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Verdi Wars: Frank Castorf’s Forza del destino at Deutsche Oper
Audience uproar brings a much needed sense of theatre to a disappointing production of Verdi’s middle-period epic.
Finding release among the poppy fields
Tcherniakov's moving production delves into the psychological rather than revelling in the spectacular.
The Tsar’s Bride: a powerhouse of dramatic detail
Rimsky-Korsakov's opera remain rarities outside Russia, but the Bolshoi Opera made The Tsar’s Bride the anchor of this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival programme.
Bolshoi begins New York Residency with a superb Tsar’s Bride
Hearing Russian opera performed by the forces of the Bolshoi makes for a special experience for New York audiences.
Fly away on wings of wind: Novaya Opera’s Prince Igor takes wing at the Coliseum
There’s a touch of Borodin bus syndrome around at the moment; you wait years for a production of Prince Igor, then two come along in succession. The first was from the Metropolitan Opera, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, swiftly followed by the Novaya Opera which brings its production from Moscow to London as part of the UK—Russia Year of Culture.
Verdi's Requiem in Milan with La Verdi
The Latin Requiem traverses a series of emotional responses to death, ranging from astonishment and dread to humility and gratitude. Verdi’s Messa da requiem contains all of these ingredients but in different proportions to many other well-known settings. Written by an agnostic, it is more earthly than spiritual in outlook, and fear and trembling predominate.