Comic ‘Sorochintsy’: Pigs On Stilts In Ukrainian Village
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – The Komische Oper production of Mussorgsky’s Fair at Sorochintsy, directed by Barrie Kosky, explores young love, superstition and alcoholism. It pulls out all the stops in a dream banquet featuring porcine humans.
‘Death In Venice’: Cast Is Ripe, But Staging Is Green
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – In Graham Vick’s new staging of Benjamin Britten’s final opera, it was hard to reconcile Deutsche Oper Berlin’s high musical standards with a production that seemed to spurn any sense of Apollonian beauty.
Scartazzini Opera Fails To Shock In Berlin Premiere
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – Deutsche Oper Berlin’s production of Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini’s Edward II has a scandalous veneer in weaving the tale of the doomed 14th century British king and his gay lover. The audience takes it all in stride.
Music From Japan: Sounds Are Novel, Style International
By Susan Brodie
NEW YORK – Yuta Bandoh's sensuous Seesaw for violin, piano, and spatially-placed string trio had its world premiere among works by seven others in a weekend devoted to new directions in Japanese contemporary music.
New Light On Nazi Rule In Orchestras Of Vienna, Berlin
By Paul E. Robinson
BOOK REVIEW – The Political Orchestra by Fritz Trümpi provides important new information and a broader context for understanding how the two greatest orchestras in the German-speaking world were affected by politics.
Rattle, Berlin Phil Explore Drama In Symphonic Music
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – Under the baton of Simon Rattle, the Berlin Philharmonic brings out the theatrical dimension of works by Rihm, Ligeti and Mahler. The Rihm premiere Gruß-Moment 2 was composed in remembrance of Pierre Boulez.
Visual Magic Hits, Misses In Ravel, Stravinsky Bill
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – In Komische Oper's staging of Petrushka and L’Enfant et les sortilèges, animated visuals by British studio 1927 immersed viewers in an alternative universe, but human performances proved a stronger attraction.
Passionate Duet: Mascagni Paired With Hindemith
By Susan Brodie
PARIS – Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, featuring Elīna Garanča singing her first Santuzza, and Hindemith's Sancta Susanna share a Paris Opera bill that makes for an evening of fierce drama and satisfying music making.
Venerable Suntory Marks 30 Years As Tokyo’s Heartbeat
By Robert Markow
TOKYO - The sound is full and warm, and the architecture combines grandeur with restfulness, intimacy with spaciousness. These qualities were in evidence during performances by the Vienna Philharmonic in early October.
Political Terror Spans Time, Place In Redrawn Operas
By James L Paulk
BUENOS AIRES – Teatro Colón paired Luigi Dallapiccola’s finest opera, Il prigioniero (The Prisoner), with his first, Volo di notte (Night Flight), in a staggering tour de force that alluded to Argentina’s "Dirty War" of the '70s and '80s.
Rihm’s ‘Tutuguri’ Leaves Percussive Tattoo On Festival
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN - With his sprawling Tutuguri (1980-82), Wolfgang Rihm set out to liberate music, transforming it into a stream "subject only to its own urges." Daniel Harding led a consummate performance to open Musikfest Berlin.
Heart Of ‘Parsifal’ Beats Clearly In Bayreuth Staging
By James L. Paulk
BAYREUTH – Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s new production of Wagner's Parsifal represents a startling turn from the recent festival practice of filling the stage with multiple complex references, and the result is psychologically satisfying.
Women Flourish With Baton At Lucerne Festival
By Rebecca Schmid
LUCERNE – In a showcase that challenged an orchestral culture weighed down by its own conservatism, the 2016 festival featured a special event in which Anu Tali and four other women conductors led personally selected fare.
Destined For Met, Eerie ‘Angel’ Bows At Salzburg Fest
By Rebecca Schmid
SALZBURG – Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel, inspired by Buñuel's surreal dinner party film, largely lived up to high expectations. Tom Cairns' gripping production heads next to London, New York and Copenhagen.
Bloody Whispers, Ripped From The Headlines Of 1590
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – Salvatore Sciarrino’s Luci mie traditrici, inspired by Gesualdo’s crime, creates a realm where human emotion is stripped down to elemental vibrations. The Staatsoper staging is memorable for its committed performances.
Hungary Affords Worthy Option To Bayreuth’s ‘Ring’
By James L Paulk
BUDAPEST – The appeal of this semi-staged Ring to Wagner enthusiasts is a story of magic, pluck, and luck, but also one of artistic success at a high level. The star is Ádám Fischer, who rivals the greatest Wagnerian conductors.
‘Incantesimi’ Plays With Spells, But Magic Is Missing
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN – Julian Anderson’s Incantesimi, or magic spells, introduced by Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, shows Mahlerian foreboding at moments but never quite casts its own spell, despite an obviously caring performance.
The Tragic Visage Of Lachenmann’s ‘Little Match Girl’
By Johanna Keller
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Spoleto Festival USA presented the American premiere of Helmut Lachenmann's stark, abstract opera, with John Kennedy conducting large forces in a complex score heightened by Dickensian shadow puppets.
Dreamy ‘Juliette’ Weaves A Spell In Berlin Debut
By Rebecca Schmid
BERLIN - The Staatsoper im Schiller Theater Berlin's first production of Bohuslav Martinů's surrealistic work should give opera houses around the world an incentive to invest resources in this 20th-century masterpiece.
Coming Events: Festival Bounty Awaits In France
DATE BOOK – Perplexities are seldom more pleasant than what these summer fests propose: Stay in Paris for the likes of Raphaël Pichon's Ensemble Pygmalion at Festival de Saint-Denis? Or head for splendor out of town?
