International Opera

All opera reviews from sources other that the UK

Frank Castorf’s staggeringly intelligent, symbol-laden Bayreuth Das Rheingold is revived on DG Stage

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GermanyGermany Wagner, Das Rheingold: Soloists, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra / Marek Janowski (conductor). 2016 performance from the Bayreuth Festspielhaus and reviewed when streamed on DG Stage. (CC)

Iain Paterson (Wotan) & Nadine Weissmann (Erda)
(c) Enrico Nawrath/Bayreuther Festspiele

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Krzysztof Warlikowski’s new Elektra production ushers in 2020’s resurrected 100th Salzburg Festival

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AustriaAustria 100th Salzburg Festival – Richard Strauss, Elektra: Soloists, Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus (chorus master: Ernst Raffelsberger), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst (conductor). Review of 1.8.2020 performance (directed for the screen by Miriam Hoyer) in Salzburg’s Felsenreitschule and streamed on ARTE Concert. (JPr)

Aušrinė Stundytė (Elektra) and Derek Welton (Orest) © Bernd Uhlig

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Viva La Diva! Anna Netrebko sang Tosca in Naples and brought some light to our current darkness

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ItalyItaly Puccini, Tosca (concert version): Soloists, Chorus (chorus director: Gea Garatti Ansini), Children Chorus (chorus director: Stefania Rinaldi), and Orchestra of Teatro di San Carlo / Juraj Valčuha (conductor). July 2020 performance in the Piazza del Plebiscito, live streamed and reviewed on 30.7.2020. (JPr)

Ludovic Tézier (Scarpia) & Anna Netrebko (Tosca) © Mario Wurzburger

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Watching this 1982 Met Tannhäuser – with Cassilly, Marton and Weikl – after nearly four decades leaves strong abiding memories

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United StatesUnited States Wagner, Tannhäuser: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / James Levine (conductor). Performance of 20.12.1982 and reviewed as a Nightly Met Opera Stream on 22.7.2020. (JPr)

Éva Marton (Elisabeth) and Richard Cassilly (Tannhäuser)

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In 2020 Ben Heppner and Jane Eaglen sing once again to us in the Met’s 1999 Tristan und Isolde

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United StatesUnited States Wagner, Tristan und Isolde: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / James Levine (conductor). Performance of 11.12.1999 reviewed as a Nightly Met Opera Stream on 13.7.2020. (JPr)

Jane Eaglen and Ben Heppner in the Met’s Tristan und Isolde

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Singers show what San Francisco Opera missed due to the pandemic

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United StatesUnited States San Francisco Opera, Celebrating the Summer Season: Michelle Bradley (soprano), Louise Alder (soprano), Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano), Russell Thomas (tenor), Jakub Józef Orliński (countertenor), Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera / Eun Sun Kim (conductor), Various locations, 10.7.2020. (HS)

Matthew Shilvock (host), Russell Thomas (tenor), & Michelle Bradley (soprano)

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Luxuriating in legendary voices and grand style in the Met’s 1988 Il trovatore

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United StatesUnited States Verdi, Il trovatore: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / James Levine (conductor). 15.10.1988 performance reviewed as Nightly Met Opera Stream on 7.7.2020. (RP)

Éva Marton (top l), Delora Zajick, Sherill Milnes & Luciano Pavarotti (bottom l) 

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