Instrument: Sopranist

In the intimate splendour of the Margravial Opera House, Bayreuth Baroque revives Cavalli’s Pompeo Magno with a riot of colors, eight masked countertenors and a Tiepolo-like air of playful chaos.

The sopranista voice type is rare although not unknown, but there are very few who are an unmitigated joy to listen to: Samuel Mariño is one of those rarities. 

Day two of Frankfurt Ring featured impressive stage work and some superior musical performances, but it was not enough to create a perfect evening of opera.

Once upon a time an intrepid youth showing off his precocious skills as a cyclist boasted, “Look, Ma, no hands!” The 16 year-old Mozart could well have been exclaiming the same as he composed Lucio Silla in 1772.

It's not for nothing that Janáček's opera is properly titled Její pastorkyňa (Her Stepdaughter). Karita Mattila's Kostelnička was at the centre of a powerful concert performance of Jenůfa.

In a ravishing and affectingly sung production, Floris Visser re-imagines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as the efforts of a grieving psyche trying to heal its devastating wounds.

Five hours with five counter tenors: a virtuoso stand-off which impresses, even astounds, but ultimately exhausts even the most dedicated audience by its refusal to cut a single note of what becomes a very long, florid opera by Jommelli.