Author Archives: Mark Pullinger

Florid campery as Vivaldi’s Dorilla in Tempe travels from Venice to Wexford

Vivaldi: Dorilla in Tempe Wexford Festival Opera, 23rd October 2019 Does Vivaldi have a distinct operatic fingerprint? From the opening chorus of Dorilla in Tempe, every single person in Wexford’s National Opera House could have identified the composer… because the … Continue reading

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Man of La Mancha: Massenet’s Don Quichotte opens Wexford Festival Opera

Massenet: Don Quichotte Wexford Festival Opera, 22nd October 2019 Fireworks and a fiesta of Spanish sunshine injected heat into the opening night of the 68th season of Wexford Festival Opera. Don Quichotte falls into the category of “rarity” these days, … Continue reading

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Weber’s Freischütz minus the magic at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

Weber: Der Freischütz Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, 19th October 2019 The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is no stranger to Weber’s opera Der Freischütz. Vincent d’Indy conducted it in October 1913, during its second season. The theatre is no stranger to scandal … Continue reading

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Christiane Lutz casts Rigoletto into the limelight as Charlie Chaplin

Verdi: Rigoletto Glyndebourne, 17th October 2019 Wandering Glyndebourne’s foyer in the interval of its first ever production of Rigoletto, there was a common thread of conversation: what on earth was going on? Those not in earnest discussion were rifling through … Continue reading

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Don Pasquale falls flat in Michieletto’s cruel comedy at Covent Garden

Donizetti: Don Pasquale Royal Opera, 14th October 2019 When newlywed “Sofronia” slaps Don Pasquale and it provokes titters of laughter, you’ve got a problem. It’s the point in Act 3 where the lesson that the elderly bachelor is being taught … Continue reading

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