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When a voice defies expectations: Klaus Florian Vogt a successful Siegfried at La Scala

By Laura Servidei, 21 June 2025

McVicar’s most successful Ring chapter yet: Siegfried convinces with beautiful imagery and a stellar cast, with Alexander Soddy at the baton.

****1

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****1

Milan

21 Jun 2025

Klaus Florian Vogt a successful Siegfried at La Scala

By Laura Servidei

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A new Ring in Milan! Das Rheingold shines at La Scala

By Laura Servidei, 03 November 2024

La Scala presents a new production of Richard Wagner's masterpiece by David McVicar with a superb cast under the considerate baton of Simone Young.

****1

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****1

Milan

03 Nov 2024

A new Ring in Milan! Das Rheingold shines at La Scala

By Laura Servidei

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Baden-Baden

Nina Stemme stars in an unforgettable Elektra in Baden-Baden

By Ako Imamura, 26 March 2024

The Baden-Baden Easter Festival presents an extraordinary performance of Elektra, with Nina Stemme in the title role and the Berliner Philharmoniker, led by Kirill Petrenko, in a stark and modern production.

*****

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*****

Baden-Baden

26 Mar 2024

Nina Stemme stars in an unforgettable Elektra in Baden-Baden

By Ako Imamura

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Dramatic music-making at its finest as Homoki's Zurich Ring begins

By Andrew Larkin, 30 April 2022

A match made in heaven: director's Homoki's compelling interpretation of Das Rheingold is married to exciting musical direction from Gianandrea Noseda, not to mention the stellar cast of singers.

*****

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*****

Zurich

30 Apr 2022

Dramatic music-making at its finest as Homoki's Zurich Ring begins

By Andrew Larkin

A brilliant new Salome launches Zurich Opera's season

By Sarah Batschelet, 12 September 2021

Andreas Homoki's staging takes full advantage of Hartmut Meyer’s utterly spectacular set, while Elena Stikhina sings the difficult title role to perfection.

*****

*****

Zurich

12 Sep 2021

A brilliant new Salome launches Zurich Opera's season

By Sarah Batschelet

A promising start to Staatsoper Berlin's Ring revival

By Ako Imamura, 07 September 2019

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.

***11

***11

Berlin

07 Sep 2019

A promising start to Staatsoper Berlin's Ring revival

By Ako Imamura

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

12 Sep 2018

In Amsterdam, McBurney's Die Zauberflöte continues to delight

By Nicolas Nguyen

A thrilling Gurrelieder from Salonen and the Philharmonia

By David Truslove, 28 June 2018

This was a superbly assured performance in which Esa-Pekka Salonen marshalled his forces with a clear-sighted vision to carve out an account brimming with intensity, energy and commitment.

****1

****1

London

28 Jun 2018

A thrilling Gurrelieder from the Philharmonia

By David Truslove

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

18 Apr 2018

Spectacular Gurrelieder revived at Dutch National Opera

By Jenny Camilleri

A boisterous romp in Offenbach's Bluebeard at the Komische Oper Berlin

By Zenaida des Aubris, 23 March 2018

Stefan Herheim packs puns and gags into a three-hour long show, but less could have been more.

***11

***11

Berlin

23 Mar 2018

A boisterous romp at the Komische Oper

By Zenaida des Aubris

Salome in Vienna is big on decibels, but short on detail

By Jonathan Sutherland, 21 September 2017

Gun-Brit Barkmin’s Salome was neither sexy, salacious, psycho-erotic nor particularly well sung.

***11

***11

Vienna

21 Sep 2017

Big on decibels, short on detail

By Jonathan Sutherland

Stefan Vinke’s smiling hero saves an otherwise sluggish Siegfried in Vienna

By Jonathan Sutherland, 28 May 2017

Stefan Vinke was a convincing, petulant, pouty Siegfried in the third episode in Wagner's Ring cycle in Vienna.

***11

***11

Vienna

28 May 2017

Vinke’s smiling hero saves an otherwise sluggish Siegfried

By Jonathan Sutherland

Indulgence and corruption: Bechtolf's Ring returns to the Wiener Staatsoper

By Katherine Syer, 30 April 2017

A festive air was palpable – the house was technically sold out – as the first of a set of three Ring cycles launched at the Wiener Staatsoper.

***11

***11

Vienna

30 Apr 2017

Bechtolf's Ring returns to the Wiener Staatsoper

By Katherine Syer

Stop all the clocks: Renée Fleming's valedictory Marschallin at the Royal Opera

By Mark Pullinger, 17 December 2016

Renée Fleming has decided the time is right to bow out gracefully from the operatic stage, choosing her signature role to bid the fondest of farewells to London.

****1

****1

London

17 Dec 2016

Stop all the clocks: Fleming's valedictory Marschallin

By Mark Pullinger

Vaudeville. Nasality. Shostakovich. Kosky.

By David Karlin, 20 October 2016

I arrived at the Royal Opera House in the usual way, settled into my seat, and – could you believe it – the opera was gone!

*****

*****

London

20 Oct 2016

Vaudeville. Nasality. Shostakovich. Kosky.

By David Karlin

Salzburg

Going for gold: Strauss' Die Liebe der Danae returns to Salzburg

By Matthew Rye, 05 August 2016

Strauss' penultimate opera is treated to a lavish if superficial staging at the Salzburg Festival, but the real rewards come from the musical performance of this unjustly neglected work.

****1

****1

Salzburg

05 Aug 2016

Strauss's Die Liebe der Danae returns to Salzburg

By Matthew Rye

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Dipping a toe into the Rhine: Wagner therapy from Opera North

By Mark Pullinger, 28 June 2016

Opera North's cycle offers a form of personal Wagner therapy: all four music dramas in concert performances, but with carefully choreographed video and lighting effects.

****1

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****1

London

28 Jun 2016

Dipping a toe into the Rhine

By Mark Pullinger

Staatsoper Berlin's Ring revival begins with musically satisfying Rheingold

By Ako Imamura, 11 June 2016

The revival of Das Rheingold at Staatsoper Berlin was still marred by distracting use of dancers on stage, but musically it was a great success.

****1

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Berlin

11 Jun 2016

A musically satisfying Rheingold in Berlin

By Ako Imamura

An expressionistic Wozzeck: Jürgen Flimm's old classic closes the season at La Scala

By James Imam, 06 November 2015

The set is a stark, grubby nonentity. A central concave structure spits out each scene's requisites, flashing up like apparitions from the vortex of Wozzeck's mind.

****1

****1

Milan

06 Nov 2015

An expressionistic Wozzeck at La Scala

By James Imam

Witness to a delicious aberration: Wozzeck in Zurich

By Sarah Batschelet, 13 September 2015

The plot revolves around the daily life of a simple German town. But this fine production will make you glad that this is not your story.

*****

*****

Zurich

13 Sep 2015

Witness to a delicious aberration: Wozzeck

By Sarah Batschelet

Polished stagecraft still wields its magic in Dutch National Opera’s Zauberflöte

By Jenny Camilleri, 04 March 2015

A fine cast and orchestra revive Simon McBurney’s twilit, inventive Magic Flute at Dutch National Opera.

****1

****1

Amsterdam

04 Mar 2015

Polished stagecraft still wields its magic

By Jenny Camilleri

Grotesque, gritty Die Soldaten at La Scala

By James Imam, 17 January 2015

Tonight's setting of Die Soldaten in a WWI stable is so sordid you can almost feel the rats gnawing. Alvis Hermanis was right to warn in a newspaper interview that we would leave the theatre feeling shocked.

***11

***11

Milan

17 Jan 2015

Grotesque, gritty Die Soldaten at La Scala

By James Imam

A nightmare-inducing Hänsel und Gretel in Munich

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 25 November 2014

The Bayerische Staatsoper's production of Hänsel und Gretel is successful both musically and dramatically, but don't come expecting a charming fairy tale: This eerie staging is not for the very young or the faint of heart.

****1

****1

Munich

25 Nov 2014

A nightmare-inducing Hänsel und Gretel

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz

The Wings of the Dove: Magnificent expressionism in Dutch National Opera's Gurre-Lieder

By Jenny Camilleri, 02 September 2014

Dutch National Opera opens its season with a musically and visually staggering world premiere: the first ever operatic staging of Arnold Schoenberg’s heaven-storming Gurre-Lieder.

****1

****1

Amsterdam

02 Sep 2014

The Wings of the Dove: DNO's Gurre-lieder

By Jenny Camilleri

Paris

Esa-Pekka Salonen dirige de somptueux et lumineux Gurrelieder

By Gilles Lesur, 14 March 2014

Les occasions d’entendre les Gurrelieder d’Arnold Schönberg ne sont pas si fréquentes.

*****

*****

Paris

14 Mar 2014

Esa-Pekka Salonen s'illustre dans les Gurrelieder

By Gilles Lesur

Paris

A German in Paris: Siegfried at the Opéra Bastille

By David Karlin, 21 March 2013

For those who view Wagner’s Ring Cycle in symphonic terms, Siegfried is often described as the third movement Scherzo: an episode of comedy in between the existential musings of Die Walküre and the action-packed, apocalyptic Götterdämerung. Last night’s performance at the Opéra Bastille in Paris gave us plenty of high comedy and much more besides.

****1

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Paris

21 Mar 2013

A German in Paris: Siegfried at the Opéra Bastille

By David Karlin

Salzburg

Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the Salzburg Festival

By Zwölftöner, 26 August 2012

The German thinker Theodor Adorno once wrote that a musical setting of Georg Büchner’s play Woyzeck, considered in its own literary right a masterpiece, may well have proved redundant.

****1

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Salzburg

26 Aug 2012

Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the Salzburg Festival

By Zwölftöner

Gateshead

Das Rheingold: a concert perfomance full of drama

By Jane Shuttleworth, 26 June 2011

The first lesson I learnt from this evening’s stunning performance by Opera North of Das Rheingold to a completely full Hall One at the Sage is that however much you listen to Wagner's opera, absolutely nothing can prepare you for the physical and emotional impact of seeing a live performance, with the sheer power of the orchestra and the dramatic force of the music.

*****

*****

Gateshead

26 Jun 2011

Das Rheingold: a concert perfomance full of drama

By Jane Shuttleworth

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Des Noces à l'américaine pour Figaro au Staatsoper Berlin

By Emma Granier, 23 February 2024

Toujours aussi riche en boules à facettes et autres bottes de cowboy, cette reprise de la production de 2021 signée Vincent Huguet brille également par sa distribution des rôles féminins.

****1

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****1

Berlin

23 Feb 2024

Des Noces à l'américaine pour Figaro au Staatsoper Berlin

By Emma Granier

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Mit- und Gegeneinander: Schönberg-Abend mit den Berliner Philharmonikern

By Svenja Koch, 26 January 2024

Zum 150. Geburtstag des einstmaligen Publikumsschrecks stellen die Berliner Philharmoniker unter Kirill Petrenko in Die Jakobsleiter existenzielle Fragen.

****1

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****1

Berlin

26 Jan 2024

Mit- und Gegeneinander: Schönberg mit den Berliner Philharmonikern

By Svenja Koch

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Die Mischung macht’s: eine junge alte Salome an der Volksoper Wien

By Snapdragon, 22 September 2023

Die Volksoper holt mit Luc Bondys Salome eine altbewährte Inszenierung ans Haus. Trotzdem bleibt dieses Werk spannend, gerade wenn man eine umwerfende Salome wie Astrid Kessler zur Verfügung hat.

***11

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***11

Vienna

22 Sep 2023

Die Mischung macht’s: eine junge alte Salome an der Volksoper Wien

By Snapdragon

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Erfrischend neue Akzente: Wagners Siegfried am Opernhaus Zürich

By Thomas Schacher, 09 March 2023

Klaus Florian Vogt gibt ein vielbeachtetes Rollendebüt als Titelfigur, Generalmusikdirektor Gianandrea Noseda setzt seine italienische Wagner-Interpretation fort, und Regisseur Andreas Homoki bleibt dem problematischen Ansatz einer Deutungslosigkeit treu.

****1

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Zurich

09 Mar 2023

Erfrischend neue Akzente: Wagners Siegfried am Opernhaus Zürich

By Thomas Schacher

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Cologne

Heute Feste feiern wie gestern und morgen: Das WDR Sinfonieorchester wird 75

By Jens Klier, 28 October 2022

Frisch gebackener Ritter Măcelaru legt mit Di Castri, Lutosławski und Orff zündende Lunten eines in sich stimmigen Geburtstagsfeuerwerks.

****1

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Cologne

28 Oct 2022

Heute Feste feiern wie gestern und morgen

By Jens Klier

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Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt: Il prigioniero mit den Berliner Philharmonikern

By Svenja Koch, 16 September 2022

Studien der (Un-)Menschlichkeit: Die Berliner Philharmoniker unter Kirill Petrenko widmen sich der Musik der Nachkriegsmoderne und stellen dabei die Hoffnung in den Vordergrund.

****1

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Berlin

16 Sep 2022

Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt: Dallapiccolas Il prigioniero in Berlin

By Svenja Koch

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Satanic Panic: Die Teufel von Loudun an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Alexandra Richter, 27 June 2022

Simon Stone inszeniert Pendereckis Erstlingsoper als grausamen Schocker, der so manchen übel aufstößt.

**111

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**111

Munich

27 Jun 2022

Satanic Panic: Die Teufel von Loudun an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Alexandra Richter

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Toulouse

Le puzzle psychologique de Wozzeck au Capitole

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer, 25 November 2021

Le Capitole accueille le chef-d’œuvre d’Alban Berg mis en scène par Michel Fau. Au sein de cette production de qualité, Stéphane Degout se distingue dans le rôle-titre.

****1

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****1

Toulouse

25 Nov 2021

Le puzzle psychologique de Wozzeck au Capitole

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer

Kapital, Macht, Liebe: Das Rheingold an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Alexandra Richter, 30 June 2021

Andreas Kriegenburgs Inszenierung wird bei den Münchener Opernfestspielen wieder aufgeführt – mit glanzvoller Besetzung.

****1

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Munich

30 Jun 2021

Kapital, Macht, Liebe: Das Rheingold an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Alexandra Richter

Dresden

Prima la musica: Capriccio an der Semperoper Dresden

By Rainer Zerbst, 22 May 2021

Christian Thielemann bildet mit der Staatskapelle das ideale Fundament für eine musikalische Meisterleistung.

****1

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Dresden

22 May 2021

Prima la musica: Capriccio an der Semperoper Dresden

By Rainer Zerbst

Vergänglichkeit und Kitsch: Barrie Koskys neuer Rosenkavalier in München

By Isabella Steppan, 21 March 2021

In der Neuinszenierung überzeugt vor allem die Optik und Marlis Petersen liefert ein fulminantes Rollendebüt ab; allerdings bleiben an diesem digitalen Premierenabend durchaus Wünsche offen.

***11

***11

Munich

21 Mar 2021

Vergänglichkeit und Kitsch: Koskys neuer Rosenkavalier in München

By Isabella Steppan

Eine moralische Geschichte: Bergs Wozzeck an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Alexandra Richter, 23 November 2019

Christian Gerhaher gibt sein Münchener Wozzeck-Debüt in Kriegenburgs zeitlos packender Inszenierung.

*****

*****

Munich

23 Nov 2019

Eine moralische Geschichte: Wozzeck an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Alexandra Richter

Salome als diabolisches Kammerspiel an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By David Renke, 05 October 2019

Kirill Petrenko und eine grandiose Marlis Petersen legen den Grundstein für eine musikalisch verführende Salome.

***11

***11

Munich

05 Oct 2019

Salome als diabolisches Kammerspiel an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By David Renke

Paris

Sexe et cruauté à l'Opéra Bastille : Lady Macbeth selon Warlikowski

By Manuel Gaulhiac, 06 April 2019

Âmes sensibles s'abstenir ! La nouvelle production de Lady Macbeth de Mtsensk à l'Opéra de Paris, dans la mise en scène de Krzysztof Warlikowski, nous montre l’homme dans toute sa crasse et sa noirceur.

****1

****1

Paris

06 Apr 2019

Sexe et cruauté à l'Opéra Bastille : Lady Macbeth selon Warlikowski

By Manuel Gaulhiac

Beindruckendes Spektakel: Ernst Kreneks Karl V. an der Bayerische Staatsoper

By Norman Schwarze, 10 February 2019

Mit einer effektreichen Inszenierung trifft die Bayerische Staatsoper mit Ernst Kreneks Zwölftonoper Karl V. den Nerv des Münchner Publikums.

****1

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Munich

10 Feb 2019

Beindruckendes Spektakel: Ernst Kreneks Karl V. in München

By Norman Schwarze

Smetanas Die verkaufte Braut als feucht-fröhliches Dorffest an der Bayerischen Staatsoper

By Norman Schwarze, 22 December 2018

Die Bayerische Staatsoper legt bei der Neuinszenierung von Bedřich Smetanas komischer Oper den Fokus auf ein unterhaltsames Dorffest-Idyll.

***11

***11

Munich

22 Dec 2018

Die verkaufte Braut als feucht-fröhliches Dorffest in München

By Norman Schwarze

Caustique Blaubart au Komische Oper de Berlin

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer, 13 July 2018

Dans le cadre de sa programmation estivale, l'opéra comique de Berlin proposait une nouvelle production de Barbe-Bleue de Jacques Offenbach.

****1

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Berlin

13 Jul 2018

Caustique Blaubart au Komische Oper de Berlin

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer

Wagners Siegfried an der Bayerischen Staatsoper mit brillantem Feinklang

By Norman Schwarze, 03 February 2018

Die Bayerische Staatsoper hat mit Richard Wagners Siegfried in der Inszenierung von Andreas Kriegenburg den Ring-Zyklus mit fabelhafter Besetzung fortgesetzt.

****1

****1

Munich

03 Feb 2018

Siegfried an der Bayerischen Staatsoper mit brillantem Feinklang

By Norman Schwarze

Die Bayerische Staatsoper sonnt sich im alten Glanz des Rheingolds

By Norman Schwarze, 13 January 2018

Mit Richard Wagners Rheingold hat die Bayerische Staatsoper einen soliden Auftakt für den wohl letzten Ring-Zyklus in München unter der Leitung von Kirill Petrenko abgeliefert.

****1

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Munich

13 Jan 2018

Der alte Glanz des Rheingolds in München

By Norman Schwarze