Articles by Sarah Batschelet

In Zurich, ballet director Christian Spuck recently launched the second season of the multi-layered ballet he choreographed to the great P.I. Tchaikovsky score.

Hats off to Andreas Homoki, Artistic Director at the Zurich Opera House, for staging a musical around “the chill of ghostly shadows”.

The Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich recently struck a perfect balance of emotive and restraint in music by Brahms, Bartók and Saint-Saëns.

Slolem Aleichem's classic of Yiddish literature is familiar through the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”. Choreographer Richard Wherlock’s adaptation retells the story in vibrant, contemporary dance.

Conductor Donald Runnicles and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard deliver a highly expressive performance with pieces by Elgar, Mozart and Strauss. 

Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel has appeal for all ages, but Robert Carsen’s production is a different take on the beloved fairy tale.

If ever a new production of a Mozart opera had a riveting backstory, this one is it. 

By using Schumann’s Novelletten to draw a broad dramaturgical bow over the whole evening, Martin Helmchen stands on his own as a bold and highly creative pianist.

For his new production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in Basel, director Olivier Py underscored an emotive kaleidoscope of events with unparalleled creativity and imagination. 

Christian Spuck, Zurich’s ballet director has crafted a new version of Hans Zender’s adaptation of Die Winterreise

While the Tonhalle’s concert season officially began about a month ago, Paavo Järvi launched his own appointment here with demanding repertoire that met with great enthusiasm. 

Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande emerges from an almost transcendent realm and creates a languorous atmosphere, even if it leaves some questions unanswered and realities unexplored. 

Barrie Kosky’s production of Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten (The Branded) is in keeping with what was long considered one of the early 20th century’s most scandalous works. 

Works by Alban Berg and Gustav Mahler recently heralded this year’s concert season in Zurich, where Artist in Residence Janine Jansen gave a superb performance. 

The Lucerne Festival audience recently celebrated a superb solo performance by cellist Kian Soltani, the 2018 winner of the annual Credit Suisse Young Artist Award, who played with the Vienna Philharmonic.

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe under conductor Bernard Haitink dazzled the Lucerne Festival audience with a programme of works by Mendelssohn and Schubert. 

The gifted baritone Rafael Fingerlos lit up Lucerne’s Lukaskirche with Dichterliebe, the song cycle of 16 poems by Heinrich Heine.

Works by Stravinsky and Mozart launched this year’s Lucerne Festival, whose theme is “Childhood”.

The restrained pacing of Larcher's opera suited the intimate setting of the Werkstattbühne.

The “Festival Tour” and its three-venue concerts of the Davos Festival programme included almost as many visual and outdoor delights as it did musical treats.