With Alain Altinoglu at the podium, the programme of works by Beethoven, Ravel and Stravinsky showed off Levit's lightness and freshness and brought out the excitement of fairytales.
Some 15 minutes long, in a slow-fast-slow form, Le Tombeau de Napoléon wraps a taxing solo part for tenor trombone in a dramatically compelling and sonically thrilling orchestral canvas.
The orchestra’s principal flute Joshua Smith was soloist for the local première of Matthias Pintscher’s Transir. Three Ravel favorites completed the program.
A questionable performance of Schumann's Violin Concerto was redeemed by lively interpretations of Beethoven's Third Symphony and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
The riotous energy of carnival dazzled Symphony Hall as Alain Altinoglu debuted with the Boston Symphony in a program he assembled as a personal homage to Charles Munch.
Laurent Pelly exploits the satirical side of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel at La Monnaie in a darkly humorous but colourfully performed production.
According to director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Don Giovanni’s divine retribution for a life of pure evil and insatiable fornication is just more of the same.
Anyone expecting a wishing well, castle and healthy portion of pomp in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s new production of Pélleas et Mélisande is in for a big surprise.
Hans Neuenfels' setting of Lohengrin as scientific experiment with a chorus of rats affords thought-provoking pleasures, with star turns from Klaus Florian Vogt in the title role and Petra Lang as Ortrud.
Kasper Holten's virtuosic staging is revived by the Royal Opera with a cast of three exceptionally strong women, and accomplished performances by Christopher Maltman and Alex Esposito as the Don and his servant.
Neuenfels' production of Manon Lescaut for the Bayerische Staatsoper is strange but coherent. With a perfect cast and tight musical direction, this is about as good as Puccini opera gets.
Opera being a strongly visual art form as well as a musical one, the idea of a pure concert performance seems a little strange to those unfamiliar with the form.
Everybody’s favorite bad girl in the world of opera is back again for a spectacular romp of delights, mischief, seduction, and tragic culmination in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2010 revival of its 1999 production of Bizet’s Carmen.
Mis en scène par Laurent Pelly, Don Pasquale de Donizetti est présenté à La Monnaie : une machinerie réglée au millimètre près, sur la fabuleuse vis comica d’une musique extraordinairement efficace.
Que ce soit pour sa mise en scène, sa distribution ou sa direction musicale, cette production des Dialogues de Carmélites au Théâtre de la Monnaie est un franc succès.
Den glanzvollen Schlusspunkt setzte dann Bartóks virtuoses, rhythmisch komplexes Finale: ein orchestrales Schaustück, welches die Elemente der vorangegangenen Sätze, deren Spielfreude, das Volkstümliche in sich vereinigt.
Bei ihrem philharmonischen Abonnementkonzert lieferten die Berliner Philharmoniker leider meistenteils nur Dienst nach Vorschrift ab, auch wenn dies immer noch Musizieren auf allerhöchstem Niveau ist.
Marco Arturo Marelli hat für diese Inszenierung wie immer solide Arbeit geleistet, was Personenführung und psychologische Charakterisierung der Charaktere betrifft, doch muss einschränkend gesagt werden, dass ihm vieles schon viel besser gelungen ist.
Mercredi soir au Victoria Hall, la flûte d'Emmanuel Pahud a fait merveille, comblant le public dans un programme hispanisant, sous la baguette d'Alain Altinoglu.
Mercredi 16 juillet à 20h, Alain Altinoglu dirigeait l'Orchestre National de France dans un programme intitulé « Autour de 1914 ». A l’opéra Berlioz de Montpellier, Wagner, Stephan, Schubert et Brahms étaient interprétés dans le cadre du festival de Radio France. Un programme d’une grande intensité donnant lieu à un moment de mémoire.
