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

After Los Angeles and Valencia, this production has arrived at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna's third opera house having a long impressive history and tradition. Its origin is closely linked to the impressario Emanuel Schikaneder, Mozart's libretist for The Magic flute. In recent years, it has been focussing on presenting cutting edge directors and interesting productions. Verdi's I due Foscari followed on the success of his Ernani, was first presented in 1844, and is...

When Sergej Prokofjew’s opera „Fiery Angel“ was first performed in 1955 Russian or better Soviet music was still governed by the strict rules of socialist realism. Subsequently Prokofjew’s piece exposes  both strong anticlerical and antibourgeois sentiments : A woman, Renate, has fallen in love with an angel when she was  a girl and since then she is trying to find this angel again. In her quest she is accompanied by Rupprecht, a young man who is as...

Antonin Dvoraks major opera Rusalka has a weak performance history at the Wiener Staatsoper. Finally last Sunday we had the Premiere and first performance of the opera in the original complete version, 113 years after the world premiere in 1901. For director Sven Eric Bechtolf  the story of the mermaid Rusalka, the water goblin's daughter, is not a lyric fairytale. It is much more the thriller of a young virgin experiencing her sexual gender and first love affair loosing her...

There is a lot to discover on these little islands 70 km south of Sicily. Next to the oldest existing stone structures at the temples of Taxien or Hagar Qim we find the most stunning baroque architecture of the period of the Johannite knights ruling over the islands for more than 3 centuries. More churches than Rome, precious masterpieces of Caravaggio and Duerer, palaces and the first city designed on a general plan, Valetta, creates an extraordinary environment and puts the visitor back...

Just before the end of the Verdi year 2013 the Bavarian State Opera presents another new production  of one of his major works - La Forza del Destino - and new edition of the German dream team Anja Hateros and Jonas Kaufmann. The Austrian Martin Kusej, currently head of the Munich Residenztheatre next to the opera, is the director..He is famous for brilliant profound interpretations but not always easy to digest. It is impressive how he approaches this very complicated...

The Tyrolean winter festival has found a new home last year with the opening ceremony of its new festival house, an architectual and acoustic jewel in the idyllic village of Erl, close to the German border. The Tyrolean Summer festival taking place in the world famous Passionsspielhaus of Erl has established its reputation for outstanding Wagner performances in simple and traditional stage design. The winter festival is presenting a broad programme of chorus and orchestral concerts from...