Barrie Kosky’s reimagined Golden Cockerel launches Adelaide Festival

By Brian Angus, 07 March 2022

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“Gimadieva... the richness of her voice resonating throughout the auditorium”

Reviewed at Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival Theatre, Adelaide on 6 March 2022

Rimsky-Korsakov, Le Coq d'or (The Golden Cockerel)

Arvo Volmer, Conductor

Barrie Kosky, Director

Rufus Didwiszus, Set Designer

Victoria Behr, Costume Designer

Franck Evin, Lighting Designer

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Adelaide Festival Chorus

Pavlo Hunka, Tsar Dodon

Venera Gimadieva, Queen of Shemakha

Nicholas Jones, Prince Guidon

Samuel Dundas, Prince Afron

Mischa Schelomianski, General Polkan

Andrei Popov, Astrologer

Samantha Clarke, Golden Cockerel

Alexandra Durseneva, Amelfa

Otto Pichler, Choreography

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

Barrie Kosky directs a ferocious new Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

Zenaida des Aubris, 31st January

Shostakovich's opera is laid bare in Berlin, to devastating effect, with a distinguished cast led by Ambur Braid.

****1

Glyndebourne's Saul still packs a punch 10 years on

Nick Boston, 8th June

Returning from the original run, Christopher Purves and Iestyn Davies were joined by a strong cast and chorus for a revival of Barrie Kosky's striking production.

*****

Hotel Metamorphosis: Vivaldi reborn through Ovid's lens in Salzburg

Laura Servidei, 8th June

A pasticcio of superb musicianship is the main event at the Venice-themed Whitsun Festival.

****1

The little man has his day: a nasty and brutish Die Walküre

Peter Quantrill, 1st May

The latest, thrilling instalment of Barrie Kosky's Ring cycle at Covent Garden does not have to strain for contemporary relevance.

*****

Opulent minimalism: Kosky directs a new staging of Akhnaten

Zenaida des Aubris, 23rd March

Barrie Kosky's new production of Philip Glass' Akhnaten for Komische Oper at the Schillertheater removes any egyptological references.

****1

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Brian Angus

Brian is a lover of opera, and has enjoyed attending operas for over forty years. Brian has very catholic tastes; favourite classic composers are Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi, contemporary composers John Adams and Jake Heggie, and a curiosity about Stockhausen’s music. He is always seeking opportunities to expand his appreciation of the world of music and opera.