René Jacobs' Ulisse zum Monteverdi-Jubiläum

By Jens Klier, 20 March 2017

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Reviewed at Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne on 19 March 2017

Monteverdi, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (The Return of Ulysses to his Country), SV 325 (concert performance)

René Jacobs, Conductor

Stéphane Degout, Ulisse

Katarina Bradić, Penelope

Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, Telemaco, Giove

Magnus Staveland, Anfinomo

Marcos Fink, Antinoo, Tempo

Pierre Derhet, Eurimaco

Mirella Hagen, Amor, Giunone

Thomas Walker, Eumete

Marie-Claude Chappuis, La Fortuna, Minerva

Kristina Hammarström, Melanto, L'umana fragilità, Ericlea

Jörg Schneider, Iro

Mark Milhofer, Pisandro

Jérôme Varnier, Neptuno

B'Rock Orchestra

Members of La Monnaie Chorus Academy

Mary-Ellen Nesi, Mezzo-soprano

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Chiaroscuro extinguished: a self-indulgent Poppea in Copenhagen

Mengguang Huang, 26th April

Christoph Marthaler’s staging of Monteverdi’s Poppea for the Royal Danish Opera is a study in boredom.

**111

Wretches like us: the LPO’s concert Wozzeck cuts to the quick

Peter Quantrill, 25th April

Beautifully prepared singing and playing brings out the tender side to Berg's modernist classic as part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes festival.

****1

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

John Gilks, 25th April

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

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Jens Klier

Vor seinem Rechtswissenschafts-Studium in Bayreuth und Bonn widmete sich Jens Klier seit frühester Kindheit musikalisch der Violine (Repertoire vom 17. bis 20. Jahrhundert). Während er zudem mit Gesang und dem Leben im Orchesterbetrieb groß wurde, entwickelte sich ein besonderes Interesse an der sogenannten 'Historischen Aufführungspraxis' und authentischen Instrumenten. Diese Leidenschaft hält sich hartnäckig, sodass er sie mit Vorliebe für das Barocke anstatt mit Finger und Bogen nun in Form der Musikkritik zu Gehör bringt. U.a. Telemann-Fan, Liebhaber J. S. Bachs Genies und Entdecker neuerer, seltenerer 'Alter Musik'.

Creatore di affetti musicali: René Jacobs' Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria zum 450. Geburtstag Monteverdis