Tag Archives: Katrin Lea Tag

Carmen minus charisma: a limp revival of Kosky’s production at Covent Garden

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Mark Pullinger

Bizet: Carmen Royal Opera, 24th June 2019 Barrie Kosky’s Carmen is back, so grab the pedometer. “Who needs cardio classes?” tweeted the Royal Opera Chorus wryly after Saturday’s matinee. Kosky strips almost all sense of Spain from the setting and … Continue reading →

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A rebellious Carmen: Kosky’s vaudeville flawed but entertaining

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Carmen Royal Opera House, 6th & 8th March 2018 If Carmen contends that love is a rebellious bird, then Barrie Kosky is a rebellious director. He can take rarities such as Saul or The Nose and give it the full … Continue reading →

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Biblical spectacle: an eye-popping, heart-stopping Saul for Glyndebourne’s Tour

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Handel: Saul **** Glyndebourne on Tour, 27th October 2015 I admit to having been one of the doubters. When the 2015 Glyndebourne Festival programme was announced, my eyebrows drifted heavenward at the inclusion of Handel’s Saul. Why stage an oratorio when … Continue reading →

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A tale of three Hoffmanns: Kosky’s Komische Oper production a triumph

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Offenbach: Les contes d’Hoffmann **** Komische Oper, Berlin, 7th October 2015 Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann must be a gift to stage. Based on three of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s disturbing tales, the opera allows plenty of scope for inventive directors – or possibly … Continue reading →

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Dud bullet: Thalheimer’s Freischütz fires blanks at Staatsoper Berlin

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Mark Pullinger

Weber: Der Freischütz *** Staatsoper Berlin, 6th October 2015 The Wolf’s Glen scene in Weber’s Der Freischütz is terrifically difficult to stage – a supernatural centrepiece to a folkloric opera. Director Michael Thalheimer circumvents this in his Staatsoper Berlin production by … Continue reading →

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