Performer: Stephan Adriaens

Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera is rarely performed outside Russia. Sadly, I doubt that Daniel Kramer’s staging for Opera Vlaanderen will win it many new friends.

The unclear ideas and the excessive blackness in Thalheimer’s concept failed to convince, but Stoyanov and Joel’s presentation of Verdi’s score made up for those problems.

The lack of shock value in Calixto Bieito’s interpretation of Wagner's Tannhäuser premiering at the Vlaamse Opera in Ghent could almost be seen as a disappointment. All the more surprising then was the romantic intimacy created in this superlatively sung production.