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Jérémie Rhorer conducts monumental Beethoven in Berlin

By Elena Luporini, 02 April 2023

One of the leading events of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's Festtage, Jérémie Rhorer's interpretation of the Missa solemnis is a monument to the composer... but its marble is not always too cleanly carved.

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Berlin

05 Apr 2023

Jérémie Rhorer conducts monumental Beethoven in Berlin

By Elena Luporini

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Straussian pastoral: Vera-Lotte Boecker is the ideal Daphne at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden

By Elena Luporini, 19 February 2023

Romeo Castellucci's new production of Daphne for the Staatsoper reflects on our relationship with nature, subverting the perspective of Richard Strauss' opera.

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Berlin

21 Feb 2023

Straussian pastoral: Daphne at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden

By Elena Luporini

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Leipzig

Spellbinding Parsifal caps Oper Leipzig's massive Wagner 22 Festival

By Ako Imamura, 14 July 2022

Ulf Schirmer bows out as General Music Director as the last of Wagner's 13 operas completes a successful Festival Wagner 22 in Leipzig.

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Leipzig

15 Jul 2022

Spellbinding Parsifal caps Oper Leipzig's massive Wagner 22 Festival

By Ako Imamura

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Stölzl's Berlin Turandot brings out human darkness with a puppet and a surprise ending

By Ako Imamura, 22 June 2022

Philipp Stölzl depicts Turandot as a tragedy of a lonely princess who pays dearly for her cruelty in his fascinating new production at the Staatsoper Berlin.

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Berlin

24 Jun 2022

Stölzl's Berlin Turandot brings out human darkness

By Ako Imamura

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The Metropolitan Opera performs a revelatory, original Boris Godunov

By Robert Levine, 28 September 2021

Forget Rimsky-Korsakov, forget the Polish act... Stephen Wadsworth's new production for The Met returns to Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of his Russian historical epic.

*****

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New York City

30 Sep 2021

The Metropolitan Opera performs a revelatory, original Boris Godunov

By Robert Levine

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Regietheater reigns supreme in Calixto Bieito's Lohengrin at Staatsoper Berlin

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 13 December 2020

Dressed in white, with an origami swan in his hand, Robert Alagna's Lohengrin is less a Grail knight than an absent-minded daydreamer.

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Berlin

15 Dec 2020

Regietheater reigns supreme in Calixto Bieito's Berlin Lohengrin

By Lorenzo Fiorito

Yuval Sharon’s pop Zauberflöte at the Staatsoper Berlin

By Laura Servidei, 04 October 2019

The Staatsoper Unter den Linden presents Yuval Sharon’s shocking production of Mozart’s masterpiece, full of references to pop culture, side by side with the traditional one by Everding in the same season. A solid cast does justice to his fun, entertaining, bold production.

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Berlin

06 Oct 2019

Yuval Sharon’s pop Zauberflöte at the Staatsoper Berlin

By Laura Servidei

Stag do: David Bösch's loveless Lustige Weiber at the Staatsoper

By Hugo Shirley, 03 October 2019

Barenboim conducts Otto Nicolai's Falstaff opera with a warmth and affection that is sorely lacking on stage.

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Berlin

04 Oct 2019

Stag do: David Bösch's loveless Lustige Weiber at the Staatsoper

By Hugo Shirley

Pierre Audi’s new Parsifal grinds the gears in Munich

By Jonathan Sutherland, 28 June 2018

Instead of telling a story of spiritual enlightenment and ultimate redemption through faith, Pierre Audi's reading is bereft of mystery and magic.

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Munich

02 Jul 2018

Pierre Audi’s new Parsifal grinds the gears in Munich

By Jonathan Sutherland

Mannheim

An unforgettable Good Friday Parsifal in Mannheim's historic production

By Ako Imamura, 30 March 2018

The 1957 production of Parsifal, with its traditional staging and dreamy imageries, was a perfect backdrop to showcase Wagner's celebration of stage play with music on Good Friday.

*****

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Mannheim

31 Mar 2018

An unforgettable Good Friday Parsifal in Mannheim

By Ako Imamura

Suffering, transcendence, redemption: The Met's Parsifal is a long trip, well worth it

By Robert Levine, 05 February 2018

The Met’s production of Wagner’s Parsifal is a harrowing affair, entrancing in its refusal to charm.

*****

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New York City

06 Feb 2018

Suffering, transcendence, redemption: Parsifal at The Met

By Robert Levine

Julie Taymor’s Magic Flute is still mesmerizing at The Met

By Edward Sava-Segal, 10 October 2017

The musical experience was dominated by the imagery making spectators feel, at least at times, overwhelmed.

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New York City

13 Oct 2017

Flute still mesmerizing at The Met

By Edward Sava-Segal

Disturbing scenes: Staatsoper reopens with a messy Faustian hybrid

By Hugo Shirley, 03 October 2017

Jürgen Flimm's take on Schumann's Faust Scenes offers no solutions to self-imposed problems at the Staatsoper unter den Linden's glitzy reopening.

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Berlin

04 Oct 2017

Disturbing scenes: Staatsoper reopens with a messy Faustian hybrid

By Hugo Shirley

Prague

In Prague, a radiant Dvořák Stabat Mater

By Frank Kuznik, 07 September 2017

The Dvořákʼs Prague Festival opens with an upbeat treatment of one of the composer's masterworks.

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Prague

11 Sep 2017

In Prague, a radiant Dvořák Stabat Mater

By Frank Kuznik

The Staatsoper's remarkable Parsifal remains as moving as ever

By Hugo Shirley, 08 April 2017

Magisterial playing and conducting underpin an outstanding, engrossing evening of Wagner at the Schiller Theater.

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Berlin

09 Apr 2017

Tcherniakov's Parsifal remains as moving as ever

By Hugo Shirley

Trelinski's passionless Tristan und Isolde opens Met season

By Robert Levine, 26 September 2016

Director Mariusz Treliński’s previous work at the Met, in conjunction with Boris Kudlicka’s sets and Bartek Macias’ videos, was a double bill of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle.

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New York City

27 Sep 2016

Trelinski's passionless Tristan und Isolde

By Robert Levine

San Francisco

Don Carlo in San Francisco: musically perfect, dramatically lacking

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 12 June 2016

A dream cast come true in Don Carlo at San Francisco Opera. Emilio Sagi's direction is the only weak link in this production.

****1

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San Francisco

13 Jun 2016

Musically perfect Don Carlo in San Francisco

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Daniele Abbado’s disappointing Don Carlo in Vienna

By Jonathan Sutherland, 29 May 2016

Daniele’s Abbado’s black-box production of Don Carlo augurs a crash landing with no survivors.

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Vienna

31 May 2016

Daniele Abbado’s disappointing Don Carlo in Vienna

By Jonathan Sutherland

Mefistofele: An infernally spectacular début at the Bavarian State Opera

By Norman Schwarze, 24 October 2015

Bavarian State Opera celebrate the opening of the 2015/16 season with Arrigo Boito's opera Mefistofele

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Munich

26 Oct 2015

An infernal spectacular

By Norman Schwarze

Munich Don Carlo in fifty shades of black

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 24 July 2015

Better conducting and supertitles would also help breathe life into this drab revival of Bayerische Staatsoper's Don Carlo.

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Munich

25 Jul 2015

Munich Don Carlo in fifty shades of black

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Tristan und Isolde in Munich: surprising and triumphant

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 08 July 2015

The bright colours and childishness of Konwitschny’s production for the Bayerische Staatsoper shock but succeed. The cast and orchestra shine, especially in the final act.

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Munich

09 Jul 2015

Tristan und Isolde in Munich: surprising and triumphant

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Monastyrska and Domingo sizzle in Berlin’s Macbeth

By Ako Imamura, 07 February 2015

This revival of Peter Mussbach's production of Macbeth is devoid of props and places the focus squarely on singers and orchestra. This challenge was splendidly met by Plácido Domingo, making a role debut as Macbeth, and Liudmyla Monastyrska.

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Berlin

08 Feb 2015

Monastyrska and Domingo sizzle in Berlin’s Macbeth

By Ako Imamura

Julie Taymor's Magic Flute returns to The Met

By David Browning, 06 October 2014

Excellent singing and a stunning debut win out over relentlessly clever visual effects.

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New York City

07 Oct 2014

Julie Taymor's Magic Flute returns to The Met

By David Browning

The Macbeths triumph at The Met: Netrebko and Lučić reign in New York

By Mark Pullinger, 24 September 2014

A triumphant opening night was crowned by superb performances from Željko Lučić and Anna Netrebko as Macbeth and his Lady. But why the negative audience reaction to Adrian Noble's intelligent production?

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New York City

25 Sep 2014

Netrebko and Lučić reign in New York

By Mark Pullinger

Dresden

Claudio Abbado remembered in Dresden

By Max Woods, 09 June 2014

From introspective Mahler to flowing Schumann, Claudio Abbado is remembered at a concert with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in Dresden's Frauenkirche.

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Dresden

23 Jun 2014

Claudio Abbado remembered in Dresden

By Max Woods

The music redeems unanswered questions in the Met's beautiful new Parsifal

By David Allen, 15 February 2013

Before the music in the Metropolitan Opera’s new Parsifal starts, a black but reflective curtain drapes the front of the stage. It is dim enough not quite to show the audience, but it picks out the chandeliers.

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New York City

18 Feb 2013

The music redeems unanswered questions in the Met's beautiful new Parsifal

By David Allen

Milan

A dream cast united in La Scala's Lohengrin

By David Karlin, 21 December 2012

The first opera of the season at La Scala is an event of huge cultural significance in Italy, so it raised some hackles when, for Giuseppe Verdi’s centenary year, the management passed over Verdi in favour of Wagner’s Lohengrin. But even Italians disappointed by the insult to their culture found it impossible to quarrel with the quality of the singing talent on show.

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Milan

22 Dec 2012

A dream cast united in La Scala's Lohengrin

By David Karlin

Salzburg

Salzburg's first spiritual festival closes with Verdi's Requiem

By Zwölftöner, 01 September 2012

Faith and glamour have bookended this year’s Salzburg Festival, a move met with incredulity in certain quarters and yet one not entirely alien to Austrian customs, if one looks to the 20 or so most glittering events of the Viennese ball season, which is promptly curtailed by Ash Wednesday (still observed by much of the population here with high Catholic asceticism).

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Salzburg

08 Jan 2013

Salzburg's first spiritual festival closes with Verdi's Requiem

By Zwölftöner

London

Prom 18: Beethoven's Ninth

By Rohan Shotton, 27 July 2012

Few conductors could hold an audience's applause whilst shaking hands with every member of the orchestra and then speaking extensively about politics. Daniel Barenboim, though, on completion of a week-long Beethoven cycle, did so and then dashed to the Olympic opening ceremony to bear the Olympic flag alongside Ban Ki-Moon, among others.

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London

29 Jul 2012

Prom 18: Beethoven's Ninth

By Rohan Shotton

The Met in HD, Faust, 2011

By Richard Wilcocks, 12 October 2011

Read our review of Des McAnuff's production of Faust by Gounod, in its 2011 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

New York City

01 Dec 2013

The Met in HD, Faust, 2011

By Richard Wilcocks

London

A star-studded Faust at the Royal Opera

By David Karlin, 18 September 2011

In this Royal Opera production of Gounod's Faust, there's no question about who's in charge. Not only does the devil get all the best lines, but he bosses the show from beginning to end. Clad in feathered hat, long curly wig and reminiscent of the Laughing Cavalier, René Pape plays Mephistopheles quite superbly, alternating between mercurial bouffe comic lines and extreme sardonic nastiness.

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London

18 Sep 2011

A star-studded Faust at the Royal Opera

By David Karlin

The Met in HD, Boris Godunov, 2010

By Jane Shuttleworth, 13 October 2010

Read our review of Stephen Wadsworth's production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in its 2010 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

New York City

01 Dec 2013

The Met in HD, Boris Godunov, 2010

By Jane Shuttleworth

The Met in HD, The Magic Flute, 2006

By Andrew Crust, 30 December 2006

Read our review of Julie Traymor's production of Mozart's Magic Flute in its 2006 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

New York City

01 Dec 2013

The Met in HD, The Magic Flute, 2006

By Andrew Crust

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Liebe und das Leid der Welt: Aida-Premiere an der Staatsoper Berlin

By Svenja Koch, 03 October 2023

Calixto Bieito will in seiner Neuadaption von Verdis wohl bekanntester Oper viel und erreicht damit so ziemlich nichts. Zum Glück gibt es Elīna Garanča.

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Berlin

04 Oct 2023

Liebe und das Leid der Welt: Aida-Premiere an der Staatsoper Berlin

By Svenja Koch

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Barcelona

La herida que no sana. Suena de nuevo el presagio de Parsifal de Claus Guth en el Liceu

By Maria Sánchez, 28 May 2023

Esta coproducción del Liceu y el Opernhaus Zürich, estrenada en el 2011, vuelve al escenario catalán para devolver un Parsifal que cuestiona las promesas de un futuro mejor.

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Barcelona

31 May 2023

La herida que no sana: Parsifal de Claus Guth en el Liceu

By Maria Sánchez

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Tristan und Isolde an der Wiener Staatsoper: Wasser, Wohnzimmer, Wahnsinn

By Snapdragon, 18 April 2022

Calixto Bieitos Neuinszenierung liefert viel Schatten, aber auch Glanzlichter.

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Vienna

20 Apr 2022

Tristan und Isolde an der Staatsoper: Wasser, Wohnzimmer, Wahnsinn

By Snapdragon

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Les flamboyants adieux de Philippe Jordan à l'Opéra de Paris

By Clara Leonardi, 02 July 2021

A l'Opéra Bastille, Philippe Jordan fait des adieux d'anthologie, dans une Faust-Symphonie fougueuse et un Parsifal céleste – aux côtés de René Pape, Andreas Schager, Peter Mattei et Ève-Maud Hubeaux.

*****

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Paris

04 Jul 2021

Les flamboyants adieux de Philippe Jordan à l'Opéra de Paris

By Clara Leonardi

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Madrid

Die Walküre en el Real: tres llamas que intercambian su fuego

By Ramón del Buey Cañas, 16 February 2020

La primera jornada de la tetralogía El anillo del nibelungo se presenta en el Real bajo la dirección de Heras-Casado y Robert Carsen en una producción que cuenta con un reparto de lujo.

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Madrid

21 Feb 2020

Die Walküre en el Real: tres llamas que intercambian su fuego

By Ramón del Buey Cañas

La première de Don Carlo à Bastille laisse sans voix

By Georgiana Hatara, 25 October 2019

Dans la mise en scène de Warlikowski créée en 2017, Don Carlo est de retour à Bastille, cette fois-ci dans sa version italienne. Une franche réussite malgré l'état grippal de Roberto Alagna.

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Paris

28 Oct 2019

La première de Don Carlo à Bastille laisse sans voix

By Georgiana Hatara

Jonathan Darlington dirigiert mit Don Carlo ein Verdi-Fest an der Wiener Staatsoper

By Snapdragon, 06 September 2019

Mit Fabio Sartori und Anja Harteros entsteht beim ersten Don Carlo der Saison ein ganz besonderer musikalischer Zauber.

*****

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Vienna

09 Sep 2019

Jonathan Darlington dirigiert mit Don Carlo ein Verdi-Fest in Wien

By Snapdragon

Salzburg

Simon Boccanegra in Salzburg: Familienzusammenführung im Betonbau

By Isabella Steppan, 15 August 2019

In einer enttäuschenden Inszenierung sind es Sänger, Dirigent und Orchester, die Verdis Oper der szenischen Langeweile zum Trotz zu einem Genuss machen.

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Salzburg

16 Aug 2019

Simon Boccanegra: Familienzusammenführung im Betonbau

By Isabella Steppan

Keine museale Aufarbeitung, sondern lebendige Oper: Everdings Zauberflöte in Berlin

By Sebastian Urmoneit, 28 April 2019

Die Zauberflöte besteht in Berlin alle Prüfungen, René Pape begeistert als Sarastro besonders.

*****

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Berlin

01 May 2019

Lebendige Oper: Everdings Zauberflöte in Berlin

By Sebastian Urmoneit

Salzburg

Solides Feiertagsprogramm: Dvořáks Stabat Mater bei den Salzburger Osterfestspielen

By Isabella Steppan, 19 April 2019

Die technisch-kühle Interpretation von Dvořáks Werk durch Christoph Eschenbach und die Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden konnte weder von den Solisten noch vom großartigen Chor in Karfreitagszauber verwandelt werden.

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Salzburg

22 Apr 2019

Solides Feiertagsprogramm: Dvořáks Stabat Mater in Salzburg

By Isabella Steppan

Irre und traurig: Familiendrama Elektra an der Staatsoper Berlin

By Sarah Schnoor, 27 January 2019

Ricarda Merbeth gibt eine markerschütternde Elektra in Patrice Chéreaus psychologischer Inszenierung.

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Berlin

29 Jan 2019

Irre und traurig: Elektra an der Staatsoper Berlin

By Sarah Schnoor

Die Zauberflöte an der Wiener Staatsoper: Klamauk und höhere Weihen für einen Großen

By Snapdragon, 18 December 2018

Moshe Leiser und Patrice Cauriers Inszenierung ist repertoiretauglicher als die Polizei erlaubt, die in dieser Inszenierung mit Tutu statt mit Tatütata auftritt.

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Vienna

21 Dec 2018

Klamauk und höhere Weihen für einen Großen: Die Zauberflöte in Wien

By Snapdragon

Ein Repertoireabend mit Glanzlichtern: Elektra an der Wiener Staatsoper

By Snapdragon, 19 October 2018

Lise Lindstrom macht bei ihrem Rollendebüt an der Wiener Staatsoper nicht nur wortwörtlich eine gute Figur.

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Vienna

22 Oct 2018

Ein Repertoireabend mit Glanzlichtern: Elektra in Wien

By Snapdragon

Tristan et Isolde à Bastille : pour le meilleur et pour le pire

By Tristan Labouret, 11 September 2018

En guise d'ouverture de saison à l'Opéra de Paris, le Tristan de Peter Sellars et Bill Viola laisse les wagnériens sur leur faim, malgré un grand Philippe Jordan.

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Paris

12 Sep 2018

Tristan et Isolde à Bastille : pour le meilleur et pour le pire

By Tristan Labouret

Irre: Alvis Hermanis inszeniert Parsifal an der Wiener Staatsoper

By Snapdragon, 30 March 2017

In dieser Inszenierung funktioniert nicht alles, doch sie bietet reichlich Anregung zur Diskussion und einen Gurnemanz, der wohl jeden zum rechten (Wagner-)Glauben führt.

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Vienna

03 Apr 2017

Alvis Hermanis' irrer Parsifal

By Snapdragon