Seen and Heard’s Best of 2018
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
Varduhi Abrahamyan and Luca Pisaroni Are Outstanding in Liceu’s L’italiana in Algeri
Spain Rossini, L’italiana in Algeri: Liceu Chorus and Orchestra / Riccardo Frizza (conductor), Gran Theatre del Liceu, Barcelona, 17 & 18.12.2018. (JMI)

Michael Mayer’s Disneyfied Traviata is Not the Most Auspicious Start for Nézet-Séguin
United States The Met: Live in HD – Verdi, La traviata: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York / Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor). Broadcast live to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 15.12.2018. (JPr)

(c) Marty Sohl/Met Opera
The Royal Opera’s Vacuous Production Strips Hänsel und Gretel of its Magic
United Kingdom Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel: Soloists, Actors, Dancers, ROH Youth Opera Company, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Sebastian Weigle (conductor). Royal Opera House, London, 13.12.2018. (MB)

ENB’s Nutcracker Returns and Magic is Pretty Much Assured
United Kingdom English National Ballet’s Nutcracker: Dancers of English National Ballet, Students from Tring Park School and the English Ballet School, English National Ballet Philharmonic / Gavin Sutherland (conductor), London Coliseum, 13.12.2018. (JO’D)

Quentin Hayes Leads RNCM’s Gianni Schicchi From the Front
United Kingdom Puccini, Gianni Schicchi: Soloists, Royal Northern College of Music Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Martin André (conductor). RNCM Opera Theatre, Manchester, 7.12.2018. (RJF)

O’Sullivan, Sambé, Nuñez and Muntagirov Transcend the Routine in The Royal Ballet’s Familiar The Nutcracker
United Kingdom Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker (choreography by Peter Wright): Soloists, corps de ballet, London Oratory Junior Choir, Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Barry Wordsworth (conductor). Recorded at the Royal Opera House on 3 December and screened at Everyman Cinema, Chelmsford, Essex, 10.12.2018. (JPr)

in The Nutcracker Act I (c) Alistair Muir
Turnage’s Edgy and Provocative Greek at BAM
United States Turnage, Greek: Soloists, Members of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera / Stuart Stratford (conductor), BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, New York, 8.12.2018. (RP)
