Young and the Sydney Symphony perform a splendid Die Walküre

Simone Young and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Stuart Skelton (Siegmund) and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

The ride of the Valkyries

By Zoltán Szabó, 18 November 2024

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“Young’s baton sliced through the applause, hurling the orchestra into the Vorspiel of Act 2”

Reviewed at Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall, Sydney on 15 November 2024

Wagner, Die Walküre

Simone Young, Conductor

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Stuart Skelton, Siegmund

Peter Rose, Hunding

Vida Miknevičiūtė, Sieglinde

Tommi Hakala, Wotan

Alexandra Ionis, Fricka, Roßweiße

Anja Kampe, Brünnhilde

Helena Dix, Helmwige

Madeleine Pierard, Gerhilde

Natalie Aroyan, Ortlinde

Deborah Humble, Waltraute

Margaret Plummer, Siegrune

Kristin Darragh, Grimgerde

Liane Keegan, Schwertleite

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Peter Quantrill, 28th May

Mount Vesuvius looms over Cecilia Stinton’s compelling new production of Così fan tutte.

****1

Viennese splendour in Garsington’s Rosenkavalier revival

Roy Westbrook, 28th May

Bruno Ravella's splendid 2021 production of Strauss' opera of Viennese manners returns with a fine cast.

****1

A witty hotel Don Giovanni opens Blackwater Valley Festival

Andrew Larkin, 27th May

Tom Creed’s witty production at Lismore Castle delivers strong singing, sharp comedy and lively orchestral playing, even if the opera’s darker supernatural edges are somewhat diminished.

****1

Garsington’s new La traviata ticks every musical and dramatic box

David Karlin, 27th May

Music Director Douglas Boyd conducts a performance of exceptional musical quality, and Louisa Muller's uncontroversial but passionate direction makes this Traviata one for the ages.

*****

Werther revived at San Carlo: an anatomy of emotional isolation

Lorenzo Fiorito, 26th May

Willy Decker’s psychologically intense Werther returns to the Teatro di San Carlo with a deeply human interpretation by Francesco Demuro and refined conducting by Lorenzo Passerini.

*****

Opera Holland Park makes a convincing case for La fanciulla del West

Dominic Lowe, 26th May

A thoughtful production from Martin Lloyd-Evans and magnificent playing from Matthew Kofi Walden and the City of London Sinfonia make the case for why Puccini's under-appreciated work is actually so sophisticated.

****1

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Zoltán Szabó

Zoltán Szabó is a cellist and musicologist. Having migrated from his native Hungary to Australia in 1985, he worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney until 1991, when he became Principal Cello with Opera Australia. In 2017, he was awarded with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). Currently, he is teaching music history and musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Simone Young and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform a splendid Die Walküre