Performer: Henryk Polus

Lydia Steier’s colourful production of Alcina in Basel was as much a lesson in conflict resolution as it was in the power of love.

Even forty years after its world première in Rotterdam, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s new production of Philip Glass’s three-act opera in Basel has particularly timely relevance.

Based on the ancient tragedies by Aeschylus, Oresteia makes a great case for composer Iannis Xenakis’s concept of “total theatre”.