Murdering the customers, murdering the score

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 16 May 2015

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Reviewed at Estonian National Opera House, Tallinn on 14 May 2015

Hindemith, Cardillac

Estonian National Opera

Vello Pähn, Conductor

Vilppu Kiljunen, Director

Kimmo Viskari, Costume Designer, Set Designer

Janne Shevtshenko, Cardillac's daughter

Heli Veskus, The Lady

Sergiu Saplacan, Knight

Jyrki Anttila, Officer

Rauno Elp, Cardillac

Mart Laur, The gold merchant

Tamara Gallo, Mezzo-soprano

A dramatic Roméo et Juliette at Estonian National Opera

David Karlin, 23rd October

Stephen Barlow's intelligent production makes Gounod's grand opéra as dramatic as it is tuneful.

****1

King of the Castle: Verdi’s Macbeth in Savonlinna

Mark Pullinger, 4th July

Olavinlinna, also known as St Olaf's Castle, provides an atmospheric setting for Verdi's take on Shakespeare's “Scottish play”.

****1

Satan, sex, blood and redemption: Faust in Finland

Roy Westbrook, 11th July

Auguin conducted as if he really believes in this evergreen work, which was wonderful to hear in the composer’s rather overlooked anniversary year.

****1

Rautavaara's The Mine in Budapest

Katherine Syer, 21st October

Opening the weekend that marked the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution, The Mine (A Bánya), the first of Rautavaara's nine operas, dramatizes events from those turbulent times.

****1

Frauenliebe und -sterben: Kratzer’s triple bill at Staatsoper Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 15th April

Director Tobias Kratzer engineers a haunting pasticcio of Schumann, Bartók and Zemlinsky, tracing the domestic sphere’s shift from romantic surrender to the blood-soaked secrets of a century-spanning house.

****1

Diamonds and steel: Anna Pirozzi rules in La Scala’s Turandot revival

Laura Servidei, 12th April

Visually enchanting and meticulously staged, this centenary revival confirms Livermore's production as a modern classic.

****1

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Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Ilana Walder-Biesanz is a product manager for Yahoo, a theatre and opera critic, and a classically trained mezzo-soprano. She explored theater and opera stagings as a Gates Scholar at Cambridge and as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany. She currently writes for Bachtrack, San Francisco Classical Voice, and Stark Insider. Twitter: @ilana_wb.

Murdering the customers, murdering the score: Cardillac in Estonia