Bachtrack logo
What's on
All eventsConcertsOperaDanceKids eventsMasterclassesCompetitionsFestivals
Reviews
All reviewsConcert reviewsOpera reviewsDance reviews
Articles
All articlesFeaturesInterviewsOpinionPlaylists
News
Video
Video homeAll videoStreamed eventsConcertsOperaDanceKids eventsMasterclassesPublishers
Site
About usContact usLink to usConditions of useCookiesPrivacy
Young artists
Travel
EventsReviewsArticlesVideo

Putting frippery before Freud: Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s Arabella at the Wiener Staatsoper

By Jonathan Sutherland, 15 December 2017
Loading, please wait...
See full listing
“Chen Reiss was a charming Zdenka with pristine vocal colour”
Reviewed at Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna on 14 December 2017
Programme
Strauss R., Arabella
Performers
Vienna State Opera
Patrick Lange, Conductor
Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Director
Rolf Glittenberg, Set Designer
Marianne Glittenberg, Costume Designer
Anna Gabler, Arabella
Chen Reiss, Zdenka
Christopher Maltman, Mandryka
Benjamin Bruns, Matteo
Kurt Rydl, Count Waldner
Maria Nazarova, The Fiakermilli
Zoryana Kushpler, Adelaide
Concert Association Vienna State Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera
More Opera reviews
At half mast: Simon Boccanegra revived in Vienna
Orsolya Gyárfás, 19th April
Marco Armiliato's conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper's latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.
***11
Anna Netrebko shines in Vienna’s timeless Tosca
Laura Servidei, 18th April

In a world where opera productions often stray into the abstract, the Wiener Staatsoper’s Tosca offers a refreshing return to tradition – and Anna Netrebko delivers a splendid performance. 

****1
Tragedy in the mirror: Minghella’s Madama Butterfly in Vienna
Laura Servidei, 14th March

Ermonela Jaho returns to one of her signature roles as Cio-Cio-San, delivering a searing and deeply nuanced portrayal. 

****1
Too much and too little: Jan Lauwers’ restless Clemenza in Vienna
Chanda VanderHart, 12th March
The creative team behind the new Staatsoper Clemenza is unwilling to trust that Mozart’s opera is interesting enough to stand on its own. 
***11
An Idomeneo shattered to pieces at the Wiener Staatsoper
Orsolya Gyárfás, 23rd January
A committed cast struggles to lend a spark of life to Kasper Holten's static staging of Mozart's first mature opera.
**111
A holiday Bohème: Puccini, Zeffirelli and tradition in Vienna
Laura Servidei, 21st December

Giacomo Sagripanti conducts a luxuriant reading with a cast anchored by Juan Diego Flórez and Nicole Car, in Zeffirelli’s familiar, generous, unabashedly emotional production. 

***11
More reviews...
Read reviews of
Anna GablerArabellaBenjamin BrunsChen ReissChristopher MaltmanConcert Association Vienna State Opera ChorusKurt RydlMaria NazarovaMarianne GlittenbergOrchestra of the Vienna State OperaPatrick LangeRichard StraussRolf GlittenbergSven-Eric BechtolfVienna State OperaZoryana Kushpler
Related articles
Loading image...
A jack of all trades: Michael Spyres on Vienna, Tristan and Verdi
Loading image...
Bachtrack top ten: Johann Strauss II in Vienna
Loading image...
Elena Stikhina on Salzburg, Tosca and the reality of a singer’s life
Loading image...
Taking another fearless leap: Sonya Yoncheva
Jonathan Sutherland
Jonathan Sutherland
Jonathan Sutherland is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is also an internationally renowned concert pianist specializing in the music of the 1930s. Jonathan’s first operatic experience was hearing Maria Callas sing Tosca in Covent Garden and he has since heard performances in all continents of the world including over 60 different productions at the Wiener Staatsoper. He has written for The Australian, Opera Today and The Opera Critic as well as Bachtrack. Jonathan speaks English, French, German and Italian fluently and is based in the south of France near Nice.