Thomas Adès’ high-flying Exterminating Angel in Paris

The Exterminating Angel at the Opéra de Paris

By Erwan Gentric, 04 March 2024

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“the high point of the Grande Boutique’s season”

Reviewed at Opéra national de Paris: Opéra Bastille, Paris on 29 February 2024

Adès, The Exterminating Angel

Opéra national de Paris

Thomas Adès, Conductor

Calixto Bieito, Director

Anna-Sofia Kirsch, Set Designer

Ingo Krügler, Costume Designer

Reinhard Traub, Lighting Designer

Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris

Chœurs de l'Opéra national de Paris

Gina Gloria Tronel, Leticia Maynar

Jacquelyn Stucker, Lucia de Nobile

Claudia Boyle, Silvia de Ávila

Amina Edris, Beatriz

Hilary Summers, Leonora Palma

Christine Rice, Blanca Delgado

Anthony Roth Costanzo, Francisco de Ávila

Nicky Spence, Edmundo de Nobile

Frédéric Antoun, Raúl Yebenes

Filipe Manu, Eduardo

Jarrett Ott, Colonel Álvaro Gómez

Paul Gay, Alberto Roc

Philippe Sly, Señor Russell

Thomas Faulkner, Julio

Ilanah Lobel-Torres, Meni

Clive Bayley, Doctor Carlos Conde

Bethany Horak-Hallett, Camila

Nicholas Jones, Enrique

Julien Henric, Lucas

Andres Cascante, Pablo

Régis Mengus, Padre Sansón

Ching-Lien Wu, Choirmaster / chorus director

Pomp meets ping-pong: Nixon in China lands again in Paris

David Karlin, 14th March

Excellent vocal acting from Thomas Hampson, Renée Fleming, Xiaomeng Zhang and a magnificent orchestral performance conducted by Kent Nagano can't make Valentina Carrasco's production fully grip.

***11

Shock and awe in Paris with Bernstein's A Quiet Place

David Karlin, 9th March

In the expert hands of both director Warlikowski and conductor Kent Nagano, the sequel to Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti proves to be even darker and more dramatic.

*****

A long road to nowhere for Igor at the Bastille

Mark Pullinger, 1st December

Barrie Kosky's makes a limited impact in his debut at Opéra de Paris, apart from an hallucinogenic Polovtsian Dances.

***11

Les Indes galantes: with Alarcón, Rameau conquers the Bastille

Philippe Ramin, 28th September

The new production of Les Indes galantes at Opéra Bastille is exceptional, from the vocal cast to the choreography by Bintou Dembélé. But the stand-out performance of the evening comes from conductor Leonardo Garcia Alarcón.

*****

Don Giovanni according to Ivo van Hove: a puritan despite himself?

Pierre Liscia-Beaurenaut, 16th June

Don Giovanni returns to the Palais Garnier. The production by Ivo van Hove lacks energy but is wonderfully served by a cast of great young talents.

***11

Carthage carnage: Tcherniakov's Trojans flops at the Bastille

Mark Pullinger, 25th January

Tcherniakov reduces Berlioz' epic to little more than Circle Time therapy, a poor way to mark the composer's anniversary year.

**111

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Erwan Gentric

Initié dès son plus jeune âge à la musique classique, par l’étude du piano d’abord, puis par les affinités électives entretenues avec quelques disques des rayonnages familiaux, Erwan mène désormais de front l’exercice de la critique musicale pour Bachtrack et Diapason, ainsi qu’un doctorat de musicologie à l’École Pratique des Hautes Études. Soutenues par une bourse de la Fondation Royaumont, ses recherches portent sur l’Association artistique des Concerts Colonne de 1873 à 1910.

Thomas Adès’ high-flying Exterminating Angel at the Opéra Bastille