Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Cumbria Opera Group’s brand new work Kings, Witches, Lovers and Souls showcases the region’s mythic past

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Jen Hartley, Kings, Witches, Lovers and Souls: Eleanor McIntosh (soprano), Anne Elizabeth Cooper (mezzo-soprano), Johnny Hill (baritone), Jonny Danciger (director), Cumbria Youth Chorus, Cumbria Opera Group / Joe Davies & Alastair Burton (co-musical directors), Penrith Playhouse, 31.8.2024. (SRT)

Eleanor McIntosh (soprano), Anne Elizabeth Cooper (mezzo-soprano), Johnny Hill (baritone) and members of Cumbria Opera Group © Christopher Tribble

Read more

An excellent cast brings Peter Sellars’s Salzburg production of The Gambler vividly to life

by

AustriaAustria Salzburg Festival 2024 [10] – Prokofiev, The Gambler: Soloists, Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Timur Zangiev (conductor). Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, 25.8.2024. (MB)

[l-r] Sean Panikkar (Alexey), Violeta Urmana (Babulenka) and Asmik Grigorian (Polina) © SF/Ruth Walz)

Read more

For all the power of Rihab Chaieb’s (anti-)hero, this was a mixed Glyndebourne Carmen at the Proms

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 52 – Bizet, Carmen from Glyndebourne: Soloists, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra / Anja Bihlmaier (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 29.8.2024. (CC)

Bizet’s Carmen from Glyndebourne at the BBC Proms © BBC/Andy Paradise

Read more

Excellent cast let down by lifeless conducting and a confusing Salzburg production of Les contes d’Hoffmann

by

AustriaAustria Salzburg Festival 2024 [8] – Offenbach, Les contes d’Hoffmann: Soloists, Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Marc Minkowski (conductor). Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 24.8.2024. (MB)

Les contes d’Hoffmann: Benjamin Bernheim (Hoffmann), Kate Lindsey (Muse/Nicklausse) and Kathryn Lewek (Stella) © SF/Monika Rittershaus

Read more

Rossini’s Ermione receives a visually overwhelming production in Pesaro

by

ItalyItaly Rossini Opera Festival 2024 [2] – Rossini, Ermione: Soloists, Coro del teatro ventidio basso, Orchestra sinfonica nazionale della RAI / Michele Mariotti (conductor). Vitrifrigo Arena, Pesaro, 9.8.2024. (AB)

Anastasia Bartoli (Ermione) and  Juan Diego Flórez (Oreste) © Amati Biaccardi

Read more

Exceptional music making in a rather static production of Bianca e Falliero in Pesaro

by

ItalyItaly Rossini Opera Festival 2024 [1] – Rossini, Bianca e Falliero: Soloists, Coro del teatro ventidio basso, Orchestra sinfonica nazionale della RAI, Roberto Abbado (conductor). Auditorium Scavolini, Pesaro, 7.8.2024. (AB)

Rossini Opera Festival 2024’s Bianca e Falliero

Read more