Utterly Misconceived Staging Spoils the Re-Opening of Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden

GermanyGermany Schumann – Szenen aus Goethes Faust: Soloists, Actors, Chorus (chorus master: Martin Wright) and Children’s Chorus (chorus master: Vinzens Weissenburger) of the Staatsoper Unter Den Linden, Staatskapelle Berlin / Daniel Barenboim (conductor). Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, 3.10.2017. (MB)

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Szenen aus Goethes Faust (c) Hermann and Clärchen Baus

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Outstanding Schoenberg and Mahler’s Fascinating Take on Beethoven at Musikfest Berlin

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GermanyGermany Musikfest Berlin [8] – Yun, Schoenberg, Nono, and Beethoven-Mahler: Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Max Hopp (speaker: Fučik), Sven Philipp (speaker: Officer), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). Philharmonie, Berlin, 17.9.2017. (MB)

Christian Tetzlaff with Vladimir Jurowski. Photo credit - Kai Bienert.
Christian Tetzlaff with Vladimir Jurowski (c) Kai Bienert

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A Welcome Centenary Tribute to Isang Yun at Musikfest Berlin

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Musikfest Berlin [7] – Isang Yun 100 Chamber Concert: Martin Glück, Fang-Yu Chung, Laura Schreyer, Ziangchen Ji, Roswitha Staega (flutes), Birgit Schmieder (oboe), Clemens Linder, Sunyung Hwang (violin), Adele Bitter (cello), Holger Groschapp (piano). Kammermusiksaal, Philharmonie, Berlin, 17.9.2017. (MB)

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JUSTIN DOYLE DISCUSSES MONTEVERDI WITH MARK BERRY

Justin Doyle Discusses Monteverdi with Mark Berry

RKC17_Justin Doyle Antritt GP01_Fotograf Matthias Heyde
Justin Doyle from the general rehearsal for Vespers (c) Matthias Heyde

For his first concerts as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the RIAS Chamber Choir, Justin Doyle finds himself very much in at the deep end: dual-venue performances of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers of the Blessed Virgin (at the Pierre Boulez Saal) and the Missa ‘In illo tempore’, with which it was published (just around the corner, at St Hedwig’s Cathedral). ‘Finds himself’, one might ask, or was he pushed? I was lucky enough to be able to do so, on the lunchtime in between the first, Friday evening performances, and the second ones on Saturday afternoon (the latter to be reviewed shortly).

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A Day of Monteverdian Delights in Berlin

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GermanyGermany Musikfest Berlin [6] – Monteverdi, Rossi, Marini, and Plainsong: Dorothee Mields, Hannah Morrison (sopranos), Thomas Hobbs, Andrew Staples, Volker Arndt (tenors), Andrew Redmond, Stefan Dreximeier (basses), RIAS Chamber Choir, Capella de la Torre/Justin Doyle (conductor). St Hedwig’s Cathedral and Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin, 16.9.2017 (MB)

Justin Doyle Antritt; photo credit - Matthias Heyde
Justin Doyle Antritt (c) Matthias Heyde

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