Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

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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The Australian Ballet embraces the spirit of The Merry Widow with gusto and makes it fun to watch.

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AustraliaAustralia The Australian Ballet’s The Merry Widow (based on the operetta by Victor Léon and Leo Stein with music by Franz Lehár): Dancers of The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia Orchestra / Paul Murphy (conductor). 9.5.1018 performance (directed for the screen by Simon Francis) from The Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, and new to Sky Arts on 2.8.2020. (JPr)

Amber Scott (Hanna) and Adam Bull (Danilo) (c) Daniel Boud

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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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Lise Davidsen’s compellingly expressive singing doesn’t entirely rescue Tobias Kratzer’s Fidelio

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Beethoven, Fidelio: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor). Performance of 9.3.2020 (directed for the screen by Rhodri Huw), televised on BBC Four, and reviewed on 26.7.2020. (JPr)

Amanda Forsythe (Marzelline), Georg Zeppenfeld (Rocco) & Lise Davidsen (Leonore)
(c) Bill Cooper

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The Royal Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty: a gift that goes on giving

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty: Dancers of the Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House Orchestra / Simon Hewett (conductor). Performance of 16.1.2020 (directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon) and reviewed as a live streamed performance in the #OurHouseToYourHouse series. (JO’D)

Fumi Kaneko (Princess Aurora) and Federico Bonelli (Prince Florimund)

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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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