Meyerbeer: Vasco da Gama ****
Deutsche Oper Berlin, 4th October 2015
There are some random ways to die in opera – caught in an avalanche, hurled into a cauldron of boiling water, thrown to the lions – but inhaling the poisonous blossoms of the manchineel tree must be one of the most unusual. That is Sélika’s fate at the end of Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, an opera rarely performed. Deutsche Oper, as part of its Meyerbeer cycle, now presents the opera as left by the composer at his death, under its original title Vasco da Gama, as a star vehicle for Roberto Alagna. Vera Nemirova’s updated production didn’t please everyone, but it’s intelligently done.
Roberto Alagna (Vasco da Gama) and Sophie Koch (Sélika)
© Bettina Stöss
Read the full review on Bachtrack.