A Surreal Double Bill: Larmes de couteau and Full Moon in March at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

It is Cecilia Bartoli´s first year as artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. Following Ricardo Muti she put it under the theme Cleopatra. Händel´s Opera Giulio Cesare in egitto being the main opus of the 4 Day festival. Certainly she is the key artist herself but she is surrounded by a distinct selection of stars accompanying her throughout. For the direction, costums, light and choreographie she invited the Belgian/ French Duo Moshe Leiser and Patrice...

Harry Kupfer´s production of 2000 is very restricted and back to the essantials of good singing and acting of all participants. The stage throughout all acts is dominated by a big amor fallen on stage, his wings widespread symbolising the fallen love, ready to be freed again. Daniel Barenboim conducts his Staatskapelle Berlin  monstrous voluminous sometimes missing the romantic passages and signs of salvation and liberation. Strong forte pushes the singers to give their...

Director Christof Loy `s first work for the Deutsche Oper in Berlin is a fine elaboration of the characters and their psychological drama in the Bohemian society of the late 19 th century. It is the emotion, the conflict of the Kostelnicka Buryja his interpretation is based upon. The story is told out of her reflexion after having been imprisoned for her deed. The stage design by Dirk Becker supports this access with a clear simple poky box as a synonymous for the enclosure of the...

In a remake of the original setting of Götz Friedrich, Patrizia Ciofi and Teodor Ilincai are the loving couple Valery and Alfredo. Those two represent a young generation of opera singers on the edge to an international career. Patrizia Ciofi has already been successfully on the Berlin stage in the recent performance of Tancredi by Rossini  whereas Teodor Ilincai has jumped in to replace Vittorio Grigolo as Alfredo. Ciofi's Valery is very fragile, an emotional virgin. No...

The Bavarian State Opera has started her long expected new ring production Saturday Feb 4th. After the unfortunate failure of her last Ring Production due to the sudden death of the stage director Heribert Wernecke the audience was highly vibrant for a new adventure with RIchard Wagners majestic master piece. Within the next 4 month all 4 parts of the Ring will be staged in a new productions within one season. Thus being a demonstration of strengh for all participants the...

Whenever Munichs most famous Opera star  Jonas Kaufmann appears on stage the whole city and its opera maniacs get excited and fully overwhelmed. The cast of this renewal of  Don Carlo has been carefully selected. So it is a pleasure for all senses. Next to Jonas Kaufmann as the young rebellic but desperate Don Carlo Anja Hateros is a brilliant Elisabeth with her clear transparent voice angelic playing. They both appeared already on stage here in Lohengrin and they...