Subtle nuances abound in Brigitte Fassbender’s production of Die Walküre for Tiroler Festspiele Erl

GermanyGermany Tiroler Festspiele Erl – Wagner, Die Walküre: Soloists and orchestra of the Tyrolean Festival Erl / Erik Nielsen (conductor). Passionsspielhaus Erl, 24.7.2024. (DMD)

Tiroler Festspiele Erl’s Die Walküre Act I © Xiomara Bender

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Fine performances of two twentieth-century Italian masterworks in Salzburg

AustriaAustria Salzburg Festival 2024 [3] – Nono and Dallapiccola: Soloists, Bavarian Radio Chorus (chorus director: Peter Dijkstra), Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra / Maxime Pascal (conductor). Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, 25.7.2024. (MB)

Caroline Wettergreen, Freya Apffelstaedt and Robin Tritschler singing in Il prigioniero © SF/Marco Borrelli

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Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio at Marvão Castle: a cautionary tale for modern times

PortugalPortugal Marvão International Music Festival [2] – Mozart, Die Entführung aus dem Serail: Soloists, Cologne Chamber Orchestra / Christoph Poppen (conductor). Castelo de Marvão, Portugal, 21.7.2024. (LV)

Leonor Amaral (Konstanze) and Cláudia de Serpa Soares (Dancer) © Paulo Gouveia & Estela Alvarez Ruiz

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A Verdi Requiem at the BBC Proms potent with operatic theatricality

United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 6 – Verdi, Requiem: Latonia Moore (soprano), Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano), SeokJong Baek (tenor), Solomon Howard (bass), Crouch End Festival Chorus (chorus master: David Temple), BBC National Chorus of Wales (chorus master: Adrian Partington), BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Ryan Bancroft (conductor). Recorded live (directed by Alison Bartrop) at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 23.7.2024. (JPr)

Latonia Moore © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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Tempi and time interact on Salzburg’s extraordinary musical journey in Grisey’s Le Noir de l’Étoile

AustriaAustria Salzburg Festival 2024 [2] – Grisey, Le Noir de l’Étoile: Motus Percussion (Christoph Sietzen, Leonhard Schmidinger, Nico Gerstmayer, Akisato Takeo, Miguel Llorente Gil, Lorenzo Manquillet). Kollegienkirche, Salzburg, 24.7.2024. (MB)

Motus Percussion’s Le Noir de l’Étoile © SF/Marco Borrelli

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Christie’s Tanglewood Fairy Queen has some magic moments but ultimately fails to enchant

United StatesUnited States Tanglewood Festival 2024 [5] – Purcell, The Fairy Queen: Soloists, Les Arts Florissants / William Christie (music director). Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood, 18.7.2024. (CSa)

Georgia Burashko sings ‘Ye gentle spirits of the air, appear!’ © Hilary Scott

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Olga Kern and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra triumph at Boulder’s Chautauqua Auditorium

United StatesUnited States Colorado Music Festival 2024 [1] Various: Olga Kern (piano), Kabin Thomas (narrator), Colorado Festival Orchestra / Gemma New (director). Chautauqua Auditorium, Boulder, Colorado, 19.7.2024. (DS)

Gemma New conducts pianist Olga Kern and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra © Geremy Kornreich

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