Monthly Archives: February 2017

A pilgrim to Monte-Carlo: Tannhäuser en français

Wagner: Tannhäuser  Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 25th February 2017 Guest post by John Johnston As a pèlerin visiting the opera houses, large and small, it has been an ambition since seeing Pressburger and Powell’s film The Red Shoes as a child … Continue reading

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Cool sapphire and steel: Kristine Opolais stars in Mary Zimmerman’s Regie-lite Rusalka at the Met

Dvořák: Rusalka The Met in HD, 25th February 2017 Dvořák’s Rusalka didn’t receive its Metropolitan Opera premiere until 1993, when Otto Schenk’s typically lavish production served up Dvořák’s best-known opera as little more than a Disney fairy-tale. At first sight in … Continue reading

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“It’s not a Cinderella story”: Kristine Opolais on returning to Rusalka

Interview: Kristine Opolais Martin Kušej’s controversial Munich production of Rusalka – to which you return in June – was seen as a breakthrough role for you in terms of international recognition. What are the challenges in that particular staging? Martin … Continue reading

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Black Angels: Kopatchinskaja and Jurowski brush with death

Denisov, Berg, Shostakovich: LPO/Jurowski **** Royal Festival Hall, 22nd February 2017 Heavily shrouded, Death loomed large over Vladimir Jurowski’s latest programme in the Southbank Centre’s “Belief and Beyond Belief” series which explores faith and spirituality. The Grim Reaper swept the … Continue reading

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Blank canvas: Pallid Berlioz from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Berlioz/Mendelssohn: OAE ** Royal Festival Hall, 20th February 2017 Period instruments and historically informed practice have revolutionised the way much classical music has been performed for decades. “The Berlioz Experience”, a weekend masterminded by Roger Norrington here at the Southbank … Continue reading

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