Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Dramaturgy

No fairy tale: Kušej’s Rusalka works with devastating force in Munich

By Orsolya Gyárfás, 26 July 2025

Asmik Grigorian leads a searing performance in Martin Kušej’s 15-year-old, yet ever-fresh, outstanding production of Dvořák's opera.

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Munich

26 Jul 2025

No fairy tale: Kušej’s Rusalka works with devastating force in Munich

By Orsolya Gyárfás

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Anatomy of a love: Rebecca Saunders’ first opera Lash at Deutsche Oper Berlin

By Elena Luporini, 20 June 2025

Nearing the close of the season, Deutsche Oper Berlin premieres Rebecca Saunders’ first opera Lash – Acts of Love, a visceral reflection on love and death.

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Berlin

20 Jun 2025

Anatomy of a love: Rebecca Saunders’ Lash at Deutsche Oper Berlin

By Elena Luporini

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Miroslav Srnka’s Voice Killer: a harrowing descent into madness and musical extremity

By Chanda VanderHart, 16 June 2025

At MusikTheater an der Wien, Miroslav Srnka’s new opera provess a deeply compelling, meticulously crafted work. It may not uplift, but it sears itself into the memory.

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Vienna

16 Jun 2025

Miroslav Srnka’s Voice Killer premieres at MusikTheater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart

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Salzburg

Hotel Metamorphosis: Vivaldi reborn through Ovid's lens in Salzburg

By Laura Servidei, 08 June 2025

A pasticcio of superb musicianship is the main event at the Venice-themed Whitsun Festival.

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Salzburg

08 Jun 2025

Hotel Metamorphosis: Vivaldi reborn through Ovid's lens in Salzburg

By Laura Servidei

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Reimann's Lear makes for a dark season finale at Prague State Opera

By Frank Kuznik, 07 June 2025

Aribert Reimann's Lear takes no prisoners in a disturbing portrayal of a world gone awry, but Barbora Horáková's scattergun direction adds to the confusion.

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Prague

07 Jun 2025

Reimann's Lear makes for a dark season finale at Prague State Opera

By Frank Kuznik

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Moreton-in-Marsh

At home with the Wagners: Avner Dorman’s Wahnfried receives its UK premiere

By Mark Pullinger, 27 May 2025

Longborough Festival Opera, built on Wagnerian foundations, stages the UK premiere of Avner Dorman’s ambitious cautionary tale about the Wagner clan and establishing the composer’s legacy.

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Moreton-in-Marsh

27 May 2025

Dorman’s Wahnfried receives its UK premiere at Longborough

By Mark Pullinger

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A bleak Jenůfa from Calixto Bieito

By Frank Kuznik, 22 May 2025

The director drains the life out of an impassioned opera with a staging devoid of authenticity and ideas.

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Prague

22 May 2025

A bleak Jenůfa from Calixto Bieito

By Frank Kuznik

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Budapest

Stumbling towards the chopping block: Maria Stuarda premieres in Budapest

By Orsolya Gyárfás, 14 May 2025

Martin Rajna's energetic conducting and Gabriella Balga's glorious Elisabetta are the bright spots in this flashy but empty house premiere of Donizetti's classic.

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Budapest

14 May 2025

Stumbling towards the chopping block: Maria Stuarda in Budapest

By Orsolya Gyárfás

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Fish, frocks and farce: a Prokofiev romp at Theater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart, 28 March 2025

Damiano Michieletto directs a slick and frequently hilarious staging of Prokofiev's comic opera Betrothal in a Monastery.

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Vienna

28 Mar 2025

Fish, frocks and farce: a Prokofiev romp in Vienna

By Chanda VanderHart

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Cherubini’s Medea falls flat in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 22 February 2025

The challenges of Cherubini’s version of the Greek tragedy prove too much for the National Theatre to overcome.

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Prague

22 Feb 2025

Cherubini’s Medea falls flat in Prague

By Frank Kuznik

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Grigorian and Akhmetshina dazzle in a secular Norma at Theater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart, 19 February 2025

In a week where Vienna welcomes two new productions of Bellini's Norma, MusikTheater an der Wien sets a high bar with Vasily Barkhatov's staging.

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Vienna

19 Feb 2025

Grigorian and Akhmetshina dazzle in a secular Norma

By Chanda VanderHart

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Upstairs, downstairs, Richard Strauss style: Die Frau ohne Schatten at Deutsche Oper

By Zenaida des Aubris, 26 January 2025

Tobias Kratzer gives his third Strauss production in three seasons at Deutsche Oper Berlin another contemporary spin.

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Berlin

26 Jan 2025

Upstairs, downstairs: Die Frau ohne Schatten at Deutsche Oper

By Zenaida des Aubris

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Geneva

New York penthouse decadence for a shattering new Salome in Geneva

By Mark Pullinger, 22 January 2025

The Grand Théâtre de Genève is certainly not risk-averse and Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó controversially translates the action to a penthouse bar in New York.

*****

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Geneva

22 Jan 2025

Penthouse decadence for a shattering new Salome in Geneva

By Mark Pullinger

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A rambunctious Platée revival in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 23 November 2024

SKUTR's daring direction and Václav Luks's early music expertise combine to bring new vitality to a Baroque classic.

*****

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Prague

23 Nov 2024

A rambunctious Platée revival in Prague

By Frank Kuznik

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Šárka: a controversial revival in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 07 November 2024

A chilly reception for director Kay Link's fresh take on a mythical Czech heroine mars an otherwise superb performance.

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Prague

07 Nov 2024

Šárka: a controversial revival in Prague

By Frank Kuznik

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And they were the most divine gods: Das Rheingold at the Bayerische Staatsoper

By Phillip Richter, 03 November 2024

Tobias Kratzer's prelude to this new Ring cycle exceeds all expectations and scores a musical-theatrical success.

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Munich

03 Nov 2024

And they were the most divine gods: Das Rheingold in Munich

By Phillip Richter

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Serse as a quirky modern tale in Zurich

By Laura Servidei, 29 September 2024

Christophe Dumaux shines as Arsamene in Nina Russi’s enjoyable production of Handel’s masterpiece revived at the Opernhaus Zürich under the baton of Enrico Onofri.

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Zurich

29 Sep 2024

Handel’s Serse as a quirky modern tale in Zurich

By Laura Servidei

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Real and emotional fires light the Berlin stage in Respighi’s La fiamma

By Zenaida des Aubris, 29 September 2024

Christof Loy and Carlo Rizzi score a great success in bringing Respighi’s rarely performed opera the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

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Berlin

29 Sep 2024

Real and emotional fires light the stage in Respighi’s La fiamma

By Zenaida des Aubris

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An audacious update of a Dvořák classic at Prague's National Theatre

By Frank Kuznik, 27 September 2024

Directors Martin Kukučka and Lukáš Trpišovský, who work together as SKUTR, take on Dvořák’s Rusalka with a surfeit of ideas.

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Prague

27 Sep 2024

An audacious update of a Dvořák classic in Prague

By Frank Kuznik

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London

ENB in Akram Khan’s Giselle: compelling, astonishing, unmissable

By Deborah Weiss, 18 September 2024

Akram Khan's Giselle becomes ever more watchable with every viewing. A rollercoaster version of the traditional classic.

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London

18 Sep 2024

ENB in Akram Khan’s Giselle: compelling, astonishing, unmissable

By Deborah Weiss

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All play and no work: Louise Alder leads an exuberant Figaro in Munich

By Orsolya Gyárfás, 17 July 2024

Evgeny Titov's new production is heavy on the jokes and light in substance, but delights anyway thanks to its high-class cast.

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Munich

17 Jul 2024

All play and no work: an exuberant Figaro in Munich

By Orsolya Gyárfás

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The rise and fall of resistance: Dalbavie’s Melancholie des Widerstands premieres in Berlin

By Elena Luporini, 10 July 2024

The world premiere of Marc-André Dalbavie's Melancholie des Widerstands at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden marks the birth of a new genre – the film-opera – starring conductor Marie Jacquot and Philippe Jaroussky.

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Berlin

10 Jul 2024

Dalbavie’s Melancholie des Widerstands premieres in Berlin

By Elena Luporini

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Anna Pirozzi shines as a queen bee Turandot

By Laura Servidei, 03 July 2024

Anna Pirozzi and Piero Pretti bring Italian sunshine to Baumgarten’s confused production at the Opernhaus Zürich.

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Zurich

03 Jul 2024

Anna Pirozzi shines as a queen bee Turandot

By Laura Servidei

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To the apocalypse and beyond: Le Grand Macabre in Prague

By David Karlin, 14 June 2024

Nigel Lowery’s new production at Prague State Opera is a gusher of ideas, starting as slapstick but profoundly moving by the end.

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Prague

14 Jun 2024

To the apocalypse and beyond: Le Grand Macabre in Prague

By David Karlin

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An historical affair: a new Khovanshchina at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden

By Elena Luporini, 02 June 2024

With Claus Guth directing and Simone Young on the podium, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's new production of Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina proves that the past isn't really past.

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Berlin

02 Jun 2024

An historical affair: Khovanshchina at the Staatsoper Berlin

By Elena Luporini

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At Prague’s National Theatre, a witty, well-kept Smetana Secret

By Frank Kuznik, 24 May 2024

Aided by spirited singers and enthusiastic musicians, director Ondřej Havelka brings an imaginative, ironic touch to a lesser-known Smetana opera.

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Prague

24 May 2024

At Prague’s National Theatre, a witty, well-kept Smetana Secret

By Frank Kuznik

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(Un)Lucky stars: Freitag, der Dreizehnte celebrates Schoenberg at the Reaktor

By Chanda VanderHart, 28 April 2024

What do you get for the composer who made – and also kind of broke – everything? Arnold Schoenberg’s well-documented phobia of the number 13 aside, he could not have asked for a superior tribute in his 150th anniversary year.

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Vienna

28 Apr 2024

Freitag, der Dreizehnte celebrates Schoenberg at the Reaktor

By Chanda VanderHart

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Not quite a premiere, not quite a success: Salieri’s Kublai Khan at MusikTheater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart, 07 April 2024

Martin G Berger exhaustively reworks the story and the libretto of Salieri's Cublai, gran kan de' Tartari and throws the kitchen sink at this new production, but not everything lands well.

***11

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Vienna

07 Apr 2024

Not quite a premiere, not quite a success: Salieri’s Kublai Khan

By Chanda VanderHart

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Neither hope nor salvation: a sombre Parsifal with much to say in Vienna

By Orsolya Gyárfás, 01 April 2024

Elīna Garanča's Kundry proves the star of Kirill Serebrennikov's prison staging of Parsifal, a powerful exploration of religion and violence.

***11

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Vienna

01 Apr 2024

Neither hope nor salvation: a sombre Parsifal with much to say

By Orsolya Gyárfás

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Ghent

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen: PUUR is a challenging but relevant work

By Graham Watts, 23 March 2024

A challenging work about birth, death and rebirth, superbly danced and thought provoking.

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Ghent

23 Mar 2024

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen: PUUR is a challenging but relevant work

By Graham Watts

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Nabucco in Prague: a handsome production that tries to do too much

By Frank Kuznik, 21 March 2024

Andriy Yurkevych leads a rousing musical performance, but this visually impressive Nabucco tries to hard to be relevant and misses the mark.

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Prague

21 Mar 2024

Nabucco in Prague: handsome but over-ambitious

By Frank Kuznik

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Handelian labours: Barrie Kosky directs Hercules at the Komische Oper Berlin

By Zenaida des Aubris, 03 March 2024

Handel's seldom-performed Hercules becomes the latest oratorio to undergo the Kosky treatment at Komische Oper.

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Berlin

03 Mar 2024

Handelian labours: Kosky directs Hercules at Komische Oper Berlin

By Zenaida des Aubris

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A feast for the eyes and ears: Lehár’s Merry Widow in Zurich

By Thomas Schacher, 20 February 2024

Barrie Kosky stages the famous Viennese operetta as a whirlwind spectacle. Marlis Petersen shines in the title role vocally and theatrically. Michael Volle does not live up to expectations.

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Zurich

20 Feb 2024

A feast for the eyes and ears: Lehár’s Merry Widow in Zurich

By Thomas Schacher

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Dresden

Detlev Glanert's Die Jüdin von Toledo premieres at Semperoper Dresden

By Zenaida des Aubris, 10 February 2024

Robert Carsen stages the world premiere production of Glanert's opera, based Franz Grillparzer's 1851 play, in stringent, minimalist style.

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*****

Dresden

10 Feb 2024

Detlev Glanert's Die Jüdin von Toledo premieres at the Semperoper

By Zenaida des Aubris

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Madrid

BNE’s compelling Afanador: a dazzling, surreal view of Andalusia

By Cristina de Lucas, 09 February 2024

BNE premieres Marcos Morau's Afanador at Madrid’s Teatro Real. Inspiration is derived from Ruven Afanador’s renowned series of photographs on flamenco dancers, Ángel Gitano and 1000 Kisses.

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Madrid

09 Feb 2024

BNE’s compelling Afanador: a dazzling, surreal view of Andalusia

By Cristina de Lucas

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Amsterdam

Overcrowding suffocates DNO's Traviata

By Eleanor Knight, 27 January 2024

Adela Zaharia is cast as a Violetta for whom the party never stops in this revival of Tatjana Gürbaca's busy staging at Dutch National Opera.

**111

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**111

Amsterdam

27 Jan 2024

Overcrowding suffocates DNO's Traviata

By Eleanor Knight

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Werther in the sky at Opernhaus Zürich

By Laura Servidei, 23 January 2024

Benjamin Bernheim leads a very good cast in a revival of Tatjana Gürbaca's interesting 2017 production.

***11

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Zurich

23 Jan 2024

Werther in the sky at Opernhaus Zürich

By Laura Servidei

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The Best of All Possible Satires: Candide sparkles at MusikTheater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart, 19 January 2024

Lydia Steier's new production of Candide is a kaleidoscopic celebration of Leonard Bernstein's varied musical idioms.

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Vienna

19 Jan 2024

The Best of All Possible Satires: Candide sparkles in Vienna

By Chanda VanderHart

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Amsterdam

Barrie Kosky's Agrippina is finally crowned at Dutch National Opera

By Eleanor Knight, 13 January 2024

The Australian director's 2019 production of Handel's satirical comedy-thriller arrives in Amsterdam, with a cast led by the fabulous Stéphanie d'Oustrac.

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Amsterdam

13 Jan 2024

Barrie Kosky's Agrippina is finally crowned at DNO

By Eleanor Knight

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Waltzing masks and masquerades in Barrie Kosky’s new Fledermaus in Munich

By Zenaida des Aubris, 23 December 2023

Expect sequins and swinging chandeliers in the Australian director's new Fledermaus at the Bayerische Staatsoper.

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Munich

23 Dec 2023

Waltzing masks and masquerades in Kosky’s new Fledermaus

By Zenaida des Aubris

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Daylight robbery: Max Hopp falls short with Offenbach's Die Banditen at Komische Oper

By Zenaida des Aubris, 17 December 2023

The last of Jacques Offenbach's great buffo operettas provides an opportunity for topical satire but Max Hopp’s attempts at updating it fall short of the mark.

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Berlin

17 Dec 2023

Max Hopp falls short with Die Banditen at Komische Oper

By Zenaida des Aubris

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Ghent

Two classic stories, refreshed with humour in an engrossing double bill

By Vikki Jane Vile, 16 December 2023

Opera Ballet Vlaanderen are offering up the ultimate antidote to frothy Christmas traditions with an original double bill featuring two premieres.

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Ghent

16 Dec 2023

Two classic stories, refreshed with humour in an engrossing bill

By Vikki Jane Vile

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David Alden's Anna Bolena travels from Zurich to Berlin

By Laura Servidei, 15 December 2023

Deutsche Oper Berlin presents an uninspiring production by David Alden, with a solid cast led by Federica Lombardi.

***11

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Berlin

15 Dec 2023

David Alden's Anna Bolena travels from Zurich to Berlin

By Laura Servidei

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Tuttifäntchen: a sweet Christmas confection in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 30 November 2023

The Prague National Theatre serves up a bright finish to its insightful, troubling tour of interwar music.

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Prague

30 Nov 2023

Tuttifäntchen: a sweet Christmas confection in Prague

By Frank Kuznik

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A torrid Lady Macbeth in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 24 November 2023

Shostakovich's murderess comes to terrifying life in Martin Čičvák's smart, sensational production for the Prague State Opera.

*****

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*****

Prague

24 Nov 2023

A torrid Lady Macbeth in Prague

By Frank Kuznik

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