Performer: Dutch National Opera

Guth’s Semele turns myth into a contemporary domestic drama, where desire becomes obsession and illusion consumes reality. Handel’s music remains the true engine, driven by a thrilling, physically intense ensemble.

****1

Stikhina and Clayton shine in DNO's uneven Maid of Orleans

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Eleanor Knight, 15 Nov

Director Dmitri Tcherniakov and a talented cast do everything to make Tchaikovsky’s opera work in Amsterdam, but problematic elements persist.

***11

Collaborations and world premieres: Opera Forward Festival

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Eleanor Knight, 23 Mar

Two world premieres at Dutch National Opera speak to what have traditionally been two separate audiences: the audience within the opera house and the one without.

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Elena Stikhina on Salzburg, Tosca and the reality of life as a singer

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Isabella Steppan, 19 Sep

Soprano Elena Stikhina is in demand at the world's major opera houses. Isabella Steppan meets her in Salzburg to discuss the role of Tosca – which she is currently singing in Amsterdam and Vienna – and the reality of life as an opera singer.

Dreams and documentaries: opera world premieres

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Bachtrack, 30 Aug

We preview nine major new operas on stage this season in Europe, from composers including Unsuk Chin, Rebecca Saunders, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Philip Venables and Toshio Hosokawa.

State of the (operatic) union: notes from Opera Europa

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David Karlin, 11 Oct

Audiences, energy prices, politics, sustainability... With nearly 400 opera executives assembled in Copenhagen, the Opera Europa autumn conference was the ideal venue to take the temperature of the opera industry.