Essen’s inconsistent Die Zauberflöte is set in a laboratory

GermanyGermany Mozart, Die Zauberflöte(The Magic Flute): Soloists and Chorus of Theater & Philharmonie Essen. Essener Philharmoniker / Christopher Moulds (conductor). Aalto Theater Essen, 11.1.2025. (DM-D)

[l-r] Sebastian Pilgrim (Sarastro), Lisa Wittig (Pamina), and Judith Spiesser (Queen of the Night) © Björn Hickmann

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Michieletto’s absinthe-fuelled Tales of Hoffmann for The Royal Opera gets a delightful musical performance

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Offenbach, The Tales of Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann): Soloists, Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Antonello Manacorda (conductor). Filmed (directed by Rhodri Huw) at the Royal Ballet and Opera in November 2024 and shown at the Everyman Cinema, Chelmsford, Essex, 15.1.2025. (JPr)

Julie Boulianne (rear, Nicklausse) and Juan Diego Flórez (Hoffmann) © Camilla Greenwell

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Bremerhaven’s Hänsel und Gretel has the children escaping into their own dreamworld

GermanyGermany Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel: Soloists, Ladies of the Chorus, Children’s chorus of Stadttheater Bremerhaven, Philharmonic Orchestra Bremerhaven / Hartmut Brüsch (conductor). Bremerhaven, 28.12.2024. (DM-D)

Marcin Hutek (Peter), Kristín Anna Guðmundsdóttir (Gertrud), Boshana Milkov (Hänsel), and Victoria Kunze (Gretel) © Heiko Sandelmann

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Xabier Anduaga triumphs in Munich’s new production of La fille du régiment

GermanyGermany Donizetti, La fille du régiment: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Bayerische Staatsoper / Stefano Montanari (conductor). Nationaltheater, Munich, 31.12.2024. (ALL)

Bayerische Staatsoper’s La fille du régiment – Sunnyi Melles (centre, La Duchesse de Crakentorp) © Geoffrey Schied

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