Tag Archives: Ekaterina Semenchuk

Rebel with a Rimsky cause: Dmitri Tcherniakov returns to the Bolshoi with Sadko

Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko Bolshoi Opera, 11th May 2020 When it comes to ruffling feathers at the Bolshoi, Dmitri Tcherniakov has form. It was in 2006 that his radical approach to Eugene Onegin caused Galina Vishnevskaya to declare she would never set … Continue reading

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Carthage carnage: Tcherniakov’s Trojans flops at the Bastille

Berlioz: Les Troyens ** Opéra de Paris, 25th January 2019 What if, after the Fall of Troy, Énée doesn’t end up in Carthage, courting Didon, but washes up in a residential home for war victims suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder instead? … Continue reading

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Royal Opera’s Don Carlo revival fails to ignite

Verdi: Don Carlo *** Royal Opera, Covent Garden, 12th May 2017 “What a day, what a day for an auto-da-fé” sings the chorus in Bernstein’s Candide, “It’s a lovely day for drinking and for watching people fry!” The Royal Opera … Continue reading

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Old wine, new bottles: vintage season unveiled at the ROH

Recently, I’ve enviously devoured new season announcements flooding in from various opera companies around the globe. Adding events to Bachtrack keeps me abreast of all the wonderful things in store. In February, the Opéra de Paris unveiled a seriously tempting … Continue reading

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Burning bright: a vocally superb Trovatore ignites the Bastille

Verdi: Il trovatore **** Opéra Bastille, 31st January 2016 According to legendary tenor Enrico Caruso, the recipe for success in Il trovatore is disarmingly simple: “All it takes is the four greatest singers in the world.” An impossible task, perhaps, but … Continue reading

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