Twilight of the Wagner Clan

By John Johnston, 01 May 2017

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“Dorman's eclectic musical style, rarely quoting Wagner, sardonically comments on the story”

Reviewed at Badisches Staatstheater: Großes Haus, Karlsruhe on 28 April 2017

Dorman, Wahnfried

Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe

Dominic Limburg, Conductor

Keith Warner, Director

Tilo Steffens, Set Designer

Julia Müer, Costume Designer

Stefan Woinke, Lighting Designer

Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe

Manuel Kolip, Video

Raphael Rösler, Dramaturgy

Matthias Wohlbrecht, Houston Chamberlain

Christina Niessen, Cosima Wagner

Barbara Dobrzanska, Anna Chamberlain

Eric Jurenas, Siegfried Wagner

Andrew Watts, Siegfried Wagner

Ina Schlingensiepen, Winifred Wagner

Agnieszka Tomaszewska, Eva von Bülow

Armin Kolarczyk, Wagner-dæmon

Eleazar Rodriguez, Der Meisterjünger (Hitler)

Renatus Mészár, Hermann Levi

Konstantin Gorny, Bakunin

Irina Simmes, Isolde von Bülow

Jaco Venter, Der Kaiser

Christina Mohari, Tochter 1

Simona Habich, Tochter 2

Ulrich Wagner, Choirmaster / chorus director

Siroe, Re di Persia: a majestic and true-to-form Karlsruhe revival

Mengguang Huang, 28th February

Ulrich Peters' 2024 production justifies the artistic value of Handel’s unjustly neglected opera and the literary value of Metastasio's libretto.

****1

Rinaldo conducts Rinaldo at the Karlsruhe Handel Festival

Mengguang Huang, 26th February

With dazzling set designs and powerhouse sopranos, Karlsruhe’s Rinaldo upholds the opera's Baroque fantasy allure in a flawed yet fascinating production, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini.

***11

Handel's Alcina in Karlsruhe: a great production with great singing

Sandra Bowdler, 23rd February

Handel's Alcina at the Karlsruhe 2019 Handel Festival scores on all fronts, with two Australians taking the main roles.

****1

Handel's Serse – the Vegas version – in Karlsruhe

Sandra Bowdler, 15th February

The problem with on-stage vulgarity is that, while it might be sophisticated and knowing satire, it ends by being what it is parodying.

***11

Overflowing with emotions: Adriana Lecouvreur

Zenaida des Aubris, 6th May

Musically and scenically sumptuous melodrama with a solid cast in Karlsruhe.

*****

Breaking the Waves in Karlsruhe: an der Grenze des Menschlichen

Christoph Wurzel, 31st January

Ganz kann die Übersetzung des preisgekrönten Films von Lars von Trier in die Form der Oper nicht überzeugen. Am Staatstheater Karlsruhe kam Missy Mazzolis Breaking the Waves aber in einer packenden Inszenierung heraus.

****1

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John Johnston

John Johnston was a contributor to Bachtrack 2017-19. John was a true gentleman and lifelong opera "nut" who frequently travelled across Europe to catch performances, making regular pilgrimages to the Bayreuth Festival among others. His supreme knowledge and appreciation of voices meant he took to reviewing like the proverbial duck to water. We enjoyed his style and his insatiable appetite for catching rare operas and new productions wherever he could.

Twilight of the Wagner Clan depicted in a new opera in Karlsruhe