Opera
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Noch eine “Werther”-Review
Werther, Metropolitan Opera, New York, review
Massenet’s Werther, performed by the New York’s Metropolitan Opera, benefits from terrific performances by Jonas Kaufmann and Sophie Koch, says John Allison
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Nachtrag zum “Fürst Igor”
Metropolitan Opera 2013-14 Review Prince Igor:
Transcendant Performances & Solid Production Revive Borodin’s Magnus Opus
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Palm Beach
Palm Beach Opera’s “Barber” makes for a fizzing and delightful night of Rossini
Mehr Info

Sidney
Opera review: Elektra (Sydney Symphony Orchestra)
Christine Goerke is an earth-shattering Elektra in David Robertson’s revelatory take on Strauss’ Greek tragedy.
Mehr Info

Orchestra way out front and dancers in the mix: it’s electrifying
Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Dance Company in the production Elektra.
Mehr Info

 Reviews vom 23.2.2014

London/ Weitere “Turandot”-Review
Turandot, opera review Royal Opera House, London
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Piotr Anderszewski, Wigmore Hall, London – review
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Belfast
Macbeth, Northern Ireland Opera, review
Northern Ireland Opera’s production of Verdi’s Macbeth at the Grand Opera House in Belfast has many virtues but it lacks heart and soul
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New York
A Tenor Finds Energy for Intense, Lyrical Pain
Jonas Kaufmann in Recital at Carnegie Hall
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Kaufmann’s Carnegie recital displays the true artistry beneath the celebrity
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Dallas
But Soft!
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, along with its chorus and four soloists, astounds with a gorgeous performance of Verdi’s Requiem.
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Feuilleton
Varied Pitches to Fill Empty Spaces
Georg Friedrich Haas’s Works Are Rooted in Microtonality
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Setting out on ‘Nine Daies’ of wonder
Ivan Hewett catches up with the Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments ahead of their UK tour – and finds himself having a ball
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Australien
Mozarts “Zauberflöte” feiert Premiere an der Gold Coast in Queensland
http://www.abenteuer-reisen.de/node/40334

 

Reviews vom 22.2.2014

London
Paul Bunyan, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House, London – review
Britten’s youthful stab at popular entertainment is deservedly revived
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Cantus Cölln/Junghänel – review
Wigmore Hall, London Junghänel and his vocalists, while not impeccably tidy, offered a humanity that more brilliant readings sometimes lack
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Interview Vladimir Fedoseyev
 Russians, like Brits, are pompous and melancholic
Ahead of two UK concerts, veteran conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev talks John Allison through his 40 eventful years at the helm of Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra
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New York
Juilliard Opera’s Slimmed-Down “Eugene Onegin’
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Mondrian Inspires Moods and Form
Jessica Lang Dance Brings New York Premieres to the Joyce
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Philadelphia
Tony Award winning production of Porgy and Bess arrives in Philadelphia
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Minnesota Minnesota Opera’s 2014–2015
Season Includes HANSEL AND GRETEL, THE ELIXIR OF LOVE and More
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Bayreuth
Wagner Great Grand-Daughter to Quit
Bayreuth Festival Eva Wagner-Pasquier, great grand-daughter of German composer Richard Wagner, is to quit as co-chief of the legendary Bayreuth Festival in September 2015, according to a newspaper report Friday –
See more at:

Feuilleton
If it doesn’t have swans, it won’t get an audience
Ballet companies may long to break free from the Tchaikovsky classics, but it’s a question of supply and demand, says Rupert Christiansen
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Reviews vom 20.2.2014

London
Weitere “Turandot”-Reviews
Turandot @ Royal Opera House, London
http://www.musicomh.com/classical/reviews-classical/turandot-royal-opera-house-london

Turandot (ROH)
The Royal Opera revive their ageless staging of Puccini’s opera for the fifteenth time.
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Turandot, The Royal Opera, 17/02/2014
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Yuja Wang – review

Barbican, London
The whole picture may not yet be drawn, but Wang’s breathtaking control and tender touch confirm her as a pianist of enormous promise
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New York
Met Opera Appoints Assistant General Manager for Artistic Affairs
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A New “Werther’ at the Metropolitan Opera
The tenor Jonas Kaufmann stars in Richard Eyre’s production of Massenet’s 19th-century work.
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Philadelphia
Opera Phila’s Ainadamar in a sensation-rich new production
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San Diego
Playing hard to get has its rewards: The Elixir of Love from San Diego Opera
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Wien
Wirbel, Wellen, Wasser
Trojanows Operama
Der Schriftsteller Ilija Trojanow über “Adriana Lecouvreur” von Francesco Cilea
http://derstandard.at/1392685605984/Adriana-Lecouvreur-Wirbel-Wellen-Wasser

 

Reviews vom 19.2.2014

Madrid
Woody Allen to team with Placido Domingo in Madrid
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Livorno
Les contes d’Hoffmann: Livorno, 13th February 2014
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London
Turandot, Royal Opera, review
The Kill Bill violence of the Royal Opera’s Turandot stands up well after umpteen revivals, says Rupert Christiansen
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Still crazy after all these years: Turandot at Covent Garden
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Paul Bunyan, English Touring Opera, review Linbury Theatre, London

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Paul Bunyan – review
Linbury Studio, London
English Touring Opera’s fine performance can’t entirely mask the self-conscious quality of Britten’s early ‘operetta’
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Steven Osborne – review
Wigmore Hall, London
Blistering Prokofiev, impressionistic Ravel and turbulent Rachmaninov were brought together in this invigorating recital
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/17/classicalmusicandopera

New York
Coppélia, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center, New York – review
Megan Fairchild and Tiler Peck don’t put a foot wrong as Swanilda – but that’s not quite enough
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San Diego
Playing hard to get has its rewards: The Elixir of Love from San Diego Opera
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Reviews vom 18.2.2014

London
Weitere Review zum “Rigoletto”
Rigoletto, Coliseum, London – review
Christopher Alden’s production for ENO is powerful and hallucinatory but not one for newcomers to Verdi’s opera
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Weitere Review zu “King Priam”
King Priam, English Touring Opera, review Linbury Theatre, London
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Manchester
Hallé/Wigglesworth, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester – review
The UK premiere of the composer-conductor’s Violin Concerto suggested a shortage of musical ideas
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New York
Noch zwei “Prince Igor”-Reviews
Met Opera: A Stunning Revisionist Staging of Borodin’s Prince Igor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wilborn-hampton/prince-igor-review_b_4793889.html

The Met’s “Prince Igor’:
A New Production at War With Itself A great Russian opera afraid of its own greatness
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Richmond
Virginia Opera’s “Ariadne auf Naxos’ is strong and ambitious, if not world-class
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Minneapolis
Minnesota Orchestra Drama Plays On
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San Francisco
Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream explores the fringes of the Twilight Zone
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Feuilleton
Margot Fonteyn lost kiss scene rediscovered
BBC unearths footage of Dame Margot Fonteyn being kissed by her prince in The Sleeping Beauty, over 50 years since it was last seen
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Reviews vom 17.2.2014

Lucca
Il matrimonio segreto: Lucca, 9th February 2014
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London
King Priam (ETO)
English Touring Opera launches its Spring season with a rare staging of Michael Tippett’s Trojan tragedy
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King Priam, English Touring Opera, Linbury Studio Theatre
Cluttered production doesn’t help Tippett’s tough approach to Trojan War mythology
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New York
A Haunting, Sepulchral Note, and Then a Swirl of Hyperactivity
Christian Zacharias Bridges the Classical and Romantic
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Fort Worth
Fort Worth Opera cutting back 2015 festival, delaying world premiere
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Feuilleton
Harmony of the sexes?
Why are there so few women in contemporary music? Ivan Hewett finds some surprising answers
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Reviews vom 16.4.2014

London
Weitere “Rigoletto”-Reviews
Rigoletto, English National Opera, review
Rigoletto at ENO starts off enthrallingly but leaves us hopelessly lost, says Rupert Christiansen
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Rigoletto: English National Opera, 13th February 2014
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Don Giovanni: The Royal Opera, 12th February 2014
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New York / Vorschau
Glorious Vienna, Warts and All City of Dreams Festival to Be Celebration and Reckoning
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From Tender to Blustery to Haunted
Gerald Finley and Julius Drake in the “Winterreise’ Cycle
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Attuned to Strings, Plaintive or Manic City Ballet Dances 3 Works Set to Violin Concertos
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After a Snowy Overnight Trek,
That Velvety Sound, Accented by Impetuosity St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Denis Kozhukhin Perform
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Philadelphia
BWW Reviews: Opera Philadelphia Presents Golijov’s AINADAMAR

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Dallas
One Singularity Sensation At the Dallas Opera,
Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers is worthy of viewing for both its innovation and the stunning production it receives.
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Cultural Messengers
The Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s annual Cultural Awareness
Cultural Series offers a range of interesting premieres and beautiful revivals.
read more

Ohama
Passion, power fuel Opera Omaha’s ‘Agrippina’ http://www.omaha.com/article/20140215/GO/140219104#.Uv9dT87KHDk

 

Reviews vom 15.2.2014

Wien
Michael Schade and Justus Zeyen in Vienna’s Konzerthaus
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London
Verdi’s Rigoletto, opera review:
ENO’s itch for newness may come at a price
read more

Rigoletto
http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/39576/rigoletto

Rigoletto (ENO)
The Coliseum has a new court jester as Miller’s Mafiosi make way for Christopher Alden’s not-so-gentlemen’s club
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Not for beginners: Christopher Alden’s Rigoletto at ENO
 read more

Rigoletto – review Coliseum, London
Christopher Alden’s production of Verdi’s opera lacks dramatic and musical intensity – though Quinn Kelsey in the title role is among honourable exceptions
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King Priam – review Linbury Studio, London
English Touring Opera’s staging is hindered by practical constraints, but that doesn’t diminish compelling performances
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/14/king-priam-review

John Dowland: In Darkness, Kings Place, London – review
The Elizabethan composer’s world was brought movingly to life
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Interview Soprano Nicole Car raises her voice for Royal Opera’s Eugene Onegin
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New York
The Met: a full season, but a not-full-enough house
A glamorous new season masks the fact that the Met had to take drastic action to get attendances back up
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Vintage French, Permitted to Breathe Boston Symphony’s
Two Nights at Carnegie Hall
 read more

Ton- und Bildträger
CD Review: Schreker’s ‘The Stigmatized,’ a great moment in LA Opera history
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Zimmermann-Werkverzeichnis verfügbar
Mit dem Bernd-Alois Zimmermann-Werkverzeichnis von Heribert Henrich veröffentlichen Schott Music und die Akademie der Künste, Berlin, das erste umfassende, nach historisch-kritischen Methoden erarbeitete Werkverzeichnis eines Komponisten der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts
Mehr Info

 

Reviews vom 14.2.2014

München
La clemenza di Tito, National Theatre, Munich – review
Kirill Petrenko’s conducting redeems a problematic production of Mozart’s opera
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Utrecht
Netherlands Dance Theatre Programme III is Utterly Unmissable
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Cardiff
La Traviata – review
Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Alan Opie brought a much-needed emotional boost to this visually stunning revival of David McVicar’s popular production
read more

New York
Levine to Tackle Six Operas for the Met
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Analysis: The Metropolitan Opera’s 2014-2015 Season
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/analysis-metropolitan-operas-2014-2015-season/

Young Talents Working With Those Comedians
Stravinsky and Berlioz Evening of Comic Opera From the Met and Juilliard
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A Night for Art on the Floor and Onstage
Preljocaj, Wheeldon and Martins Works at City Ballet
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Blowing This Way and That
Europa Galante Brings Vivaldi to Zankel Hall
Mehr Info

Dallas
Review: Dallas Opera goes sci-fi, high-tech with “Death and the Powers
Mehr Info

Feuilleton
Classicalite’s Five Best: Opera Films
Mehr Info

 Reviews vom 13.2.2014

London
An electrifying beginning for Fulham Opera’s Ring
Mehr Info

‘We owe it to Verdi not to keep Rigoletto cosy’
Christopher Alden talks to John Crace about his new production for English National Opera
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Royal Ballet mixed bill – Review
Royal Opera House, London
Wayne McGregor’s new meditation on classical music’s master of mathematics is Bach by numbers
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Nino Surguladze: Rosenblatt Recital, 10th February 2014
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LSO/van Zweden/Wang – review
Barbican, London
Yuja Wang’s elegantly phrased crescendos left the audience wanting more, while Jaan van Zweden kept the LSO’s momentum fierce
read more

Cardiff
Weitere Review zu “Manon Lescaut”
Manon Lescaut, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – Review
Kicking off a “Fallen Women’ season, Mariusz Trelinski’s production has a modern edginess
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New York
Love’s Details Translated
Amanda Majeski Sings Britten and Schumann in Concert
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A Performer Hews to the Shadows for Schubert Songs of Anguish and Joy
The Austrian Baritone Wolfgang Holzmair at the Frick
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Three Men Leap Forward at City Ballet
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Palo Alto
West Bay Opera Valentine: Elixir of Love
https://www.sfcv.org/article/west-bay-opera-valentine-elixir-of-love

Perth
Opera review: Otello (West Australian Opera & Perth Festival)
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Ton- und Bildträger
Your Tuneful Voice: Handel Oratorio Arias, Review
Iestyn Davies’s rendition of 13 arias from Handel’s oratorios cherishes the words while negotiating the technical hurdles with amazing fluency, says Geoffrey Norris
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Reviews vom 12.2.2014

Paris
Onegin, Paris Opera Ballet
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London
How video saved the opera star
Opera is waking up to the power of video. For his new production of Don Giovanni, the Royal Opera House’s Kasper Holten collaborated with a designer who turned U2 tours and the 2012 Olympics into visual spectaculars. Stuart Jeffries goes behind the screens.
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Tetractys, Royal Opera House, London – review
Wayne McGregor’s latest dance-work is a predictably cussed response to Bach’s “Art of Fugue’
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Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch perform 1980
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New York
Plácido Domingo to Join a Celebration of City Opera
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Weitere “Prince Igor”-Reviews
Prince Igor’s Triumphant Return:
The Met Makes a Masterpiece of an Unlikely Opera And BAM delivers a solid ‘Billy Budd’
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Inside the Hero’s Mind
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Berkeley
Berkeley Symphony, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, California – review
Samuel Carl Adams aired his first violin concerto in a compelling performance by Anthony Marwood
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Feuilleton
Interview with Giuseppe Filianoti
http://www.concertonet.com/scripts/edito.php?ID_edito=280

Berlin/ Komische Oper
Sie ist von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt
Brillant: Dagmar Manzel singt die Lieder von Friedrich Hollaender nicht wie in den zwanziger, vierziger oder sechziger Jahren, sondern als Frau von heute.
Mehr Info

 

Reviews vom 11.2.2014

Luxemburg
The House Taken Over in Luxembourg: Echoes of Cortázar in Vasco Mendonca’s new opera
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London
Yuja Wang “Artist Portrait’, Barbican, London – review
The Chinese pianist is an interesting performer, both musically and sartorially
read more

Leeds
Macbeth – review
Grand, Leeds
Opera North’s relocation of Verdi’s opera to a 20th-century totalitarian state is bleak and unnerving, but on opening night didn’t scale the musical heights it should
read more

Cardiff
Manon Lescaut, opera review ‘The unrelenting bleakness renders it flat’
read more

Stockholm
Seductive and deeply disturbing: Royal Swedish Ballet in The Emperor
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Oslo
Set in a Mysterious Realm, Handel’s Baroque “Alcina’ Returns to the Stage
read more

New York
Rusalka: Metropolitan Opera, 8th February 2014
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Weitere Reviews zum “Fürst Igor”
Prince Igor, Metropolitan Opera, New York – review
Dmitri Tcherniakov directed the Met’s first production of Borodin’s opera in nearly a century
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/12cd9e16-8fe2-11e3-aee9-00144feab7de.html

“Prince Igor’ Marches Into Met Led by Great Director
read more

Boston
NEC Opera offers an energetic and updated “Poppea
read more

Sarasota
OPERA REVIEW: “Il Trovatore:’ solid, no surprises
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Houston
BWW Reviews: Houston Grand Opera’s RIGOLETTO is Sung Well but Flatly Acted
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Reviews vom 10.2.2014

Oslo
theartsdesk in Oslo: Barocking Handel in the Opera House
Norwegian violinist Bjarte Eike’s Barokksolistene fill the city’s new glory with ravishing sounds
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London
Theodora, Barbican, review
Handel’s opera Theodora at the Barbican was an enthralling series of highlights, says Ivan Hewett
read more

Cardiff
Manon Lescaut, Welsh National Opera, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, review
Though the production mostly missed the point, the playing and singing in WNO’s Manon Lescaut were outstanding, says Rupert Christiansen
read more

Manon Lescaut, Welsh National Opera

Puccini charmer rehoused in an off-the-peg airport lounge, saved by the conductor
http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/manon-lescaut-welsh-national-opera

New York
A New Vision for “Prince Igor’ at the Met
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Borodin’s original “Prince Igor” shines, dark yet brilliant, at the Met
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Why I walked out on the Met’s Prince Igor
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Mark Padmore leads an unforgettable “Billy Budd” from Glyndebourne at BAM
read more
Unforgettable Billy Budd
Mehr Info

Daniil Trifonov at Carnegie Hall, one year on
read more

Pittsburgh
Opera to offer ‘Otello,’ ‘Carmen’; New Year’s concert to return
http://triblive.com/aande/music/5514016-74/opera-concert-season#axzz2soWyj28G

Minneapolis
Minnesota Orchestra Returns After a 16-Month Lockout
Mehr Info

 

Reviews vom 9.2.2014

Paris
Furlanetto als Boris in Paris
Tugan Sokhiev’s breathtaking Boris Godunov at Salle Pleyel
 read more

London
Faustian Pack’, Royal Opera House, London
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Royal Ballet triple bill, ROH, review
Laura Thompson is delighted by three perfectly cast and superbly danced works from Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan and Wayne McGregor
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A celebration of the Monteverdi Choir and its creator, John Eliot Gardiner
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Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, review
Thomas Adès may claim to be bored with Britten, but his Violin Concerto echoes the great composer’s work, says Ivan Hewett
 read more

Leeds
Macbeth, Opera North Blackly comic, fast-paced Verdi receives a welcome reviva http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/macbeth-opera-north

New York/ Interview Jonas Kaufmann
Chooses His Met Roles Carefully
 read more

Interview
“Rusalka is so traditional, it’s edgy”
Production helmed by Montreal-born maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin to be seen around world
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Pam Tanowitz, Joyce Theatre, New York – review
The New York choreographer’s formally rigorous dances follow in the footsteps of Merce Cunningham
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Edmonton
Edmonton Opera announces new season Company opts for tried-and-true repertoire
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Feuilleton
Will cinema kill the opera star?
As more opera houses broadcast their productions in the cinema is this the end of live singing, asks Rupert Christiansen
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How King Priam saved Michael Tippett
For years Michael Tippett was criticised for muddled intellectualising and technical incompetence. So how, asks his artistic manager Meirion Bowen, did his second opera, King Priam, hit the right note?
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Reviews vom 8.2.2014

London Exclusive:
Royal Opera House cleaners win London living wage
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ROH Covent Garden: Weitere “Don Giovanni”-Review
Don Giovanni’ as Psychodrama
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Panufnik centenary concert, Barbican, London – review
A celebration of the Polish-born composer’s birth featured Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist
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LSO/Francis – review Barbican, London
Michael Francis seemed happier with Panufnik’s political anger than with Dvořák’s melancholy http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/06/lso-francis-barbican-review

New York
Pam Tanowitz Dance: If the Music-box Ballerina were to come off her hinges
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Toronto
A Masked Ball is Verdi at his finest: Review

The Canadian Opera Company sets a classic love triangle in the 1960s, with superb singing and impressive performances by Adrianne Pieczonka, Dimitri Pittas and Roland Wood. On until Feb. 22.
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A Masked Ball: Cheers and jeers greet radical take on Verdi
 read more

Pieczonka floods Canadian Opera Company’s A Masked Ball with love and forgiveness
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Feuilleton
How did a social-climbing opera singer who couldn’t really sing (listen!) become a legendary diva?
read more

Why does opera like women behaving badly?
The Welsh National Opera’s new season explores opera’s fascination with ‘fallen women’. But it wasn’t just the women who fell, writes artistic director David Pountney
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Reviews vom 7.2.2014

Berlin
A night of intrigue and outrage: La Gioconda at the Deutsche Oper
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Saarbrücken
Anastasia/Shadow, Saarländisches Staatstheater, Saarbrücken, Germany – review
These two ballets by Kenneth MacMillan and Marguerite Donlon explore questions of identity
read more

Sotschi
Olympics Spotlight for Russia’s Musical Profile
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Madrid
Brokeback Mountain, Teatro Real, Madrid, review
An operatic version of Annie Proulx’s tragic story of cowboys in love is flawed but powerful
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London
Schwanewilms, Hallé, Stenz, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Lady in red soars in Four Last Songs as part of Strauss’s 150th
read more

New York
New York Philharmonic’s Archives Going Online
read more

Galvanic Philadelphia Orchestra with serene Radu Lupu at Carnegie Hall
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Even the Dancers Huddle for Warmth
New York City Ballet in a Tribute to a Fast Train
read more

Fort Worth
Fort Worth Opera Calls for Frontiers 2015
Here’s how to submit your new opera to be showcased by Fort Worth Opera in its 2015 Festival Season.
read more

Dubai
No holds barred: behind the scenes with the Paris Opera Ballet in Dubai
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Feuilleton
Sängernachwuchs in Asien und Osteuropa:
The new superpowers
http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/02/opera

Pina Bausch: building on a great legacy
The new artistic director of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch is determined to preserve its founder’s memory by moving on and innovating, says Sarah Crompton
read more

How to buy your own piece of classical music – one bar at a time
An innovative approach to funding new music means that you can literally buy a bar of Charlotte Bray’s latest composition. Alfred Hickling investigates, and, yes, stumps up for bar 29.
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Sotschi/Russland
Russia’s Classical Stars Expected at Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony
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Reviews vom 6.2.2014

Paris
La Fanciulla del West, Paris Opera (Bastille) – review
Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s staging belittles Puccini’s intentions
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Gstaad
Duo Sulkhanishvili at Gstaad Chapel
read more

Riga
Latvian Opera audit indicates deficiencies in its management
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/markets_and_companies/?doc=87285

London
Petite Messe Solenelle, BBC Singers, Brough, Milton Court
Rossini’s semi-serious late masterpiece buoyantly guided by master pianist Roger Vignoles
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New York
Liam Scarlett premiere, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center, New York – review
The Royal Ballet choreographer’s “Acheron’ gave New Yorkers a first glimpse of his talents
read more

From Lang Lang, a Technicolor Take on Mozart
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Austin
BWW Reviews: Austin Lyric Opera’s TOSCA Triumphs
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Atlanta
Atlanta Opera announces 2014-15 season
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Feuilleton
Sexism is rife in classical music
Why is sexism still tolerated in our industry? We need an immediate and total change in attitudes across the board
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Reviews vom 5.2.2014

Genf
Lux/Glory, Les Gémeaux, Sceaux, France – review
A curiously disjointed double bill from the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève
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London
Noch eine “Don Giovanni”-Review
Don Giovanni, Royal Opera House, London – review
The sparks in this disappointing production come from Malin Byström and Elizabeth Watts
read more

New York
Vorschau
Deborah Voigt Set for Metropolitan Opera’s WOZZECK, 3/6-22
“Deborah Voigt will make her role debut as Marie”
read more

Virtuous virtuosi: Handel’s Theodora at Carnegie Hall
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Alice Coote, Zankel Hall, New York – review

A daring exploration of the French art song from the British mezzo-soprano
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Chicago
Muti Signs New Contract With Chicago Symphony Orchestra
read more

Portland
Portland Opera’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ full of shadows, blood and dramatic singing: Review
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Sidney
Opera review: Carmen (Opera Australia, Sydney)
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Passion and precision as Carmen sets stage alight
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 Reviews vom 4.2.2014

Madrid
Feisty Opera Impresario Regrets Lost Opportunity
Gerard Mortier, in Rare Interview, Weighs His Recent Past
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London
Weitere “Don Giovanni”-Reviews
Don Giovanni, Royal Opera House – opera review
Mariusz Kwiecien’s Giovanni is portrayed as a man who longs for real love, while Nicola Luisotti draws sensuous playing from the ROH orchestra
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Don Giovanni, opera review
read more
Don Giovanni
http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/39528/don-giovanni

Academy of Ancient Music/Beznosiuk/Scholl/Ek – review

Barbican, London
This evening of work by Vivaldi and Pergolesi featured neat and stylish music-making that delivered impact, power and distinction
read more

Manchester
John Dowland 450th Anniversary Concert – review
Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Ian Bostridge brought a fine range of colour to the Renaissance composer’s doleful songs – with cathartic results
read more

New York
An Inspired Performance of Handel’s Neglected Favorite “Theodora’ at Carnegie Hall
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Chicago
Review: Lyric’s new ‘Barber’ brings strong cast to old classic
 read more

Leonard’s radiant debut a highlight in Lyric’s bright new “Barber

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Lyric’s new “Barber’ celebrates power of love
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Houston
Opera in the Heights’s Don Giovanni Has Sass and Sexy Charm
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/artattack/2014/02/don_giovanni.php

Calgary
Opera Notebook: Calgary Opera’s Flying Dutchman a must-see for voices and visuals
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Melbourne
The Melbourne Ring versus the world
So how did Opera Australia’s Ring Cycle measure up against the great productions of history?
read more

Feuilleton
With Renée Fleming, Super Bowl XLVIII Gets an Operatic Opening
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Reviews vom 3.2.2014

Gstaad
A lesson in lieder from Thomas Hampson
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London
Don Giovanni, Royal Opera House, review
Kasper Holten redeems himself with a thoughtul and attentive Don Giovanni, says Rupert Christiansen
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Don Giovanni – review
Royal Opera House, London
Kasper Holten’s new production is visually spectacular, but amid uneven performances, the drama and music lack fizz
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Don Giovanni (Royal Opera)
Kasper Holten’s new staging of ‘Don Giovanni’ may take liberties with the text, but it’s engrossing and exceptionally well sung
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Scholl sings Pergolesi @ Barbican Hall, London
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Philharmonia Orchestra/Jordan @ Royal Festival Hall, London

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New York/ Weitere “Rusalka”-Review
Metropolitan Opera 2013-14 Review
Rusalka: Renee Fleming & Company Deliver Bland Revival of Dvorak’s Stunning Masterwork
read more

Feuilleton
In China, “Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone’
“In 2000, China had 3.7 million villages, according to research by Tianjin University. By 2010, that figure had dropped to 2.6 million, a loss of about 300 villages a day.”
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Reviews vom 2.2.2014

Madrid
A Break From Opera for Orchestra in Madrid
Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid Plays Boulez and Mahler
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London
Peter Maxwell Davies’s Tenth Symphony: the story behind his new work
Max’s latest symphony gets its world premiere in London on Sunday night. The work – about creativity, life and death – was written while the composer himself was struggling to survive
read more

The world of ballet dancer
Edward Watson Ballet dancer Edward Watson talks to Jessica Salter about boarding school, injuries and redhead moments. Photographs by Olivia Poppy Coles
read more

New York Vorschau
A Perfectionist Does Opera His Way Dmitri Tcherniakov Tackles “Prince Igor’ at the Met
read more

Flitting Between Watery Dream and Reality
The Mariinsky Presents Its Shimmering “Swan Lake’
read more

Houston
HGO Awards 1st Place to D’Ana Lombard in the 26th Annual
Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers
read more

Salt Lake City
Utah Opera’s 2014-15 season mixes old and new
 read more

Toronto Vorschau
A Masked Ball: Verdi’s colonial classic gets a Kennedy-era makeover
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Feuilleton
Kaptainis: Tenor Jonas Kaufmann has range Opera singer enjoys both dramatic and lyrical roles
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Reviews vom 1.2.2014

Madrid
Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain has its world première in Madrid
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Tromso
Filling the Northern Lights with song: Soprano Julia Novikova performs in Tromsø
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London
Weitere Review zu “Peter Grimes”
Review: “Peter Grimes’, Coliseum, London
A heartening company achievement; well played and well sung down to the last fisherman on deck
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Jansen, LSO, Pappano, Barbican
Maxwell Davies royal fanfare precedes Brahms violin concerto and Walton symphony
http://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/jansen-lso-pappano-barbican

Cardiff
Acis and Galatea – review
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff Wittily choreographed to Handel’s lilting rhythms, this pastoral opera is a happy collaboration between musical groups
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/31/acis-and-galatea-review

Milwaukee
A Violinist’s Triumph Is Ruined by Thieves
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San Diego
BWW Interviews: Catharsis, Raw Emotion and Tears: San Diego Opera Director Andrew Sinclair Talks Opera
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BWW Interview: Opera Is About People: Andrew Sinclair Interview Part ‘Deux’
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Toronto
The Passenger a striking opera about the Holocaust
Musically, The Passenger is not a great opera, but works as an act of remembrance, a call to conscience
Mehr Info

Feuilleton
Lunch with the FT: Joyce DiDonato
Over grilled octopus, the American opera star gives Martin Dickson a singing masterclass and talks about the loneliness of life on the road
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