Tag Archives: Sonya Yoncheva

Gold-plated Don Carlos cast compensates for Warlikowski’s frosty Paris staging

Verdi: Don Carlos *** Opéra Bastille, 28th October 2017 Stéphane Lissner, director of the Opéra de Paris, had one of his greatest successes as general manager at the Théâtre du Châtelet with Luc Bondy’s staging of the original French version of … Continue reading

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Plums and turkeys: a musical voyage around 2016

Most people I know cannot wait to see the back of 2016. But in the year in which Brexit, Trump and the Grim Reaper were the big winners, I admit to having had a terrific twelve months. A whirl of … Continue reading

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Diamonds and rust: Schlesinger’s Hoffmann bows out at Covent Garden

Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann The Royal Opera, 28th November 2016 A return visit to John Schlesinger’s vintage production of The Tales of Hoffmann did little to alter my opinion from the first night of this final revival. For good or … Continue reading

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A final outing for the Royal Opera’s lavish but fusty Tales of Hoffmann

Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann *** Royal Opera, 7th November 2016 When an enormous black gondola creaks and shudders its way across the stage in the “Giulietta” act of the Royal Opera’s The Tales of Hoffmann, it acts as a metaphor … Continue reading

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Burning like fire: Sonya Yoncheva’s Norma scorches Covent Garden

Bellini: Norma **** Royal Opera, 12th September 2016 “Well, I think my Norma is something in between Maria Callas and Cecilia Bartoli.”Sonya Yoncheva, stepping into the title role at Covent Garden when Anna Netrebko decided Norma wasn’t for her after … Continue reading

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