La Sonnambula Crowns Nadine Sierra as new Liceu Queen

Bellini's romantic masterpiece was cleverly put on stage by young Italian drama director Giorgio Barberio Corsetti. We are brought into a world between dream and reality or what reality might be. For Barberio Corsetti, everything remains imaginary. Costumes relate to the 18th century, Switzerland can be everywhere, we find some parallels to Alice in Wonderland. The stage design follows, big objects gets small and vice versa. The audience is introduced to this world by puppet players...

This year's choice of a contemporary opera at the Munich Opera festival fell on British composer George Benjamin´s Opus “Written on Skin” texted by Martin Crimp as a German premiere. The realization is an international coproduction of the Aix festival, Nederland´s Opera, Covent Garden and Maggio Musicale. The story is based on a medieval legend about social discrimination and suppression, observed and directed by angels – so the spectators can experience...

Last opera performance of this festival was a concert performance of Verdi's first big success Nabucco in an all Italian cast. Maestro Muti brought along his orchestra and chorus of the Teatro dell`Opera di Roma. And one could feel the close relation of the musicians with the music of Verdi and Nabucco in particular. He made them play sensible, clear with Italian pathos and melodic sense. The choir showed Italien feeling for singing and "va pensiero" made...

The Nationaltheater Mannheim once again offers a very special opera production. German director Achim Freyer realizes one of his black and white illusion theater spectacles and shows his creativity. For the Nationaltheater Mannheim he has created a new production of Wagners the Ring of the Nibelung. The performance of the Prologue to the tetralogy - Rheingold - offers a good glance on Freyer´s concept.He is known for his perfection, - so he takes care of everything - direction,...

"The largely straight forward dramaturgical structure enabled me to relate Don Carlo´s story in a telling and plausible way" so Peter Stein, director of this new production of Verdi' s Don Carlo. Originally it was composed as a grand opera in the tradition of Meyerbeer for the Paris Opera with a French libretto. This production of the Salzburg festival used the French Original in its Italian translation by de Lauzieres, Zanardini and Faggioni including all 5 acts...

This year the opening of the Munich Opera Festival is consecrated to Verdi celebrating his 200 birthday with a new production of Il Trovatore directed by the French  Olivier Py. As expected we had a lot of action or better movement on stage. Everything is turning - the whole stage with monstrous building of no clear significance, small metal constructions being turned by stage workers and single wheels hanging around. All is black fitting to the dark content of the story....