Robert Wilson's Pelléas et Mélisande in Barcelona

By James Karas, 02 July 2012

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Reviewed at Gran Teatre del Liceu: Auditorium, Barcelona on 29 June 2012

Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande

Barcelona Opera

Michael Boder, Conductor

Robert Wilson, Director

María Bayo, Mezzo-soprano

Laurent Naouri, Baritone

Sir John Tomlinson, Bass

Jean-Sébastien Bou, Pelléas

Olatz Saitua, Yniold

Hilary Summers, Geneviève

Reaching for the light: Arvo Pärt and Robert Wilson's Adam's Passion

Alissa Balocco, 31st March

For the first time in Italy the opera that brings together the spiritual music of the Estonian composer and the minimalist direction of Robert Wilson.

****1

Classic Robert Wilson: Turandot opens Canadian Opera Company season

John Gilks, 28th September

Director Robert Wilson and conductor Carlo Rizzi combine effectively to create a visually striking and musically memorable Turandot that emphasizes the hieratic and the mythical with a notable absence of unnecessary histrionics.

****1

Norma in Zurich: superb vocalists trapped in a minimalist staging

Sarah Batschelet, 2nd June

A production which has Robert Wilson's signature all over it, but feels like a wagon in front of the horse.

***11

Bob Wilson's cool minimalist Butterfly is back in Amsterdam

Nicolas Nguyen, 23rd April

Robert Wilson's Madama Butterfly is back in Amsterdam starring rising star Elena Stikhina as the doomed Cio-Cio-San.

***11

Quiet tragedy: Robert Wilson's Otello in Baden-Baden

Ako Imamura, 16th April

Zubin Mehta conducts Verdi's Otello in an iconic Robert Wilson production of stylized theater where less is more. The effect was mesmerizing.

****1

Wilson's lunar Trouvère the antithesis of grand opéra

Renato Verga, 29th September

When they asked Wilson to stage an opera by Verdi, the Texan director replied "I'll never do it!". Now he is at his fourth Verdi's production.

***11

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James Karas

James Karas is a writer and a lawyer. He holds degrees in English Literature and Law. He reviews opera and theatre extensively and writes about cultural matters for various publications.