The mise-en-scène is the star in this Amsterdam Bohème

By Sanne Thierens, 22 April 2014

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Reviewed at Royal Theater Carré, Amsterdam on 15 April 2014

Puccini, La bohème

State Opera Plovdiv

Dian Tchobanov, Conductor

Maria Elena Mexia, Director

Steve Almerighi, Costume Designer

Carmen Castañón, Set Designer

Chiara Giudice, Mimì

Maria Panova, Musetta

Raffaele Abete, Rodolfo

Emilio Marcucci, Marcello

Orlando Polidoro, Benoît

A noble Norma trapped in a hollow dystopia

Andrew Larkin, 24th May

Salome Jicia delivers a vocally impressive and emotionally committed Norma, but Orpha Phelan’s post-apocalyptic staging fatally weakens Bellini’s sacred tragedy.

***11

A deli-cious revival of Rossini’s Il turco in Italia at Glyndebourne

Dominic Lowe, 23rd May

Mariame Clément’s production of Rossini's meta comedy is tightly revived with some excellent singing. Come for the writing tips, stay for the cured meats.

****1

Superb musical performances in Pinchgut's Scarlatti rarity in Sydney

Sandra Bowdler, 23rd May

As usual, Pinchgut lavishes musical excellence on an obscure Baroque work... but why stage an oratorio?

****1

The Met’s Frida y Diego proves visually stunning, musically thrilling

David Wolfson, 22nd May

Deborah Colker and her design team create visually vibrant worlds for the Met’s new production of El último sueño de Frida y Diego, by Pulitzer Prize winner Gabriela Lena Frank.

*****

Glyndebourne’s first Tosca: vocally strong but imperfect

David Karlin, 21st May

Ted Huffman brings some interesting ideas to his first Glyndebourne production. Excellent singing is let down by indifferent physical acting.

***11

Dudamel’s LA Phil Walküre proves worth the wait

Matthew Richard Martinez, 21st May

An enveloping performance of Die Walküre spans three consecutive evenings, featuring world class singing in Frank Gehry’s stunning space.

****1

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Sanne Thierens

Sanne is passionate about music and theatre and interested in what happens when the two are combined. She studied Liberal Arts and Sciences with majors in Musicology, Theatre & Media Studies and Piano Performance. After completing her degree at University College Roosevelt (Middelburg, The Netherlands), Sanne moved to London where she obtained an MA degree in Musicology from King’s College, University of London.