A Dvořák revival fit for a king in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 20 September 2019

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“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

Longborough Festival Opera season starts slow with Orlando

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Beth Taylor gives the lows and highs of Handel's heroics an almighty, whole-body shakedown in Sinéad O'Neill’s new staging of Handel's Orlando.

***11

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

Bang! Mozart’s volcano erupts in Opera Holland Park’s Così fan tutte

Peter Quantrill, 28th May

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

****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.

*****

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

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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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.