Welser-Möst unveils a musically superb Ariadne auf Naxos

By Timothy Robson, 14 January 2019

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“Franz Welser-Möst at his best in an opera that he clearly adores”

Reviewed at Severance Music Center: Mandel Concert Hall, Cleveland on 13 January 2019

Strauss R., Ariadne auf Naxos

Franz Welser-Möst, Conductor

Frederic Wake-Walker, Director

Alexander V. Nichols, Set Designer

Jason Southgate, Costume Designer

Tamara Wilson, The Primadonna (Ariadne)

Daniela Fally, Zerbinetta

Kate Lindsey, Composer

Andreas Schager, The Tenor (Bacchus)

Julie Mathevet, Echo

Ying Fang, Naiad

Daryl Freedman, Dryad

Miles Mykkanen, Brighella

Jonas Hacker, Dancing Master

James Kryshak, Scaramuccio

Ludwig Mittelhammer, Harlequin

Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Music Master

Anthony Schneider, Truffaldino

Wolfgang Brendel, The Major-Domo

The Cleveland Orchestra

Unreal city: The Rake's Progress at the Royal Academy of Music

Benjamin Poore, 22nd November

Frederic Wake-Walker's realisation of the Hogarth-inspired opera is visually bracing and assuredly sung.

****1

Juan Diego Flórez charms as Roméo in Florence

Elena Luporini, 3rd May

For the 84th edition of its summer festival, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino presents its first ever production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.

***11

A successful, interactive opening of the Donizetti Opera Festival

Laura Servidei, 19th November

Riccardo Frizza conducts Alberto Zedda's critical edition of L’elisir d’amore with a great cast, including tenor star Javier Camarena and a very young, very promising prima donna, Caterina Sala.

****1

Strong cast lifts constrained staging in Glyndebourne's Fidelio

Nick Boston, 16th October

A vast panopticon cages strong musical performances in Wake-Walker's Fidelio at Glyndebourne, with Dorothea Herbert and Adam Smith standing out vocally and emotionally as Leonore and Florestan.

***11

Purcell and beyond: Errollyn Wallen’s dramatic new Dido’s Ghost

David Smythe, 6th June

A dramatic new opera from Errollyn Wallen, with the Dunedin Consort, chorus and a strong cast including Isabelle Peters, Matthew Brook, Nardus Williams and Allison Cook.

****1

Ariadne in Milan: the director cannot find the thread

Renato Verga, 23rd April

Frederic Wake-Walker sticks to a vapid pop-parody that demeans the intellectual message of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.

***11

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Timothy Robson

We are saddened to learn of the death of Tim Robson, a long-time Bachtrack contributor (2012-21). Tim was an organist in Cleveland, Ohio and his repertoire extended to all musical periods, with a special interest in contemporary music. As a blogger he was a regular contributor to ClevelandClassical.com. In his parallel career as a librarian, Tim was Associate Director for Academic Engagement at the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University. Our condolences to his family.

Welser-Möst unveils a musically superb Ariadne auf Naxos in Cleveland