United Kingdom Mozart, Così fan tutte: Soloists, Improbable, Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera / Kerem Hasan (conductor). London Coliseum, 18.3.2022. (CC)
ENO’s Così fan tutte is undeniably entertaining in a sort of overload-like way
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
The love which dare not speak its name beams brightly at Wilton’s Music Hall
United Kingdom Gilbert and Sullivan, Sasha Regan’s All-Male H.M.S. Pinafore: Preview performance. Wilton’s Music Hall, London, 16.3.2022. (JB)
Peter Grimes at the Royal Opera House: an outstanding night of theatre
United Kingdom Britten, Peter Grimes: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Royal Opera House, London, 17.3.2022. (MB)
In Dresden, Christian Thielemann’s first Aida is a triumph
Germany Verdi, Aida: Soloists, Dancers, Dresden State Opera Chorus, Staatskapelle Dresden / Christian Thielemann (conductor). Livestreamed (directed by Michael Beyer) on 13.3.2022 from the Semperoper Dresden and available until 12.6.2022. (JPr)
A musically intense and dramatic performance of Wozzeck in Paris
France Berg, Wozzeck: Soloists, Maîtrise des-Hauts-de Seine/Children’s Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris (chorus master: Gaël Darchen), Chorus (chorus master: Ching-Lien Wu) and Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris / Susanna Mälkki (conductor). Opéra Bastille, Paris, 13.3.2022. (MB)
A patchwork of Leonard Bernstein’s life in John Neumeier’s Bernstein Dances
United States Bernstein, Bernstein Dances: Dancers of the Hamburg Ballet, Tai Murray (violin), Sebastian Knauer (piano), members of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and other artists / Garrett Keast (conductor). Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 13.3.2020. (JRo)
Don Giovanni at Opéra Bastille, though well sung, is a mixed experience
France Mozart, Don Giovanni: Soloists, Chorus (chorus master: Ching-Lien Wiu) and Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris / Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Opéra Bastille, Paris, 11.3.2022. (MB)
Focus is on Lise Davidsen but Isabel Leonard, Brenda Rae and Marek Janowski make the Met’s Ariadne an ensemble success
United States Richard Strauss, Ariadne auf Naxos: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera / Marek Janowski (conductor). Transmitted live (directed by Gary Halvorson) from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, 12.3.2022. (JPr)
