United Kingdom Britten, Peter Grimes: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Sir Andrew Davis (conductor). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 21.6.2011. (MB)
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
Sellars, Upshaw and Crumb’s Berkeley Commentary on Afghanistan
Crumb, traditional Afghan music: Dawn Upshaw (soprano), red fish bue fish (percussion ensemble), Stephen Schick (percussion), Gil Kalish (piano), The Sakhi Ensemble, presented by Cal Performances, Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley, Calif. 16.6.2011 (HS)
Back to the Eighties: Reconstructing Lully’s Atys Again
J-B. Lully, Atys: Soloists, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie (conductor). Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. 19.6.2011 (JMI)
Haphazard Götterdämmerung fails to light up Paris
Wagner, Götterdämmerung: Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris, Philippe Jordan (conductor). Opéra Bastille, Paris, 18.6.2011 (MB)
Outstanding Performances of Contemporary Works at the Cité de la Musique
Fedele, Staud, and Mantovani: Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Robin Meier (IRCAM sound realisation), Franck Berthoux (IRCAM sound engineer), Ensemble Intercontemporain, Susanna Mälkki (conductor). Salle des concerts, Cité de la musique, Paris, 17.6.2011 (MB)
Longborough Festival Opera’s Così with a modern slant
Mozart, Così fan tutte: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Longborough Festival Opera/Gianluca Marcianò (conductor), Longborough, 16.6.2011 (RJ)
Conductor and Orchestra save the day in Palais Garnier’s Così fan tutte
Mozart, Così fan tutte: Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris/ Philippe Jordan (conductor). Palais Garnier, Paris, 16.6.2011 (MB)
Semi-staged Barbican Idomeneo lives up to expectations
Mozart, Idomeneo, re di Creta, K 366: (Semi-Staged Performance) Balthasar Neumann Ensemble and Choir/Thomas Hengelbrock (conductor) Barbican Hall, London, 11.6.2011 (GD)