Light and shadows in Rattle and Sellars' Médée at Staatsoper Berlin

Magdalena Kožená (Médée)

Magdalena Kožená (Médée) and Reinoud Van Mechelen (Jason)

Magdalena Kožená (Médée) and ensemble

Carolyn Sampson (Créuse) and Reinoud Van Mechelen (Jason)

By Elena Luporini, 21 November 2023

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“vivid, eye-catching lighting isn’t enough to sustain a work whose dramatic tension often wavers”

Reviewed at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin on 19 November 2023

Charpentier, Médée

Staatsoper Berlin

Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor

Peter Sellars, Director

Frank Gehry, Set Designer

Camille Assaf, Costume Designer

James F Ingalls, Lighting Designer

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra

Staatsopernchor Berlin

Antonio Cuenca Ruiz, Dramaturgy

Detlef Giese, Dramaturgy

Magdalena Kožená, Medée

Reinoud Van Mechelen, Jason

Luca Tittoto, Créon

Carolyn Sampson, Créuse

Jehanne Amzal, Cléone

Markéta Cukrová, Nérine

Gonzalo Quinchahual, Arcas

Gyula Orendt, Oronte

Dani Juris, Choirmaster / chorus director

Eyes wide shut for Berlin’s new Ballo

Mark Pullinger, 29th March

At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Rafael R Villalobos addresses the problems he perceives with Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, although the musical performances – led by Anna Netrebko – compensate.

***11

Young stars shine in the Staatsoper Berlin’s Rosenkavalier

Mark Pullinger, 28th March

Patricia Nolz makes an outstanding role debut as Christian Thielemann conducts a thrusting Rosenkavalier to open the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's Festtage.

*****

Love is in the hare: a new Cunning Little Vixen opens in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 28th February

The Staatsoper's new production of Janáček's opera buzzes with life thanks to Sir Simon Rattle's conducting and an excellent cast led by Vera-Lotte Boecker and Magdalena Kožená.

****1

Pintscher’s Das kalte Herz premieres at Staatsoper Unter den Linden

Elena Luporini, 14th January

On a snowy January evening, the premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s new opera Das kalte Herz fails to warm up the Berlin public.

**111

Happy 100th birthday, Wozzeck! Thielemann leads Berlin revival

Elena Luporini, 14th December

The Staatsoper Unter den Linden celebrates the 100th birthday of Alban Berg's masterpiece with a stellar cast in Andrea Breth’s revived production.

***11

Low on laughs: Die schweigsame Frau in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 19th July

Newly General Music Director Christian Thielemann and Jan Philipp Gloger bring Richard Strauss' Die schweigsame Frau to the Staatsoper Berlin for the first time, but la commedia is hardly stupenda.

**111

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Elena Luporini

After completing their Master's degree in Musicology in Rome, Elena has now moved to Berlin to dedicate themselves to more things musical. With a publication on Béla Bartók and a seminar at the Humboldt-Universität underway, their interests mostly veer toward 20th-century opera, with some forays into queer musicology. Some of their latest undertakings also include oboe lessons, stencil-making and tea-making.