Reviews vom 30.11.2014
München
A New Puccini Production Offers Explanations for Its Story’s Gaps “Manon Lescaut,’ at Bavarian State Opera in Munich
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Minsk
Belarus has chance to become first in “Grand opera“
“The jury includes the legend of opera – People’s Artist of the Soviet Union – Elena Obraztsova, John Holinder, who heads the Vienna State Opera, (…)”
http://www.tvr.by/eng/news.asp?id=30191&cid=17
London
Weitere Review zu “Pelléas” Debussy : Pelléas et Mélisande / Southbank, 27th November 2014
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Injured violinist spent 10 years playing music in her head
The virtuoso Kyung Wha Chung, who lost the use of her finger in 2005, will play her first London concert in a decade at the Royal Festival Hall in December
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Aldebourgh
Britten’s legacy lives on with 10 brand new commissions
Aldeburgh Music has commissioned 10 new songs for communal singing; you can listen to schoolchildren across Europe perform them live tomorrow
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Montreal
Montreal Symphony Orchestra like a well-groomed gentleman in Mozart and Saint-Saëns
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Feuilleton
In defence of the viola
The viola was the instrument of choice for Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Dvorák and Beethoven; Jimi Hendrix and John Cale both played it; violinists turn to it to improve technique. So why is the viola the butt of jokes? Tabea Zimmermann defends her instrument
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Reviews vom 29.11.2014
Hamburg
Bold Mozart and Daring Bruckner from Park, Eschenbach and NDR SO
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Lucca
La rondine / Teatro del Giglio, 22nd November 2014
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Pisa
Il ghetto – Varsavia 1943 / Teatro Verdi di Pisa, 23rd November 2014
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Neapel
Salome in Naples: love, lust and death of a scandalous teenager
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-salome-teatro-di-san-carlo-november-2014
London
Opera – when directors rule
The phenomenon known in German as Regietheater should be celebrated, not vilified
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Pelléas et Mélisande review – one of Salonen’s finest achievements Royal Festival Hall, London
An unparalleled cast and exquisite soundscapes made this production spellbinding
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Pelléas et Mélisande, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, review: ‘atmospheric’
The Philharmonia’s City of Light series began with a Pelléas performed with great transparency, says John Allison
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Pelléas et Mélisande /Philharmonia / Salonen, Festival Hall – opera review
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An unforgettable Pelléas et Mélisande at the Southbank
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Birmingham
CBSO/Nelsons/Hough review – as thoughtful and distinctive as ever Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Nelson’s Bruckner was athletic, direct and texturally interesting, while Hough played Schumann’s Piano Concerto with his usual cool brilliance
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Melbourne
Tosca | Opera Australia
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Reviews vom 28.11.2014
London
Don Quixote, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, review: ‘particularly memorable’
Carlos Acosta’s production of this romantic comedy is nothing if not great fun, says Mark Monahan
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Royal Ballet warms to Carlos Acosta’s fiesty Don Quixote
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Don Quixote, Royal Ballet Carlos Acosta’s sunny romp of a production returns, with improvements http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/don-quixote-royal-ballet-0
Don Quixote, Royal Opera House, London – review
Marianela Nuñez danced with enchanting bravura in Carlos Acosta’s otherwise tedious production http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91c86f96-7562-11e4-b1bf-00144feabdc0.html
ENO’s Gospel According to the Other Mary: great music weighed down by a worthy staging Plus:
the Royal Opera’s Elisir as close to Christmas panto as opera can, and is all the better for it
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Review: ‘I have rarely felt so bored by an opera’ The Gospel According To The Other Mary
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Southampton Radu Lupu review
– radiant, inward and bewitching Turner Sims, Southampton Radu Lupu, a rare fixture on the UK concert trail, again proved himself one of the great pianists of our time
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New York
Metropolitan Opera Review 2014-15 – La Boheme
– Sonya Yoncheva, Francesco DeMuro & Cast Show How Powerful Great Chemistry Can Be
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A Last-Minute Sensation
The Soprano Sonya Yoncheva Is Poised for Stardom
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Despite another sub, Met’s “Bohème” remains a strong and enjoyable show
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Vermont
Green Mountain Opera Festival Cancels 2015 Season
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Toronto
Canadian Opera Company auditions put young talent in the stage’s spotlight
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Reviews vom 27.11.2014
München
A nightmare-inducing Hänsel und Gretel in Munich
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Amsterdam
Pathos and horror on The Raft of the Medusa at the Concertgebouw
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London
Oberon review – fascinating and important revival Cadogan Hall, London
This fine semi-staging of Weber’s “problem’ opera, a sequel to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, revealed its magic, messy beaut
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Phoenix Dance Theatre, Royal Opera House, review: ‘bubbles with life’
After a slow start, the Leeds-based company win over the audience with rock music, technological gimmickry and bouncing balls, says Rachel Ward
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Gluck’s Don Juan fails to seduce in the Academy of Ancient Music’s ‘Grand Tour’
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The Gospel According to the Other Mary @ Coliseum, London
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Thomas, Oxley, Bach Choir, Philharmonia, Hill, review: A triumphant celebration of John Tavener
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Thomas Gould: from Mahler to Radiohead, variety is the spice of life
Violinist Thomas Gould is one of a new generation of classical musicians who refuses to be defined by a single genre. He explains why a diverse career enriches his and the audience’s experience
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New York
Tanz Stepping Back (Gracefully)
From a Sculpture to Frame Its Story Reassembling the “Little Dancer’ by Degas as a Musical
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Boston
At Itzhak Perlman’s recital, familiarity breeds content
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Reviews vom 26.11.2014
Barcelona
Strauss’ Arabella: a psychological contemplation of love and life
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-arabella-schwanewilms-liceu-barcelona-november-2014
London
Lohengrin/Christian Wolff review
– terrifying Sciarrino and strange Cage Huddersfield contemporary music festival Petr Kotik conducted a long-lost reworking by John Cage and nyMusikk Bergen performed a retelling of the grail legend with almost indecently intimate music
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Dillon’s Stabat Mater review – beautiful, distant and compelling St Paul’s Hall, Huddersfield
The world premiere of James Dillon’s Stabat Mater Dolorosa was a Huddersfield festival highlight with its powerfully individual music
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The Grand Tour: Vienna and Paris, Academy of Ancient Music, West Road Concert Hall, review ‘
only occasionally caught fire’ The music failed to live up to the hype of the long and scholarly programme notes, says Ivan Hewett
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New York
Despite another sub, Met’s “Bohème” remains a strong and enjoyable show
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Potions and Poisonous Actions A couple finds magical love in the Boston Lyric Opera’s “The Love Potion”;
a housewife finds she has a taste for murder in “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.”
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Hopeless Romantics Drink
This Mystery Concoction if You Dare “The Love Potion,’ Staged by the Boston Lyric Opera
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Sale of New York City Opera’s Remaining Assets Expected in Early 2015
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/sale-new-york-city-opera-assets-expected-early-2015/
Tanz
Carmen at the Apollo: One Fateful Night
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Los Angeles
Review: L.A. Opera pays tribute to Daniel Catan with lush “Florencia en al Amazonas’
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San Francisco Post:Ballet celebrates its fifth year
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Feuilleton
Pumeza Matshikiza on soprano megastardom, her township education and why the ANC is a stuck record
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Reviews vom 25.11.2014
Wien / Konzerthaus
experiment “Fridays@7” a sparkling success with Jordan, Buniashtvili and a jazzy after party
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-buniatishvili-jordan-vienna-symphony-november-2014
Kopenhagen
Send in the clowns: Stefan Herheim’s Lulu in Copenhagen
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-lulu-herheim-bundgaard-royal-danish-copenhagen-november-2014
Turin
De Marchi magnificently conducts Giulio Cesare with an ace cast in Turin
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-giulio-cesare-prina-pratt-pelly-turin-november-2014
London
Glare; Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi; Emerson String Quartet – review
Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House; Royal Academy of Music, London The dream girl isn’t quite what she seems in the Søren Nils Eichberg’s Glare. And Puccini is in safe hands at the Royal Academy
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Early Opera Company / Agnew @ St John’s, Smith Square, London
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Huddersfield
Contemporary Music Festival, review
Ivan Hewett experiences the wonderful and the weird at this celebration of contemporary music
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Birmingham
Review: William Tell by Welsh National Opera at Birmingham Hippodrome
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New York
BWW Reviews: MET OPERA – IL BARBIERE DE SEVIGLIA,
Cineworld Wandsworth, November 22 2014
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Los Angeles
Review: ‘Florencia en el Amazonas’ a culture clash solved by orchestra
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-la-opera-florencia-review-20141124-column.html
‘Florencia’ makes undemanding return to L.A. Opera
Daniel Catán’s opera is modestly pleasing in its revival but would have benefited from a better production.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/opera-643135-florencia-cat225n.html
Toronto
The National Ballet of Canada Struggles with Nijinsky
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Reviews vom 24.11.2014
London
The Gospel According To The Other Mary: More Must-Hear Than Must-See
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New York
Inside The Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/23/inside-the-met-opera-s-insane-year.html
Metropolitan Opera’s Barber of Seville bubbles with coloratura and camp
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San Francisco
Arts & Events: A New Production of LA BOHÈME at San Francisco Opera
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Sidney
Opera Australia in hot water after asking students to work for free
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Feuilleton
Opera houses in search of cheap singers
http://slippedisc.com/2014/11/opera-houses-in-search-of-cheap-singers/
Roll Over, Mahler: U.S. Orchestras Are Shrinking
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What Do Ballet Dancers Really Eat? Professionals Open Up On Diet, Gruelling Rehearsals And Eating Disorders
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Reviews vom 23.11.2014
London
The Gospel According to the Other Mary, ENO, review: ‘humbling’
John Adams’s new oratorio appears priggish at first but rises to a shattering climax says Rupert Christiansen
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The Gospel According to the Other Mary opera review
John Adams’ triumphant update of the Passion of the Christ English National Opera, London
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The Gospel According to the Other Mary (London Coliseum)
Like El Niño before it, John Adams’s new opera is really a staged concert piece – but it’s a fine one
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A Passion for our times: Adams’ The Gospel According To The Other Mary premières at ENO
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Nachtrag zum „Liebestrank“ L’Elisir d’Amore at the Royal Opera House review
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Britten Sinfonia/Ward review – typically self-effacing, but satisfying Milton Court, London
A beautiful, dark-hued meditation marking the veteran composer John Woolrich’s 60th birthday
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New York
Mozart Melts Into Dark Shostakovich New York Philharmonic, Led by Jaap van Zweden
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Boston
Nelsons, BSO, Ma and chorus rove widely in a night of discoveries
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Madison
Opera review: Bold, dramatic ‘Fidelio’ shines a light into dark places
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Minneapolis
Minnesota Opera president resigns after 2.5-year stint
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/283540791.html
San Francisco
Cinderella: San Francisco Opera’s Whipped Cream Atop a Delightful Season
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Montreal
Miah Persson transforms OSM
Romantic Lieder concert into one of transfigured beauty
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-persson-nagano-montreal-november-2014
Reviews vom 22.11.2014
Prag
Review: Salome at the State Opera
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Eastbourne
Oberon, New Sussex Opera, review: ‘an unsinkable shipwreck’
This brave production of Weber’s Oberon is honourably executed, says Rupert Christiansen
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New York Metropolitan Opera’s Deficit Swells to $22 Million
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A Figaro on a Big Stage, Another in Your Lap “Il Barbiere di Siviglia’ From the Met and LoftOpera
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Chances to shine: the Mikhailovsky in New York
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Tilson Thomas, San Francisco Symphony off their stride in an erratic Mahler Seventh
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Melbourne
Pasquale takes a Roman Holiday
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Ton- und Bildträger
Anna Prohaska and Eric Schneider: “Behind the Lines”
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Reviews vom 21.11.2014
Wien
Khovanshchina at the Staatsoper: A musical feast, but a directorial debacle
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Prag Vorschau
La Bayadère at the State Opera
http://www.praguepost.com/night-day/42757-la-bayadere-at-the-state-opera
London
Peter Sellars: “The United States is coming close to censorship’
He’s notorious for directing the controversial opera Klinghoffer, but Peter Sellars has no regrets about the outrage it provoked. Will The Gospel According to the Other Mary, his modern Passion inspired by censorship, poverty and slave labour, cause a new storm? read more
Les Arts Florissants/Christie review
– immaculately judged Barbican, London William Christie’s Rameau tribute was musically exquisite, but the pastoral rusticity verged on the saccharine and the choreography was too eclectic
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A fine tribute to German Romanticism from Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the LPO
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-vogt-nezet-seguin-lpo-november-2014
New York
Met Opera: A Fun-Filled “Barbiere di Siviglia” With Leonard and Maltman
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wilborn-hampton/barbiere-di-siviglia_b_6185538.html
Led by a charismatic Isabel Leonard, Met’s “Barber” makes the cut
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Interview Isabel Leonard on Met’s ‘Figaro,’ ‘Barber of Seville’ & Dr. Seuss’ Gertrude McFuzz
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Chicago
Pianist Denis Kozhukhin searches for harmony in a wide range of music
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Denver Opera Colorado’s “Butterfly” suffers in all the right way
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Houston
Heights’ pared-down opera gets to heart of ‘Hänsel and Gretel’
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Melbourne
Opera review: Don Pasquale, Opera Australia, Arts Centre Melbourne
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Reviews vom 20.11.2014
Oslo
Eventually there was light: Haydn’s The Creation with the Oslo Philharmonic and Harry Bicket
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-creation-bicket-oslo-philharmonic-november-2014
London
L’elisir d’amore, Royal Opera House, review: Vittorio Grigolo and Lucy Crowe triumph
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L’Elisir d’Amore, Royal Opera House, review: ‘real emotion’
This jolly revival of Donizetti’s comedy is guaranteed to send audiences home smiling, says Rupert Christiansen
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L’elisir d’amore (Royal Opera House)
Grigolo and Terfel headline a classy revival of this Covent Garden favourite
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L’Elisir d’Amore, Royal Opera House – opera review: ‘Bryn Terfel relishes his appearance as a greasy spiv’
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Grigolo’s Nemorino intoxicates Covent Garden in L’elisir d’amore
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-elisir-grigolo-terfel-royal-opera-november-2014
New York
Philharmonic’s new music program makes intermittent
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Chicago
Lyric Opera has plenty of something with a moving, vocally resplendent “Porgy and Bess“
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Photo Flash: First Look at Lyric Opera of Chicago’s PORGY AND BESS
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Los Angeles
At 50, Music Center’s ‘backward’ orientation may see a turnaround
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Durch die Blume
Reseden, Rosen, Lilien müssen’s richten: Die Klavierlieder von Richard Strauss in einer Gesamtausgabe
http://www.zeit.de/2014/44/richard-strauss-klavierlieder
Staatskapelle Berlin
Keine weiteren Fragen
Paavo Järvi dirigiert die Staatskapelle
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Berlin/ Theater des Westens
Der Frauenflüsterer verrät sein Geheimnis
Schauspieler Cusch Jung ist im Theater des Westens wieder als Harry im Musical “Mamma Mia!” zu erleben. Er liebt die Frauen nicht nur auf der Bühne, sondern auch privat. Ein Gespräch.
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Reviews vom 19.11.2014
Berlin/ Staatsoper
Als wär’s ein Film von Stephen King
„The Turn of the Screw” in der Inszenierung von Claus Guth an der Berliner Staatsoper
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Berlin
In Berlin Claus Guth’s Screw turns differently
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-turn-screw-guth-berlin-november-2014
Fiona Shaw brings theatre into the opera house in The Rape of Lucretia
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-rape-lucretia-shaw-berlin-november-2014
Rom
Rome Opera signs deal to save musicians’ jobs
http://www.thelocal.it/20141118/rome-opera-deal-to-save-musicians-jobs
Paris
William Forsythe/ Benjamin Millepied, Lyon Opera Ballet, Théâtre de la Ville, Paris – review
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/41afd5cc-6f12-11e4-8d86-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3JReuMGyQ
London
Star of the future: Haobin Wang entertains as Gianni Schicchi at Royal Academy
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Blaise Bellville: reinventing classical concerts
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New York
How Peter Gelb is duping singers out of seven percent
http://slippedisc.com/2014/11/how-peter-gelb-is-duping-singers-out-of-seven-percent/
BWW Reviews: LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK is ‘Opera Noir’ and Utterly Wonderful at the Met
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The Opera Stalin Hated
Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/nov/17/opera-stalin-hated/?insrc=wbll
Reflections on the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of The Death of Klinghoffer
http://blog.oup.com/2014/11/metropolitan-operas-staging/
Miami
“Madama Butterfly’Florida Grand Opera’s is grand
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/performing-arts/article3995544.html
San Francisco
S.F. Opera ‘Bohème’ does double duty
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Berlin/ Konzerthaus
Feuer und Alarm
Nachwuchsliedsänger mit Schubert und Strauss Feuer und Alarm
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Frankfurt/ English Theatre
Auf Erden die Hölle heiß machen
Quicklebendig: Das English Theatre Frankfurt zeigt „Ghost”, ein Musical mit einem unerschütterlich liebenden Geist.
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Reviews vom 18.11.2014
München
A near-perfect Manon Lescaut in Munich
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Warschau
Home of Polish National Opera Shines Again
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Prag
A euphoric Ninth in Prague commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall
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London
Glare (Royal Opera House)
A new sci-fi opera rescued from bathos by its musical excellence
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Glare at the Royal Opera House
Theatre review
http://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2014/11/17/glare-at-the-royal-opera-house-theatre-review/
Albert Herring, Hampstead Garden Opera – opera review
The atmosphere of small town prurience is well-conjured and Legomanlike Tom Morss is a close to perfect Albert
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Manchester
BBC Philharmonic/Mena review -monumental and authoritative Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Garrick Ohlsson’s towering account of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto was followed by a ferocious rendition of Elgar’s Second Symphony
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New York
Parachuting Into a Garret, and Feeling Right at Home
Sonya Yoncheva as Mimì in the Met’s “La Bohème’
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Home dishes prove ideal menu for Czech Philharmonic
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Berlin/ Philharmonie
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester: Hingabe, sagt sie
Tugan Sokhiev und das DSO lassen sich von Janine Jansen Beine machen, beim französisch-russischen Abend in der Philharmonie
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München/ Michaelskirche
Loblied auf den Tanz und das Leben
Ballett “Lauda” in der Michaelskirche
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Reviews vom 17.11.2014
London
Mild palpitations only in Eichberg’s “operatic thriller’Glare
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-glare-eichberg-royal-opera-november-2014
Aurora Orchestra, Milton Court Concert Hall, review: ‘delightful’
This fun and mysterious programme by the Aurora Orchestra featured works about the different rooms in a house, says Ivan Hewett
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New York
A Boyish Patriarch Leaps Over Boundaries
Michael Tilson Thomas Seeks Musical Adventure as He Nears 70
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After 20 years, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony are still coloring outside the lines
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Phoenix
Arizona Opera’s ‘Rigoletto’: Ridiculous, glorious
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Houston
Hansel und Gretel: A Folk Tale Spun Into Operatic Gold at Opera in the Heights
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San Francisco
Review: Fresh talent revitalizes S.F. Opera’s ‘Bohème’
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Feuilleton
The Nazi war criminal, the Nuremberg prosecution expert… and a shared love of Bach
A new collaboration between human rights lawyer Philippe Sands and opera director Nina Brazier sheds light on the parallels between Hans Frank, a key player in the Holocaust, and Hersch Lauterpacht, one of the prosecution team at his trial
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Reviews vom 16.11.2014
Liverpool
RLPO/Petrenko review – the Tchaikovsky was a triumph Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
For their first concert back in their hall, the RLPO delivered a high-voltage performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, alongside Debussy and rhapsodic James Horner
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Bristol
WNO’s Chorus leads Carmen at the Bristol Hippodrome
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Edinburgh
Leonskaja, SCO, Kamu, Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Magisterial partnership triumphantly encompasses two Brahms concertos in one concert
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New York
A Maestro Returns, First There, Now Here
Jiri Belohlavek and the Czech Philharmonic Tour the U.S.
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Met’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk a musical and visual triumph
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Boston
On a heroic night, Hardenberger and Nelsons let the trumpet sound in BSO premiere
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Feuilleton
Colin Currie: new works, new instruments – the amazing story of percussion is not yet told
The percussionist, whose Metal Wood Skin festival continues in London, explains how music became a lifelong inspiration
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Reviews vom 15.11.2014
Starpianist macht Schule
Lang Langs Material für Klavierschüler überzeugt mit viel Fantasie
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Zürich
Best of Britten: Resident evil inThe Turn of the Screw
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London
Cullberg Ballet, Sadler’s Wells, review: ‘Strangely beautiful and transfixing’
‘Plateau Effect’, by Swedish company Cullberg Ballet, brings Sadler’s Wells’ ‘Northern Lights’ season to a riveting close, says Sarah Crompton
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Edinburgh
BBCSSO/Runnicles review – birthday inspires bold and brilliant Beethoven
The BBCSSO brought due pomp to Donald Runnicles’ 60th-birthday concert, with a powerful Ninth Symphony and a playful performance of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante
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New York
Lincoln Center to Rename Avery Fisher Hall
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New York
Festival of Song gets Freudian, from Mahler to Lehrer
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Atlanta
Review: Atlanta Opera’s “Madama Butterfly” flies on strong singing (and a few clichés)
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Feuilleton
The world’s fastest-playing pianist
Ukrainian Lubomyr Melnyk claims that he plays 19.5 piano notes on each hand every second
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Berlin
Der lachende Lulatsch
Choreograf Hermann Heisig mit “Strch”
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Mama Soul aus Mannheim
Joy Fleming wird 70
Mehr Info
Reviews vom 14.11.2014
Mord, Inzest und… Komödie? Salome in Dallas
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-salome-voigt-dallas-opera-november-2014
Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik: die Bestenliste 4/2014 ist erschienen
Mehr Info
London
Why have ENO cancelled L’Orfeo?
Rupert Christiansen explains why an ambitious collaboration between English National Opera and the Bristol Old Vic has had to be shelved
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Ensemble Intercontemporain review – explosive experimental energy Wigmore Hall, London
Pieces by Mantovani, Schoenberg and Dallapiccola were unsweetened by anything resembling a comfort zone in a bracing, exhilarating evening
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New York
Met Asks Stars to Share Fiscal Pain
Anna Netrebko is among the Met opera stars who have agreed to accept lower fees, the company’s general manager says.
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BWW Interviews: Brandon Jovanovich Finds the Humanity in LADY MACBETH’s Bad Boy
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Sidney
Review: Andreas Ottensamer (Utzon Music Series) Austrian virtuoso proves a fitting end to Utzon chamber music recitals
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Melbourne
Opera review: John Bell’s reimagined Tosca a rollicking, powerful show “
The Tosca was third-time lucky for Opera Australia
First Tamar Iveri was sacked after anti-gay comments on Facebook, then Bulgarian Svetla Vassileva became ill. Austrian soprano Martina Serafin, who was asked to fill in only a week ago last Sunday, showed why she is one of Europe’s outstanding Toscas (performing the role at Rome, Covent Garden, Paris, Vienna, Berlin and La Scala).”
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A plausible and wretchedly frightening Tosca opens in Melbourne
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Opera review: Tosca, Opera Australia, Arts Centre Melbourne
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Reviews vom 13.11.2014
Tonträger
Verschiedenheit im Einheitlichen: Mozarts letzte Symphonien mit Harnoncourt, Brüggen und Haenchen
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Amsterdam
Pierre Audi’s abstract Lohengrin at Dutch National Opera
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London
Venezuela’s El Sistema music scheme is “model of tyranny’, UK academic says
Supporters rush to defend “beacon of social justice’ as study shows project fails to reach disadvantaged youth
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Odaline de la Martinez: The Crossing / Lontano 5th London Festival of American Music , 7th November 2014
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Birmingham
The Mariinsky Ring concludes strongly in Birmingham
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New York
Renée Fleming Says She May Stop Singing in Three Years
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How to Cure the Housewife Blues
Met’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’ Stars Eva-Maria Westbroek
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Met’s “Lady Macbeth” offers a dark and engrossing descent into the bizarre
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First Nighter: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Has Her Way at the Met
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-finkle/first-nighter-lady-macbet_b_6140726.html
Chicago
Aimard’s mild-tempered Bach offers mixed rewards
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St. Louis
BWW Reviews: Winter Opera St. Louis Opens a Brilliant ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’
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Toronto
Canadian Opera Company faces budget shortfall, but attendance soars
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Feuilleton
The world’s most glamorous opera stars
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Reviews vom 12.11.2014
Rom
The Opera in Rome Is a Hotbed of Chaos
Riccardo Muti’s Departure Is a Sign of Rome Opera’s Troubles
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London
ENO abandons Bristol staging of Orfeo blaming Arts Council funding cuts
Opera company’s first project outside London in 15 years is pulled
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Renaud Capuçon/Frank Braley review – still startlingly stormy after 16 years Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
The long-established duo’s Beethoven sonatas felt alive and risky, beginning with a thrilling opening to the Kreutzer
read more
Birmingham
A mesmerising Siegfried from the Mariinsky in Birmingham
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-siegfried-gergiev-mariinsky-birmingham-november-2014
New York
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Metropolitan Opera, New York – review
The Met revives Graham Vick’s brilliant production of Shostakovich’s murky masterpiece
read more
NYC’s Busy, Buzzy Fall Season
Why a Ballerina on Her Pre-Retirement Tour, a German Orchestra Playing a Centuries-Old Mass and a Firestorm of an Opera Have Become Hot Tickets
http://online.wsj.com/articles/nycs-busy-buzzy-fall-season-1415651002
San Francisco
A delightful and enduring Cinderella at San Francisco Opera
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Review: Don’t miss Karine Deshayes in ‘Cinderella’
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Ton- und Bildträger
St Petersburg, Cecilia Bartoli (soprano), I Barocchisti, cond Diego Fasolis, review: ‘horrible noise’
Bartoli is at her absolute worst on the disc, singing in high soprano overdrive that veers between droopy-drawers crooning and demented banshee caterwauling, says Rupert Christiansen
read more
Claudio Abbado in Sils Maria beerdigt
Der im Januar verstorbene italienische Dirigent hat laut Angaben seiner Familie seine letzte Ruhestätte in Sils Maria gefunden. Er ist dort am 1. November beigesetzt worden
Mehr Info
Reviews vom 11.11.2014
München
Rigoletto in Munich features good music, but little else
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-rigoletto-ranzani-schilling-munich-november-2014
London
Royal Opera House in dispute with dancers over pay
The world-famous theatre allegedly pays its freelance dance stars less than box office staff
read more
The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera House – review: Marcelino Sambé gives a glowing performance
read more
St Petersburg
Phil/Temirkanov review – it’s hard to imagine Shostakovich’s 10th performed better Royal Festival Hall, London
Vengerov’s Tchaikovsky was scrupulous rather than dramatic, but it was a privilege to hear this orchestra play Shostakovich
read more
Gateshead
Britten in Gateshead: The North East’s War Requiem
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-britten-war-requiem-cross-sage-november-2014
Cardiff
Glass’ The Trial in Cardiff: a new distillation and soundworld
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-trial-glass-music-theatre-wales-november-2014
Pittsburgh
Review: Pittsburgh Opera restores Verdi’s classic ‘Otello’ to grand status
http://triblive.com/aande/theaterarts/7097808-74/otello-act-iago#axzz3IgiQ7wGH
Calgary
Review: Calgary Opera presents powerful First World War drama in Silent Night
read more
Perth
Curtain down, drama begins at WA Opera
When the final curtain went down on the West Australian Opera’s performance of Il Trovatore on Saturday, the backstage drama had just begun in the company’s bid to replace artistic staff.
read more
Reviews vom 10.11.2014
London
Idomeneo; Equal Voices – review
Martin Kušej’s new Idomeneo caused a storm. And the premiere of Sally Beamish’s ambitious Equal Voices impressed
read more
Royal Ballet triple bill review
Liam Scarlett’s Age of Anxiety is swaggering but lightweight Royal Opera House, London Drawing on WH Auden’s meditation on post-second world war upheavals in New York, Liam Scarlett’s latest ballet might have been better woven around our own troubles read more
Aldebourgh
Brundibár, Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, review: ‘astonishing’
An opera for children performed in Theresienstadt concentration camp is a remarkable piece of anti-Nazi satire
read more
Cardiff
BBCNOW/Wigglesworth review – masterly Wagner-infused Elgar St David’s Hall, Cardiff
Conductor Mark Wigglesworth furthered his credentials as a Wagnerian with his excellently mystic interpretation of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/nov/09/bbcnow-wigglesworth-review
New York
Chelsea Opera makes a worthy case for Mollicone double bill
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Chicago
Lyric’s “Ring” designer dies; CSO gathers its tour kudos
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Portland
Portland Opera celebrates its 50th anniversary with bubbly Strauss frolic, “Die Fledermaus”
read more
San Francisco
Review: Hidden code of two great composers deciphered
read more
Anchorage
Review: Anchorage Opera’s uncomplicated ‘Madame Butterfly’
read more
Wien/ Tanzquartier
Das nackte Leben tanzt den Krieg an die Wand
Unbesiegbare Hoffnung aus dem Nahen Osten: Les Ballets C de la B mit zehn palästinensischen Tänzern und Tänzerinnen im Tanzquartier Wien – ein Zusammenspiel aus vitaler Energie und emotionalem Aufbruch http://derstandard.at/2000007909395/Das-nackte-Leben-tanzt-den-Krieg-an-die-Wand
Reviews vom 9.11.2014
London
Triple bill, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, review: ‘tremendously beautiful’
The Royal Ballet is breaking with tradition in the fascinating talent of artist-in-residence Liam Scarlett, says Laura Thompson
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More Revolutionary than Romantic: Gardiner and Antonacci at the Barbican
read more
New York
New opera finds a fine madness in free-wheeling comed
read more
Atlanta
Atlanta Symphony Musicians and Management Reach Tentative Labor Deal
read more
St. Louis
Winter Opera opens season with sparkling ‘Figaro’
read more
Los Angeles
L.A. Opera’s daring double bill frustrates Review:
Director Barrie Kosky takes a revisionist look at “Dido and Aeneas’ and “Bluebeard’s Castle.’
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/opera-641257-bluebeard-dido.html
San Francisco
Photos: San Francisco Opera presents Rossini’s “La Cenerentola”
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Reviews vom 8.11.2014
Amsterdam
At the Concertgebouw, Czarina Cecilia Bartoli reigns
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-cecilia-bartoli-petersburg-concertgebouw-november-2014
London
Donizetti: Les Martyrs, Opera Rara/Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, 4th November 2014
read more
Masterful Sibelius from Osmo Vänskä – and not a symphony in sight
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-sibelius-vanska-soumm-lpo-november-2014
Birmingham
Das Rheingold @ Hippodrome, Birmingham
read more
New York
The Hand That Rules the Chorus
Donald Palumbo, a Met Star in the Wings
read more
BAM Season Offers a Mariinsky Residency and More
read more
Dallas
Weitere „Salome”-Review
Subbing for Salome
Lise Lindstrom went on Wednesday for Deborah Voigt in The Dallas Opera’s Salome, and we have a review of the replacement’s performance.
read more
Sidney
La Bayadere Review (Sidney Opera House)
http://dailyreview.crikey.com.au/la-bayadere-review-sydney-opera-house/15260
Feuilleton
Opera in 2014: a year of tectonic shifts
The ground is shifting in the opera world – across Australia as elswhere – but the national review and a touch of showbiz are re-booting the sector beyond Melbourne and Sydney
read more
Britten’s War Requiem still speaks to us as powerfully today as it ever did
The War Requiem challenges us to think about what it is we ask people to do when we send them to war, writes conductor Marin Alsop
read more
Reviews vom 7.11.2014
Amsterdam
Michael Schade seduces and sways in his Concertgebouw song recital
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-schade-zeyen-amsterdam-november-2014
Madrid
Opera star Montserrat Caballé reaches deal to avoid jail for tax evasion
Spanish soprano to pay fine after already returning the €500,000 she withheld in 2010 http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/11/06/inenglish/1415269520_478714.html
London
Noch eine “Idomeneo”-Review:
Martin Kušej’s Idomeneo at the Royal Opera House is baffling and troubling
The production is alienating, and not a in a sexy, Brecht kind of a way.
read more
Will this Royal Opera House redevelopment be an improvement?
Rupert Christiansen voices his concerns over the £35 million plans to overhaul the Royal Opera House
Mehr Info
The Left-Hander review – finely played and sung, but it’s no masterpiece Barbican, London
A late start left the audience fractious, and striking orchestral and vocal effects were offset by a thinness of melodic and thematic inspiration
read more
Mariinsky Opera: Levsha (The Left-hander)
The UK premiere of Shchedrin’s comedy opera
http://www.classical-music.com/blog/mariinsky-opera-levsha-left-hander
The Left-hander, Mariinsky Opera, Barbican, review: ‘colourful’
The Mariinsky’s concert performance captured the wit and humour of Shchedrin’s opera, says John Allison
read more
Mussorgsky : Boris Godunov / Mariinsky Opera, Barbican, 3rd November 2014
read more
New York
From a Billowing Sound to an Ornamental
Wisp Joyce DiDonato’s “Journey Through Venice’ at Carnegie Hall
read more
DiDonato returns to Carnegie with a journey through Venice
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-joyce-didonato-carnegie-hall-november-2014
Dallas Opera review: “Salome’
http://www.dallasvoice.com/opera-review-salome-10183933.html
Sidney
Arts guide: Opera Australia raises curtain on stunning season – from Tosca to Faust
read more
Feuilleton
Ive learned a critical lesson: sugaring the pill makes it taste worse
The Washington Post’s imbroglio with Dejan Lazić is a salutory story for all critics. I won’t make the same kind of mistake
read more
Reviews vom 6.11.2014
London
Weitere “Idomeneo”-Reviews:
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House, review: ‘full of clichés’
Covent Garden’s first staging of Mozart’s Idomeneo in 25 years was a lost opportunity, says John Allison Classical and Opera Reviews
read more
Idomeneo @ Royal Opera House, London
http://www.musicomh.com/classical/reviews-classical/idomeneo-royal-opera-house-london
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House, London – review
Updated to the present day, this is a satisfying, harmonious production of Mozart’s Idomeneo
read more
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House – opera review
Austrian director Martin Kusej has enlisted a superb team of soloists under the stylish baton of Marc Minkowsk
read more
Les Martyrs (Royal Festival Hall)
Donizetti’s Parisian revamp of his earlier Poliuto in a triumphant resurrection by Opera Rara
read more
Les Martyrs, Opera Rara, Royal Festival Hall, review: ‘enthralling conclusion’
Donizetti’s rarely heard grand opera Les Martyrs was well worth performing, says Rupert Christiansen
Mehr Info
The Cunning Peasant review –
Dvořák’s “flimsy’ opera transplanted to Hardy’s Wessex Silk Street theatre, London Stephen Medcalf’s Far from the Madding Crowd take on Dvořák’s folk comedy doesn’t always work, but fine conducting and singing save the day
Mehr Info
The lows have it: the Mariinsky’s Boris Godunov at the Barbican
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-boris-godunov-mariinsky-gergiev-november-2014
New York
Metropolitan Opera Review – ‘Die Zauberflote / The Magic Flute:”
Wondrous Production & Terrific Cast Make for Memorable Evening
Mehr Info
San Francisco
New S.F. Opera Production Manager Named
https://www.sfcv.org/article/new-sf-opera-production-manager-named
Reviews vom 5.11.2014
London
Erste Reviews zum neuen “Idomeneo” am ROH:
Idomeneo (Royal Opera House)
Mozart’s opera seria comes startlingly alive in a controversial new production at Covent Garden
http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/idomeneo-royal-opera-house_36332.html
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House, review: Coarsened by Kusej, but superbly sun
read more
Martin Kušej’s Idomeneo cast as gripping political power struggle
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-idomeneo-kusej-minkowski-royal-opera-november-2014
Idomeneo, Royal Opera
Zero human interest in this power-struggle reduction of Mozart’s great Greek myth
http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/idomeneo-royal-opera
LSO/Noseda review – pungent immediacy in Beamish’s wartime debut Barbican, London
Sally Beamish’s Equal Voices, on the effects of war, had its first outing, while Nelson Freire delivered a startling Emperor
read more
Cardiff
Betrothal in a Monastery review
– humour survives concert performance Millennium Centre, Cardiff Without staging, it wasn’t easy keeping track of the lovers in Prokofiev’s comic opera, but Gergiev’s cast and orchestra filled in at least some of the gaps
read more
Mariinsky Opera wows Wales with satisfying performance of Betrothal In A Monastery
read more
Betrothal in a Monastery: Mariinsky forces sparkle in Prokofiev’s comedy
read more
New York
The Indestructible Beat of Tamino
A South African “Magic Flute’ at New Victory Theater
read more
Washington
At WNO, a “La Bohème’ that gets the job done
read more
BWW Reviews: Washington National Opera Crafts Gorgeous Production of Puccini’s LA BOHÈME
read more
A new production for ‘La Boheme’ from Washington National Opera
read more
St. Louis
Good financial news for Opera Theatre of St. Louis
read more
Reviews vom 4.11.2014
München
Die Soldaten in Munich is uncomfortable, ugly, violent… and perfect
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-soldaten-hannigan-petrenko-munich-october-2014
Mailand
Leo Nucci authoritative in La Scala’s murky Simon Boccanegra
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-simon-boccanegra-nucci-la-scala-october-2014
Rom
A gloomy but effective Rigoletto in Rome
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-rigoletto-rome-muscato-october-2014
London
Arcadi Volodos review – virtuoso spinning heads, still
Royal Festival Hall, London
From fiery passages to moments of sublime quietness, the Russian pianist displayed the full range of his mercurial talent
read more
Wexford
63rd Wexford Festival Opera, Reports Increased Sales and Announces Details of Next Festival
read more
New York
A Verdi Test Where Nuance Is Just One of the Many Demands “Aida’ Revival at the Metropolitan Opera
read more
Indifferent vocalism entombs Met’s “Aida”
http://newyorkclassicalreview.com/2014/10/indifferent-vocalism-entombs-mets-glitzy-aida/
Tiny Secret Opera company scores big with a chilling “Medium“
read more
Chicago
Lyric Opera serves up the glitz and glitter in Diamond Anniversary bash
read more
Feuilleton
How much do opera stars get paid?
Rupert Christiansen attempts to solve one of opera’s great mysteries
read more
Enrico Caruso’s love letters have the passion of a Puccini opera
Previously unpublished private papers of Italian tenor chart the singer’s rise to fame and troubled personal life
Mehr Info
Reviews vom 3.11.2014
London
Director Thaddeus Strassberger discusses his work with The Royal Opera
With two projects at the Royal Opera House, this busy director discusses the old and the new.
read more
BBCSO/Gardner review – expressionist whispers and a great Unfinished Barbican, London
Thomas Larcher’s cycle for Mark Padmore was impeccably tailored, while Gardner’s Schubert gave fresh insight
read more
Wexford
Salomé, Wexford festival review – Antoine Mariotte, anyone?
Wexford Opera House, Ireland
The biggest draw at the 63rd Wexford festival was a rarely seen opera by a French naval officer
read more
New York
Sentimental Harmonies
Leonard Slatkin Leads the Philharmonic in Copland and Rouse
read more
Sidney
Sydney Opera House lights up Concert Hall with new lamps after first major upgrade
read more
Perth
West Australian Opera ends year on a high note
read more
Feuilleton
Do negative reviews have a right to be forgotten by Google?
Classical pianist Dejan Lazic’s attempt to have a ‘mean-spirited’ review scrubbed from Google is misguided madness that could have dire consequences for us all
read more
Neue “Don Giovanni”-DVDs: Der Wüstling unter der Lupe
Mehr Info
Reviews vom 2.11.2014
Kairo
Cairo’s first opera house remembered
Ahram Online remembers the opening of Egypt’s first opera house in the 19th century
read more
London
Puccini: La bohème / ENO / 29th October 2014
http://operabritanniauk.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/puccini-la-boheme-eno-29th-october-2014/
Interview Matthew Polenzani, the Royal Opera’s Idomeneo
The American tenor and scion of the New York Met is back in town to sing Mozart
read more
Pavel Kolesnikov scales Rachmaninov’s Everest with elegance
read more
New York
10 Graphs To Explain The Metropolitan Opera
read more
Mehr Info
Honoring Lorin Maazel in New York
read more
Decades Later, a Quintessential Journey Continues to Resonate Martha Graham Studio Celebrates “Appalachian Spring’
read more
Dallas /Weitere “Salome”-Review
At Dallas Opera, Salome’s Twisted Love Story Is a Bucket List Production
read more
Houston
HGO’s Otello Great Sound and Fury Signifying Very Much Indeed
read more
Passion, deceit and desperation hit a fever pitch in ‘Otello’
read more
Feuilleton
Mrs Bach had too many kids to write the great man’s music, says Julian Lloyd Webber
read more
Five alternatives to Mrs Bach
http://jessicamusic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/five-alternatives-to-mrs-bach.html
Reviews vom 1.11.2014
London
Weitere “Idomeneo”-Reviews:
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House, review: ‘full of clichés’
Covent Garden’s first staging of Mozart’s Idomeneo in 25 years was a lost opportunity, says John Allison Classical and Opera Reviews
read more
Idomeneo @ Royal Opera House, London
http://www.musicomh.com/classical/reviews-classical/idomeneo-royal-opera-house-london
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House, London – review
Updated to the present day, this is a satisfying, harmonious production of Mozart’s Idomeneo
read more
Idomeneo, Royal Opera House – opera review
Austrian director Martin Kusej has enlisted a superb team of soloists under the stylish baton of Marc Minkowsk
read more
Les Martyrs (Royal Festival Hall)
Donizetti’s Parisian revamp of his earlier Poliuto in a triumphant resurrection by Opera Rara
read more
Les Martyrs, Opera Rara, Royal Festival Hall, review: ‘enthralling conclusion’
Donizetti’s rarely heard grand opera Les Martyrs was well worth performing, says Rupert Christiansen
Mehr Info
The Cunning Peasant review –
Dvořák’s “flimsy’ opera transplanted to Hardy’s Wessex Silk Street theatre, London Stephen Medcalf’s Far from the Madding Crowd take on Dvořák’s folk comedy doesn’t always work, but fine conducting and singing save the day
Mehr Info
The lows have it: the Mariinsky’s Boris Godunov at the Barbican
http://bachtrack.com/de_DE/review-boris-godunov-mariinsky-gergiev-november-2014
New York
Metropolitan Opera Review – ‘Die Zauberflote / The Magic Flute:”
Wondrous Production & Terrific Cast Make for Memorable Evening
Mehr Info
San Francisco
New S.F. Opera Production Manager Named
https://www.sfcv.org/article/new-sf-opera-production-manager-named