Author Archives: Mark Pullinger

Netrebko and Pappano pack a punch at Salzburg: La Gioconda

Ponchielli: La Gioconda Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 23rd March 2024 There’s more to La Gioconda than The Dance of the Hours, although Disney’s animated classic Fantasia boosted the ballet music’s fame. The Royal Opera House has never staged Amilcare Ponchielli’s opera … Continue reading

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Oliver Mears turns La Gioconda into a tale of abuse at the Salzburg Easter Festival

Ponchielli: La Gioconda Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 23rd March 2024 Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda is an opera it’s easy to scoff at: unlikely coincidences, disguises and fake poisons pile on top of each other at every turn in a tale of … Continue reading

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Play your cards right: La fanciulla del West and Pique Dame at Opéra de Lyon

Puccini: La fanciulla del West Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame Opéra de Lyon, 15th-16th March 2024 For its spring festival, Opéra de Lyon gambled on a pair of new productions featuring works that both hinge on crucial card games. If Tatjana Gürbaca’s … Continue reading

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Sinking into Parsifal: Jonas Kaufmann

Interview: Jonas Kaufmann Another month, another Gramophone cover story! (still pinching myself…) “As you can imagine, it was far from normal!” Jonas Kaufmann is no stranger to the role of Parsifal, but the tenor can have had few stranger experiences … Continue reading

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Pushing the limits: Asmik Grigorian

Interview: Asmik Grigorian Really proud of this cover story for Gramophone – a soprano I greatly admire, but who hasn’t always seemed to enjoy doing interviews. We had a blast! And that cover must surely be the coolest Gramo has … Continue reading

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