In Konwitschny's modern Medea, monsters are made by men

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 28 December 2017

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“Without hitting the audience over the heads, this Medea sends a clear political message”

Reviewed at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Stuttgart on 27 December 2017

Cherubini, Médée/Medea

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Alejo Pérez, Conductor

Peter Konwitschny, Director

Johannes Leiacker, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Cornelia Ptassek, Médée

Sebastian Kohlhepp, Jason

Helene Schneiderman, Néris

Shigeo Ishino, Créon

Josefin Feiler, Dircé

Staatsopernchor Stuttgart

Staatsorchester Stuttgart

Bang to rights: a rare outing for an opera from the former GDR

Matthew Rye, 13th November

Die Verurteilung des Lukullus, Paul Dessau and Bertolt Brecht's political satire about a Roman general judged for his deeds after death, has lost none of its relevance in Staatsoper Stuttgart's new production.

****1

Rousseau and a boxing ring: Ariodante in Stuttgart

Jonathan Sutherland, 17th December

In Jussi Wieler and Sergio Morabito’s pugilistic production of Ariodante, the singers needed as much physical and gymnastic dexterity as vocal finesse.

***11

Sex and violence in the ghetto: Pique Dame

Ako Imamura, 6th July

Oper Stuttgart’s new production of The Queen of Spades (Pique-Dame) pushes a directorial tendency to update opera to a modern setting to an extreme.

***11

Devil in the detail: Gounod's Faust in Stuttgart

Matthew Rye, 3rd November

A thrilling new staging of Gounod's opera from the team that brought Bayreuth its current Ring, with musical rewards to match.

*****

Modern terror: Salome in Stuttgart

Ako Imamura, 1st December

Director Kirill Serebrennikov gives us a frightening new reality of the modern world beset by war and terrorism in his reimagining of Strauss's Salome

****1

Im Sog der Radikalisierung: Die Meistersinger in Stuttgart

Alexandra Richter, 1st March

Die neue Produktion von Wagners komischer Oper beeindruckt mit einer stimmlichen Top-Besetzung auch aus dem eigenen Ensemble; die Regie dagegen versucht konzeptionell zu viel und bleibt dabei auf der Strecke.

***11

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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.