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Marble and grit in Strauss’ 'problem child' in Leipzig

By Mark Pullinger, 14 June 2014
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“Doris Soffel’s Nurse is a sinister combination between female Mephistopheles and Fanny Craddock”
Reviewed at Oper Leipzig, Leipzig on 12 June 2014
Programme
Strauss R., Die Frau ohne Schatten
Performers
Oper Leipzig
Ulf Schirmer, Conductor
Balázs Kovalik, Director
Sebastian Ellrich, Costume Designer
Heike Scheele, Set Designer
Burkhard Fritz, Emperor
Simone Schneider, Empress
Doris Soffel, Nurse
Thomas Johannes Mayer, Barak, the Dyer
Jennifer Wilson, Barak the Dyer's Wife
Tuomas Pursio, The Messenger of Keikobad
Olena Tokar, The Voice of a Falcon, The Second Maid
Sandra Janke, A Voice From Above, The Third Maid
Sebastian Fuchsberger, The Apparition of a Youth
Paula Rummel, The First Maid, The Guardian of the Threshold
Dan Karlström, The Hunchback, Barak's Brother
Sejong Chang, The One-Armed Man, Barak’s Brother
Jonathan Michie, The One-Eyed Man, Barak’s Brother
Oper Leipzig Chorus
Leipzig Opera Children's Chorus
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Oper Leipzig
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Two notable debuts dominate Oper Leipzig's notable Lady Macbeth revival: Kristine Opolais as Katerina and Andris Nelsons in the pit. 
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Spellbinding Parsifal caps Oper Leipzig's massive Wagner 22 Festival
Ako Imamura, 14th July
Ulf Schirmer bows out as General Music Director as the last of Wagner's 13 operas completes a successful Festival Wagner 22 in Leipzig.
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Lohengrin as chamber opera in Patrick Bialdyga's Leipzig production
Ako Imamura, 26th March
A new production of Lohengrin at Oper Leipzig is conceived as an intimate chamber opera and succeeds with brilliant musical performances.
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Gregor Forbes, 23rd November
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Leipzig's Ring Cycle concludes with a satisfying Götterdämmerung
Ako Imamura, 2nd July
Despite some weakness in the main singers, the overall level of musical performances was consistently high in Leipzig, with a stark and effective production.
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Ako Imamura, 1st July
Siegfried in Leipzig succeeds on all fronts: an engaging production, a great ensemble of singers and a well-conducted orchestra.
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More reviews...
Read reviews of
Balázs KovalikBurkhard FritzDan KarlströmDie Frau ohne SchattenDoris SoffelHeike ScheeleJennifer WilsonJonathan MichieLeipzig Gewandhaus OrchestraLeipzig Opera Children's ChorusOlena TokarOper LeipzigOper Leipzig ChorusPaula RummelRichard StraussSandra JankeSebastian EllrichSejong ChangSimone SchneiderThomas Johannes MayerTuomas PursioUlf Schirmer
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Mark Pullinger
Mark Pullinger
Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.