A Dvořák revival fit for a king in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 20 September 2019

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“To modern ears most of the score seems solidly and unabashedly Romantic”

Reviewed at Rudolfinum: Dvořák Hall, Prague on 19 September 2019

Dvořák, Král a uhlír (The King and the Charcoal burner) (Concert performance)

Tomáš Brauner, Conductor

Jozef Benci, Matěj

Kateřina Kněžíková, Liduška

Richard Samek, Jeník

Roman Hoza, King Matyáš

Lucie Hilscherová, Anna

Josef Moravec, Jindřich

Dana Burešová, Královna

Jana Sibera, Eva

Jan Šťáva, Sekáček

Prague Philharmonic Choir

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

10 Days in a Madhouse receives Canadian premiere

John Gilks, 16th June

10 Days in a Madhouse is a musically and dramatically excellent but disturbing insight into conditions in a women’s asylum brought to life in Toronto by an excellent production.

****1

Galați Cenerentola lights up the Bucharest stage

Peter Quantrill, 15th June

First class young voices and bewitchingly stylised designs shine through the murk at the Bucharest Opera Festival.

****1

L’Orfeo, the world’s first great opera, premieres at Glyndebourne

Roy Westbrook, 14th June

One element of the Orpheus myth is about creativity, so at Glyndebourne, William Kentridge sets Monteverdi’s opera in an artist's studio,

****1

Monteverdi and Ulisse return happily to Garsington Opera

David Karlin, 12th June

Laurence Cummings and John Caird’s second Garsington exploration of the operas of Monteverdi brims with wonderfully playing and singing in an attractive setting.

****1

Darkness without passion: Damiano Michieletto’s Carmen at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 12th June

Despite Michieletto's visual gloom, the evening is redeemed by Myung-whun Chung’s masterful conducting and a cast that brings conviction to a production that rarely trusts the opera’s own dramatic power.

**111

Aldeburgh Festival dives in at the deep end with Pelléas et Mélisande

Eleanor Knight, 12th June

Rory Kinnear directs a minimally semi-staged performance of Debussy's problematic opera at Snape Maltings, but Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC Scottish SO provide the detail.

****1

More reviews...

Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.