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

The early flowering of opera: a fragrant L’Orfeo at Schwetzingen

Mengguang Huang, 3rd May

Markus Bothe’s Botticelli-inspired production fuses tableau vivant aesthetics with Jörg Halubek’s surgical musical precision, offering a peerless, vivid tribute to the fragrant dawn of opera.

****1

Boston Doodle Dandy: Boston Lyric Opera presents La Fille du régiment

Kevin Wells, 1st May

Very few singers can hold an audience in the palm of their hand the way Brenda Rae as Marie does in this rollicking frolic.

****1

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

Deep into the American psyche: Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men

Hilary Stroh, 1st May

Carlisle Floyd's operatic setting of John Steinbeck’s classic novella is given a new production in the composer's centenary year at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

****1

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

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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.