Porgy and Bess à Odyssud

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer, 21 March 2015

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Reviewed at Odyssud, Blagnac on 19 March 2015

Gershwin, Porgy and Bess

William Barkhymer, Conductor

Baayork Lee, Director

Christina Giannini, Costume Designer

Michael Scott-Mitchell, Set Designer

Kearstin Piper Brown, Bess

Morenike Fadayomi, Bess

Indira Mahajan, Bess

Heather Hill, Clara

Mari-Yan Pringle, Serena

Marjorie Wharton, Maria

Chauncey Parker, Sportin’ Life

Jermaine Smith, Sportin’ Life

Michael Redding, Crown

John Fulton, Jake

Richard Hobson, Jake

Terry Cook, Porgy

Kevin Short, Porgy

Kevin Deas, Porgy

Orchestre du New-York Harlem Theatre

Richard Cordova, Choirmaster / chorus director

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Chiaroscuro extinguished: a self-indulgent Poppea in Copenhagen

Mengguang Huang, 26th April

Christoph Marthaler’s staging of Monteverdi’s Poppea for the Royal Danish Opera is a study in boredom.

**111

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

John Gilks, 25th April

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

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Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer

Maître de conférences en histoire ancienne à l'Institut Catholique de Toulouse, Arnaud enseigne également à l'Université Toulouse II et à l'Institut National Universitaire d'Albi. Passionné de musique, violoniste et pianiste, il a poursuivi en parallèle de ses études en histoire un cursus au Conservatoire de Toulouse et y a obtenu plusieurs prix. Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire des religions antiques et notamment sur l’utilisation de la musique dans le cadre des cultes polythéistes.

Des Américains à Blagnac : Porgy and Bess à Odyssud