A sleazy, sardonic Ballo

By Simon Rees, 05 September 2014

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Reviewed at St Birgitta Convent, Tallinn on 15 August 2014

Verdi, Un ballo in maschera

Helikon Opera

Vladimir Ponkin, Conductor

Dmitry Bertman, Director

Tatiana Tulubieva, Set Designer

Elena Mikhaylenko, Amelia

Lydia Svetozarova, Oscar

Ksenia Viaznikova, Ulrica

Ilya Govzich, Riccardo

Aleksei Isaev, Renato

Undine und Iolanta: zwei russische Märchenopern in Wien

Alexandra Richter, 22nd February

Das Gastspiel der Helikon-Oper Moskau am Theater an der Wien zeigt Beginn und Ende von Tschaikowskys künstlerischen Schaffens.

***11

Golden Cockerel as sharp political satire in Düsseldorf

Mark Pullinger, 15th April

Dmitry Bertman's simple, stylish production of Rimsky-Korsakov's final opera finds a more recent satirical target.

****1

Grâce au Démon : Rubinstein sort de l'oubli à Bordeaux

Stéphane Lelièvre, 3rd February

Histoire touchante que celle de ce Démon à qui un Dieu particulièrement cruel refusera la rédemption par l’amour. Excellente distribution et mise en scène idoine pour cette belle redécouverte proposée par l’Opéra de Bordeaux.

****1

Irish National Opera’s new Rusalka intrigues more than it convinces

Andrew Larkin, 22nd March

Netia Jones’ modern reimagining intrigues more than it convinces, but still makes a strong case for Dvořák’s dark fairy tale.

***11

Billy Budd, or the Triumph of Beauty at the Opéra de Lyon

Stéphane Lelièvre, 21st March

The Opéra de Lyon presents Britten’s masterpiece for the first time: a triumph, both visually and musically, which is received with great enthusiasm by the audience.

****1

Magnifying Glass: a magnificent Les Enfants terribles in Lille

Elena Luporini, 20th March

A new production of Les Enfants terribles at the Opéra de Lille drags the audience into a terribly marvelous labyrinth, courtesy of conductor Virginie Déjos and directors Matthias Piro and Lisa Moro.

*****

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Simon Rees

Simon Rees writes programme articles and surtitles for most British opera companies, and reviews for Opera, Opera Now, Musical Opinion, Early Music Today and a wide range of other publications. A novelist, poet and librettist, from 1989 to 2012 he was dramaturg at Welsh National Opera. He lives in Cardiff.

A sleazy, sardonic Ballo from Helikon Opera in Talinn