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Undernourished: English National Opera’s Bohème revival lacks red meat

By Dominic Lowe, 26 September 2024

Sir Jonathan Miller’s production of Puccini’s classic remains powerful, but ENO’s latest revival underwhelms at the Coliseum.

***11

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***11

London

28 Sep 2024

Undernourished: ENO’s Bohème revival lacks red meat

By Dominic Lowe

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Aida Garifullina an exceptionally fine Violetta at Covent Garden

By Mark Pullinger, 07 September 2024

As Richard Eyre’s staging reaches its 30th anniversary, a new Violetta arrives on the Royal Opera block in what proves to be one of the best revivals in recent years.

****1

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****1

London

07 Sep 2024

Aida Garifullina an exceptionally fine Violetta at Covent Garden

By Mark Pullinger

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Geneva

Shopping trolleys in heaven: an arthouse staging for Messiaen's testament of beauty in Geneva

By Peter Quantrill, 11 April 2024

Installation art sounds a dissonant note with the sublime harmony of Saint François d’Assise in Adel Abdessemed's creation at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

****1

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****1

Geneva

16 Apr 2024

An arthouse staging for Messiaen's testament of beauty in Geneva

By Peter Quantrill

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McBurney's delightfully batty Magic Flute returns to the Coliseum

By Susannah Moody, 28 February 2024

English National Opera brings back Simon McBurney's theatre of wonders for this Mozart classic.

****1

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****1

London

03 Mar 2024

McBurney's delightfully batty Magic Flute returns to the Coliseum

By Susannah Moody

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Simon McBurney's Magic Flute makes a triumphant return to Dutch National Opera

By Clare Varney, 01 December 2023

After its Met Opera debut earlier in the year, Simon McBurney's popular staging returns to Amsterdam.

*****

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*****

Amsterdam

03 Dec 2023

McBurney's Magic Flute makes a triumphant return to DNO

By Clare Varney

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A satisfying Otello starring Jonas Kaufmann at the Wiener Staatsoper

By Ako Imamura, 25 October 2023

A revival of Adrian Noble’s abstract and dark production of Verdi’s Otello fields a strong cast led by Jonas Kaufmann, Ludovic Tézier and Rachel Willis-Sørensen.

***11

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***11

Vienna

26 Oct 2023

A satisfying Otello starring Jonas Kaufmann at the Wiener Staatsoper

By Ako Imamura

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Edinburgh

Phaedra/Minotaur: the Edinburgh International Festival’s most upmarket song and dance event

By Kathy Elgin, 19 August 2023

Incest, family secrets, murder… this is a fiercely compelling evening of dance, drama and song.

*****

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*****

Edinburgh

22 Aug 2023

Phaedra/Minotaur: the EIF’s most upmarket song and dance event

By Kathy Elgin

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New York City

Simon McBurney’s richly inventive Zauberflöte arrives at the Met

By Susan Stempleski, 22 May 2023

With a stellar cast and fine orchestral playing, Mozart’s enigmatic fairy tale takes on a darker, more grown-up tone in its first new Metropolitan Opera staging in 19 years.

*****

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*****

New York City

23 May 2023

Simon McBurney’s richly inventive Zauberflöte arrives at the Met

By Susan Stempleski

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New York City

Ailyn Pérez triumphs as Tatyana in Met Opera's Eugene Onegin revival

By David Wolfson, 25 March 2022

Ailyn Pérez’ role debut as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera is a joy, with Piotr Beczała's Lensky the evening’s other standout.

***11

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***11

New York City

26 Mar 2022

Ailyn Pérez triumphs as Tatyana in Met Opera's Onegin revival

By David Wolfson

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Chilly revival of Jonathan Miller's Bohème at English National Opera

By Kevin W Ng, 02 February 2022

A well-sung revival of Jonathan Miller's Bohème at the coliseum fails to catch fire.

***11

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***11

London

03 Feb 2022

Chilly revival of Jonathan Miller's Bohème at ENO

By Kevin W Ng

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Milan

Female trio triumphs at La Scala: Oropesa, Crebassa and Scappucci shine in I Capuleti e i Montecchi

By Laura Servidei, 23 January 2022

Speranza Scappucci leads a dream team of singers in Bellini’s masterpiece, in a new production by Adrian Noble.

*****

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*****

Milan

24 Jan 2022

Oropesa, Crebassa and Scappucci shine at La Scala

By Laura Servidei

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Lisette Oropesa's Violetta proves to be one of the greats at Covent Garden

By David Karlin, 27 October 2021

Following success in New York and Madrid, Oropesa gives Covent Garden a Violetta that will be difficult to better.

****1

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****1

London

28 Oct 2021

Lisette Oropesa's Violetta is one of the greats at Covent Garden

By David Karlin

A Clemenza to pardon at Theater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart, 17 October 2019

Sam Brown's sparse production leaves nothing to focus on but the individual protagonists on stage.

***11

***11

Vienna

19 Oct 2019

A Clemenza to pardon at Theater an der Wien

By Chanda VanderHart

A spirited Midsummer Night’s Dream from Irina Brook and Simone Young at the Wiener Staatsoper

By Chanda VanderHart, 09 October 2019

Countertenor Lawrence Zazzo is more than at home in the role of Oberon, and possesses a vocal quality ideal for the scheming king of the fairies, simultaneously eerie and seductive.

****1

****1

Vienna

10 Oct 2019

A spirited Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Wiener Staatsoper

By Chanda VanderHart

Mistrust, rage and colonialism: Adrian Noble’s new Otello at the Wiener Staatsoper

By Chanda VanderHart, 20 June 2019

During the “Salce” and “Ave Maria” in Act Four Bezsmertna turned this to magical effect, thinning out and floating her shimmering soprano into gossamer threads.

***11

***11

Vienna

22 Jun 2019

Mistrust, rage and colonialism: Otello at the Staatsoper

By Chanda VanderHart

Billy Budd finally drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

By Mark Pullinger, 23 April 2019

After nearly two decades away from the Covent Garden stage, it was time Britten's Billy Budd came home, in a new production from Madrid by Deborah Warner.

****1

****1

London

24 Apr 2019

Billy Budd finally drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

By Mark Pullinger

Milan

Beckett at La Scala: world première of Kurtág's Fin de partie

By Renato Verga, 15 November 2018

Never before has human impotence been so cruelly portrayed on stage.

****1

****1

Milan

17 Nov 2018

Beckett at La Scala: world première of Kurtág's Fin de partie

By Renato Verga

In Amsterdam, McBurney's Die Zauberflöte continues to delight

By Nicolas Nguyen, 12 September 2018

Back for its third run at Dutch National Opera, with a satisfying cast, McBurney's staging wins new converts.

****1

****1

Amsterdam

14 Sep 2018

In Amsterdam, McBurney's Die Zauberflöte continues to delight

By Nicolas Nguyen

Milan

No protests required: Deborah Warner's Fidelio returns to La Scala

By James Imam, 21 June 2018

Chung's mastery of orchestral colour and texture came into its own, the brooding introduction to Act 2 making for a harrowingly apocalyptic representation of tyranny.

****1

****1

Milan

26 Jun 2018

No protests required: Deborah Warner's Fidelio returns to La Scala

By James Imam

Spectacular Gurrelieder revived at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri, 18 April 2018

An exemplary cast, an opulent orchestra and unforgettable images in Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder.

****1

****1

Amsterdam

20 Apr 2018

Spectacular Gurrelieder revived at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri

Bergen

The Flying Dutchman sails into Bergen

By Dominic Lowe, 10 March 2018

Bergen National Opera’s new production allows the story to speak to itself, while strong performances from Eric Halfvarson and Elisabeth Teige gave the performance its edge.

****1

****1

Bergen

12 Mar 2018

The Flying Dutchman sails into Bergen

By Dominic Lowe

Tristan und Isolde smoulders at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri, 18 January 2018

A strong cast, a lyrically simmering orchestra and lucid staging make this a Tristan und Isolde to treasure.

****1

****1

Amsterdam

19 Jan 2018

Tristan und Isolde smoulders at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri

Madrid

Deborah Warner's new Billy Budd sets a new standard in Madrid

By Fernando Remiro, 03 February 2017

Billy Budd triumphs in Madrid thanks to an inspired orchestra, a solid cast and a dream team of stage magicians.

****1

****1

Madrid

06 Feb 2017

Warner's new Billy Budd sets a new standard in Madrid

By Fernando Remiro

Pulsating new Andriessen with prosaic libretto at the Holland Festival

By Jenny Camilleri, 11 June 2016

Louis Andriessen’s new opera is a masterly expedition into the grand and grotesque mind of Athanasius Kircher, polymath and fantastist, but it is hampered by a clumsy libretto.

***11

***11

Amsterdam

13 Jun 2016

Pulsating new Andriessen at Holland Festival

By Jenny Camilleri

Antwerp

Understated elegance: Robert Carsen's sublime La bohème in Antwerp

By David Pinedo, 27 December 2015

Robert Carsen's understated elegance on stage counterbalances Puccini’s highly charged melodrama.

****1

****1

Antwerp

29 Dec 2015

Understated elegance: Robert Carsen's sublime Bohème

By David Pinedo