C Major
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Janácek: Jenůfa
Camilla Nylund (Jenůfa), Evelyn Herlitzius (Kostelnička), Stuart Skelton (Laca), Ladislav Elgr (Števa), Hanna Schwarz (Grandmother Buryjovka) Jan Martiník (Stárek)
Staatskapelle Berlin, Sir Simon Rattle, Damiano Michieletto
Rattle secures playing of imposing lyrical sweep and power from the Staatskapelle. The conductor provides the foundations for a superb musical performance all round, the power of which is ably... —
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Weber: Der Freischütz
Andreas Schager (Max), Camilla Nylund (Agathe), Daniela Fally (Ännchen), Alan Held (Kaspar)
Wiener Staatsoper, Tomáš Netopil, Christian Räth
The pick of the cast, vocally, is soprano Camilla Nylund, who brings ample, shining tone and a finely sustained line to Agathe’s two solos. —
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Verdi: Otello
Gregory Kunde (Otello), Carmela Remigio (Desdemona), Lucio Gallo (Iago), Elisabetta Martorana (Emilia)
Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice, Myung-whun Chung
The main strength of the performance is the taut conducting of Myung-Whun Chung, who barely lets the tensions drop for a second...Kunde, a genuine tenor rather than baritonal Otello, is strong... —
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Weber: Der Freischütz
Adrian Eröd (Ottakar), Albert Dohmen (Kuno), Sara Jakubiak (Agathe), Christina Landshamer (Ännchen), Georg Zeppenfeld (Kaspar), Michael König (Max), Andreas Bauer (Hermit), Sebastian Wartig (Kilian)
Dresden Staatskapelle, Christian Thielemann
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Verdi: Attila
Ildebrando D´Arcangelo, Simone Piazzola, Maria José Siri, Fabio Sartori, Gianluca Floris, Antonio di Matteo
Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Michele Mariotti (conductor), Daniele Abbado (director)
Mariotti coaxes suitable delicacy and drama from the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in a consistently assured reading of the score. Daniele Abbado’s 2016 production is vaguely Game... —
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Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Thomas Gazheli (The Dutchman), Marjorie Owens (Senta), Mikhail Petrenko (Daland), Bernhard Berchtold (Erik), Annette Jahns (Mary), Timothy Oliver (Steerman), Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Fabio Luisi, Paul Curran
The production’s first great asset is Fabio Luisi. I suppose any conductor worth his salt is able to whip up a storm in the sea scenes, but Luisi proves equally adept at sustaining the rapt... —
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Larcher: Das Jagdgewehr
Sarah Aristidou (Shoko), Giulia Peri (Midori), Olivia Vermeulen (Saiko), Robin Tritschler (The Poet), Andre Schuen (Josuke Misugi), Ensemble Modern, Michael Boder
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Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
John Osborn (Hoffmann), Irene Roberts (Muse/Nicklausse), Nina Minasyan (Olympia), Christine Rice (Giulietta), Ermonela Jaho (Antonia), Erwin Schrott (Lindorf, Coppélius, Miracle, Dapertutto)
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Rizzi
It’s one of those ideas that might actually work better on video than in the theatre, and the video director Misjel Vermeiren handles it confidently ...It won’t be for everyone; but if you’re... —
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Love Duets
Sonya Yoncheva (soprano), Vittorio Grigolo (tenor), Orchestra of the Arena di Verona, Placido Domingo
Vocally, there is much to relish from two artists at home in this repertoire. Yoncheva performs with consummate artistry, her dark-hued voice consistently well-projected and even across the... —
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Rossini: Il Turco in Italia
Erwin Schrott (Selim), Olga Perityatko (Fiorella), Nicola Alaimo (Geronio), René Barbera (Narciso), Pietro Spagnoli (Prosdocimo), Cecilia Molinari (Zaida), Pietro Adaini (Albazar), Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini, Chorus of the Teatro Della Fortuna M. Agostini, Speranza Scappucci, Davide Livermore
