Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Set in the silent movie era, The Magic Flute delivers pluses and minuses in San Francisco

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United StatesUnited States Mozart, The Magic Flute: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera / Eun Sun Kim (conductor). War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, 30.5.2024. (HS)

Lauri Vasar (Papageno) made mute by the Ladies removing his lips and teeth © Corey Weaver/SFO

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Imaginative idea allows a promising Lohengrin take flight in Hagen

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GermanyGermany Wagner, Lohengrin:  Soloists, Chorus, Extra chorus and Extras of Theater Hagen. Philharmonic Orchestra Hagen / Joseph Trafton (conductor). Theater Hagen, 20.5.2024. (DMD)

(l-r) Dong-Won Seo (King Henry), Kenneth Mattice (Herald), Dorothea Herbert (Elsa), Angela Davis (Ortrud), and Insu Hwang (Telramund) © Volker Beushausen

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Well, what did it mean to you? Homoki’s conclusion to his Zurich Ring leaves unanswered questions

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SwitzerlandSwitzerland Wagner, Götterdämmerung: Soloists, Extras at the Zurich Opera House, Chorus of Zurich Opera, Philharmonia Zürich / Gianandrea Noseda (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Michael Beyer) from Zurich Opera House, 26.5.2024. (JPr)

The Norns: (l-r) Freya Apffelstaedt, Lena Sutor-Wernich and Giselle Allen © Monika Ritterhaus

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Josef Ernst Köpplinger whip smart Dresden production underscored the enduring appeal of Die Zauberflöte

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GermanyGermany Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute): Soloists, Sächsische Staatsopernchor, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden / Gaetano d’Espinosa (conductor). Semperoper Dresden, 27.5.2024. (MC)

Scene from Die Zauberflöte at the Semperoper Dresden © Ludwig Olah

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A superlative performance as the Wanderer from Tomasz Konieczny in a disappointing Zurich Siegfried

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SwitzerlandSwitzerland Wagner, Siegfried: Soloists, Philharmonia Zürich / Gianandrea Noseda (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Michael Beyer) from Zurich Opera House, 24.5.2024. (JPr)

Tomasz Konieczny (Wotan) and Klaus Florian Vogt (Siegfried) © Monika Rittershaus

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A stunningly memorable new production of Tristan und Isolde at Dessau’s Anhaltische Theatre

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GermanyGermany Wagner, Tristan und Isolde: Soloists, Actors, Chorus of Anhaltischen Theaters Dessau, Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau / Markus L. Frank (conductor). Anhaltische Theater Dessau, 19.5.2024. (GT)

Anhaltische Theater Dessau’s Tristan und Isolde © Claudia Heysel

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Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale is a ballet for all seasons and was exceptionally danced

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale: Dancers of The Royal Ballet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Koen Kessels (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Ross MacGibbon) to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 22.5.2024. (JPr)

Mayara Magri (Paulina) © Alice Pennefather

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Clever production sheds new light on Figaro in Hannover

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GermanyGermany Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro: Soloists, Chorus and Extras of Staatsoper Hannover. Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover / Mazaru Kumakura (conductor). Staatsoper Hannover, 19.5.2024. (DM-D)

Hannover’s Le nozze di Figaro (2023) featuring Richard Walshe (Figaro) and Kiandra Howarth (Countess) © Sandra Then

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