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With a plethora of theatre seats, stools and benches it was as if Willy Decker and Wolfgang Gussman had been elected ‘Chair-men of the bored”.

An exceptional musical performance was enhanced by a streamlined but ultimately moving staging in an evening of near perfection in Dresden.

Robert Dean Smith replacing an ailing tenor as Lohengrin was merely adequate but the rest of the cast and the superb orchestra made the modern production of Lohengrin in Munich memorable.

Edward Gardner and Edward Caswell offered the British choir tradition in the form of Elgar's The Kingdom as a refreshingly programmed alternative to the many Bach passions. The combined choirs excelled together with an impressive Edith Haller.

Klaus Florian Vogt's astounding portrayal of the swan knight continues to evolve and deepen in the once infamous "Rat" Lohengrin in Bayreuth in a evening of sheer brilliance and near perfection.