Julia Burbach delivers a potent Elixir in Prague

Vera Talerko (Adina)

Petr Nekoranec (Nemorino) and the Prague State Opera Chorus

Vera Talerko (Adina), Pavol Kubáň (Belcore) and the Prague State Opera Chorus

L'elisir d'amore

Petr Nekoranec (Nemorino)

By Frank Kuznik, 24 September 2023

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“Burbach does marvelous work with large numbers of people onstage”

Reviewed at State Opera (Státní opera), Prague on 22 September 2023

Donizetti, L'elisir d'amore

Prague State Opera

Andriy Yurkevych, Conductor

Anna Novotná-Pešková, Conductor

Julia Burbach, Director

Herbert Murauer, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Reinhard Traub, Lighting Designer

Prague State Opera Orchestra

Prague State Opera Chorus

Jitka Slavíková, Dramaturgy

Vera Talerko, Adina

Jana Sibera, Adina

Petr Nekoranec, Nemorino

Matteo Desole, Nemorino

Pavol Kubáň, Belcore

Lukáš Bařák, Belcore

Vincenzo Taormina, Dulcamara

Iurie Maimescu, Dulcamara

Magdaléna Hebousse, Giannetta

Karolína Levková, Giannetta

Prague National Theatre Opera Ballet

Cameron McMillan, Choreography

Parsifal reconsidered: A provocative improvisation in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 26th March

Timo Riihonen and Ester Pavlů stand out in a strong cast which carries Andreas Homoki's revised version of Wagner's final opera.

****1

Calixto Bieito’s Idomeneo runs out of time in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 28th September

At the Prague State Opera, Calixto Brieito relocates Mozart's opera seria to modern times, with disastrous results.

***11

Reimann's Lear makes for a dark season finale at Prague State Opera

Frank Kuznik, 7th June

Aribert Reimann's Lear takes no prisoners in a disturbing portrayal of a world gone awry, but Barbora Horáková's scattergun direction adds to the confusion.

***11

A politically charged new Manon in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 27th March

Puccini's classic takes on a harsh contemporary edge in a dark treatment by director Sláva Daubnerová at Prague's National Theatre.

****1

A rambunctious Platée revival in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd November

SKUTR's daring direction and Václav Luks's early music expertise combine to bring new vitality to a Baroque classic.

*****

To the apocalypse and beyond: Le Grand Macabre in Prague

David Karlin, 14th June

Nigel Lowery’s new production at Prague State Opera is a gusher of ideas, starting as slapstick but profoundly moving by the end.

****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.