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Two notable debuts dominate Oper Leipzig's notable Lady Macbeth revival: Kristine Opolais as Katerina and Andris Nelsons in the pit. 

Francisco Negrín gives his singers little help in a dark, boxy new staging, put together at frantic, last minute speed. 

In Francisco Negrin’s production of Massenet’s Werther, currently at the Lyric Opera, the opera’s first scene appears through a semi-transparent screen upon which an image of a row of houses is projected. Then the screen rises, and we enter fully into the dream.

“It’s magic!” Whether through Disney cartoons, renowned illusionists, or smartphones, visual magic continues to delight contemporary audiences. Three hundred years ago in 18th-century London, audiences were stunned by Handel’s all-new operatic extravaganza Rinaldo, which not only featured a top-notch cast, but also the latest and greatest special effects.