Germany Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer: Soloists, Chorus of the Hamburg State Opera, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Kent Nagano (conductor). Hamburg State Opera, 19.1.2024. (DM-D)
Passions dominate Hamburg’s stirring Der fliegende Holländer
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
Cologne Opera’s new production confirms Nabucco as a masterpiece
Germany Verdi, Nabucco: Soloists, Chorus and Extras of Cologne Opera. Gürzenich-Orchestra / Sestro Quatrini (conductor). StaatenHaus Saal 1, Cologne, 12.1.2025. (DM-D)
Erina Takahashi is bidding farewell as an ENB dancer in their delicate and poignant Giselle
United Kingdom Mary Skeaping’s Giselle: Dancers of English National Ballet, English National Ballet Philharmonic / Gavin Sutherland(conductor), London Coliseum, 15.1.2025. (JO’D)
Essen’s inconsistent Die Zauberflöte is set in a laboratory
Germany Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute): Soloists and Chorus of Theater & Philharmonie Essen. Essener Philharmoniker / Christopher Moulds (conductor). Aalto Theater Essen, 11.1.2025. (DM-D)
Michieletto’s absinthe-fuelled Tales of Hoffmann for The Royal Opera gets a delightful musical performance
United Kingdom Offenbach, The Tales of Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann): Soloists, Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Antonello Manacorda (conductor). Filmed (directed by Rhodri Huw) at the Royal Ballet and Opera in November 2024 and shown at the Everyman Cinema, Chelmsford, Essex, 15.1.2025. (JPr)
Many windows make for a persuasive interpretation of Eugene Onegin in Krefeld
Germany Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin: Soloists, Chorus and Extras of Theater Krefeld Mönchengladbach. Niederrheinische Sinfoniker / Sebastian Engel (conductor). Theater Krefeld, 10.1.2025. (DM-D)
Bremerhaven’s Hänsel und Gretel has the children escaping into their own dreamworld
Germany Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel: Soloists, Ladies of the Chorus, Children’s chorus of Stadttheater Bremerhaven, Philharmonic Orchestra Bremerhaven / Hartmut Brüsch (conductor). Bremerhaven, 28.12.2024. (DM-D)
The Met’s new Aida received the performance it deserves the second time around
United States Verdi, Aida: Soloists, Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor). Metropolitan Opera, New York, 4.1.2025. (RP)
