Kritiken finden | Konzerte, Oper, Tanz, Kinderveranstaltungen, Vorträge | Ako Imamura

Daniel Barenboim led a performance of deliberate tempo with a great ensemble of singers.  Guy Cassiers‘ production, while visually stunning at times, does little to enhance the performance.

Deutsche Oper Berlin's revival of Manon Lescaut achieves a rare theatrical success; a witty and visually stunning production combined with thrilling music making in the pit with Sir Simon Rattle leading the orchestra and singers with emotional urgency.

Juan Diego Flórez was impressive in his first portrayal of a lovesick soldier/priest in Manon, with Nino Machaidze's accomplished heroine. Andrei Serban's modern and thoughtful production was still fresh and arresting.

Staging the story of the Italian political figure Rienzi as that of a dictator in 20th-century Germany was an inspired idea. This revival was a rare occasion to experience Wagner's early opera. 

Zubin Mehta conducts Verdi's Otello in an iconic Robert Wilson production of stylized theater where less is more. The effect was mesmerizing.  

In a program devoted to Béla Bartók, the visitors from Hungary conveyed both a distinct uniqueness of their heritage as well as a possibility of music as a tool for communication and understanding.

The Met's revival of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's 1984 production of La clemenza di Tito is given a new breath of life with superb conducting and an excellent ensemble of singers.

This revival of the Met's 30-year-old production of Aida had a disappointing debut in the title role but Dolora Zajick's reign as Amneris is still a force of nature.

Vienna's Theater an der Wien stage a seldom performed opera by Carl Maria von Weber with an excellent cast, orchestra, and chorus.  

25 years after its creation in Bayreuth, Director Heiner Müller's legendary production of Tristan und Isolde was recreated and presented in Linz with committed performers with great success.

Deutsche Oper Berlin staged an ambitious production by Laurence Pelly with mixed results. The performance included new discoveries and young singers brought fresh energy to the evening.

Christian Thielemann led a memorable performance of Strauss's chamber opera Ariadne auf Naxos with a strong cast in a new straightforward production by David Hermann.

A new production of La Traviata, colorful and conventional, brings little new ideas but is a fine vehicle for a fine performance conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin that features a trio of excellent singers.

The second performance of the Met's Pearl Fishers saw one of the leads withdraw mid-performance again. A welcome performance by young baritone Alexander Birch Elliott could not rescue the evening. 

The Hungarian State Opera's first New York tour featured an opera of forbidden love set in the Biblical Times by Karl Goldmark, and was a rare treat for the New York audience.

A strong new Traviata from Washington National Opera with the welcome house debut of Venera Gimadieva as a fabulous Violetta.

Hamburg's revival of a 2015 production is a musical success, but the director's concepts are sometimes too dense to tell a straightforward story.

Michael Volle and Klaus Florian Vogt demonstrate that they are indeed master singers in Munich, despite adversity, in a revival of David Bösch's contemporary production.

Netrebko met the audience’s high expectations, as she does every time, conquering the challenges with her remarkable artistry. 

A debuting conductor, two new singers, and a fine ensemble of singers bring unexpected joy to the Met's traditional La bohème with fresh and youthful energy.

Axel Ranisch's production makes heavy use of film to tell a comic story of a medieval knight in love.

The Cleveland Orchestra celebrated its 100th anniversary with a memorable concert performance of Tristan und Isolde with magnificent Nina Stemme.

The 1957 production of Parsifal, with its traditional staging and dreamy imageries, was a perfect backdrop to showcase Wagner's celebration of stage play with music on Good Friday.

New York Philharmonic, under the strong leadership of its incoming music director, demonstrated that they can perform opera as well as symphonies in an impressive performance of Act 1 of Die Walküre.

Deutsche Oper Berlin's Salome was a mixed blessing: a magnificent Catherine Naglestad as the heroine, with good ensemble of singers and orchestra, but a thoughtful but far-fetched psychological interpretation.

Under elegant leadership of conductor Harry Bicket, the Met's revival of the "Marriage of Figaro" succeeds with a strong ensemble of cast.

Vienna staged the first three-act performance of Lulu with Willy Decker adding to his 2000 production, with excellent singing contributing to its success.

The Wiener Staatsoper revives a beautiful production of Daphne that juxtaposes myth, dream and reality, with brilliant vocal performances by the two leads.

The Met Opera's concert performance of Verdi's Requiem was an emotional tribute to Dmitri Hvorostovsky. 

The production was interesting but at times distracting, but the musical performances triumphed. 

Harry Kupfer's vivid and enlightening production came alive by soprano Anja Kampe's courageous performance and by conductor Oksana Lyniv's briliant direction.

An exceptional musical performance was enhanced by a streamlined but ultimately moving staging in an evening of near perfection in Dresden.

The Met succeeded in casting two strong singers for the difficult lead roles of Puccini's final opera. 

Munich revived a thoughtful modern production of Janáček's Jenůfa, with fine orchestral direction and strong singing doing full justice to the rich score.

Oper Stuttgart’s new production of The Queen of Spades (Pique-Dame) pushes a directorial tendency to update opera to a modern setting to an extreme.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin led an intriguing performance of Wagner's Flying Dutchman at the Met with a superb orchestra and an excellent ensemble of singers. 

Oper Frankfurt's new production of Rigoletto focuses on the dark side of the tragedy with excellent singing from the two principals.

The evening was dominated by Anna Netrebko, who reprised the role of Tatiana with fresh insights and vocal charisma.  Robin Ticciati led the Met Orchestra to probe a new depth of the score.

The Met revived Beethoven's only opera Fidelio with a strong cast and excellent chorus and orchestra, with a production that celebrates liberty and love.

Mozart's Idomeneo proved to be a challenge for some of the soloists initially but the superb orchestra under James Levine brought about a successful opening evening at the Met.

American composer Jake Heggie's early opera performed by Washington National Opera was one of those rare experiences of an opera full of raw power and wrenching emotion with superb performers that one is not likely to forget soon.

The Philadelphia Orchestra presented an exciting and fresh performance of Swan Lake selections and Bluebeard's Castle, led by its energetic music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The Metropolitan Opera's new produdtion of Rusalka fails to explore a deeper complexity of the fairy tale, although a strong ensemble of singers and the superb Met Orchestra make it a musically compelling performance.

The Met revived Jurgen Flimm's modern production of Salome, with Patricia Racette making a successfu last minute role debut in the title role.

The return of the Met's Aida was a joyous celebration of the art form with excellent singers and orchestra doing what they do best against the backdrop of a traditional but effective staging.

Barrie Kosky's 2011 production confines the action of the opera to a stark white room. A fine ensemble of singers made for a successful evening.

Deutsche Oper Berlin's revival of Parsifal features a brilliant musical performances to override the production's focus on the dark side of religion.

A winning ensemble of singers led by James Levine makes the revival of Rossini’s early opera a success.

Simon Keenlyside returned to the Met after absence and led a delightful cast of Don Giovanni at the Met.

The world première of Breaking the Waves was a qualified success, with a powerful drama performed with commitment by strong cast and musicians.