Sweden Jean-Philippe Rameau, Platée: Soloists of Gothenburg Opera, Gothenburg Opera Chorus, Gothenburg Opera Orchestra / Paul Agnew (conductor). Gothenburg Opera main stage, 20.3.2024. (NS)
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
A compelling double bill of Poulenc and Schoenberg at Madrid’s Teatro Real
Spain Poulenc, Schoenberg: Soloists, Orchestra of the Teatro Real / Jérémie Rhorer (conductor). Teatro Real, Madrid, 19.3.2024. (JMI)
Sir David Pountney’s Guillaume Tell still hits the target in Vienna
Austria Rossini, Guillaume Tell (William Tell): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera / Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Transmitted live (directed by Dominic Zepczynski) from the Vienna State Opera, 16.3.2024. (JPr)
Fine Deutsche Oper Berlin cast and imaginative production brings The Queen of Spades vividly to life
Germany Tchaikovsky, Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades): Soloists, Children’s Chorus (director: Christian Lindhorst), Chorus (director: Jeremy Bines), Statisterie, and Opernballet of the Deutsche Oper Berlin / Sebastian Weigle (conductor). Deutsche Oper Berlin, 20.3.2024. (MB)
Ballet Icons Gala 2024 at the London Coliseum was another intriguing blend of the classics and new work
United Kingdom Ballet Icons Gala 2024: Soloists, English National Ballet Philharmonic / Maria Seletskaja (conductor). London Coliseum, 17.3.2024. (JPr)
RNCM’s opera students can be justly proud of lavishing care and attention on Rossini’s The Silken Ladder
United Kingdom Rossini, La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder): Soloists and Orchestra of the RNCM / Wyn Davies (conductor). Theatre, RNCM, Manchester, 17.4.2023. (MC)
In a spell-binding performance, Smetana’s The Devil’s Wall in Ostrava proves to be a neglected masterwork
Czech Republic Smetana, The Devil’s Wall (Čertova stĕna): Soloists, Ballet, Choir and Orchestra of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre / Marek Šedivý (conductor). Antonín Dvořák Theatre, Ostrava, 9.3.2024. (GT)
La Fille mal gardée fills Paris’s Palais Garnier with an unparalleled sense of happiness
France La Fille mal gardée: Paris Opera Ballet, Orchestra of the Paris National Opera / Philip Ellis (conductor). Palais Garnier, Paris. 15.3.2024. (JO’D)