Performer: Tibor Szappanos

Individual performances impress, but conducting and production both prove too meandering in this year’s Wagner Days Tannhäuser.

Monteverdi’s last opera, recomposed by Máté Bella for a modern orchestra and a jazz combo, is an over-the-top, glitzy romp with plenty of casual sex and even more casual violence.

Stephen Gould is less than convincing in the lead role of Tannhäuser, but excellent ensemble work under Ádám Fischer's inspired direction offers compensations.