Jaap van Zweden blazes trail for the HK Phil

By Alan Yu, 22 January 2018

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“Nearly five hours of musical drama flew by as if it was a fleeting moment”

Reviewed at Hong Kong Cultural Centre: Concert Hall, Hong Kong on 21 January 2018

Wagner, Götterdämmerung

Jaap van Zweden, Conductor

Daniel Brenna, Siegfried

Gun-Brit Barkmin, Brünnhilde

Shenyang, Gunther

Amanda Majeski, Gutrune

Eric Halfvarson, Hagen

Peter Kálmán, Alberich

Michelle DeYoung, Waltraute

Sarah Castle, First Norn

Stephanie Houtzeel, Second Norn

Jenufa Gleich, Third Norn

Aurhelia Varak, Wellgunde

Eri Nakamura, Woglinde

Hermine Haselböck, Flosshilde

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Chiaroscuro extinguished: a self-indulgent Poppea in Copenhagen

Mengguang Huang, 26th April

Christoph Marthaler’s staging of Monteverdi’s Poppea for the Royal Danish Opera is a study in boredom.

**111

Wretches like us: the LPO’s concert Wozzeck cuts to the quick

Peter Quantrill, 25th April

Beautifully prepared singing and playing brings out the tender side to Berg's modernist classic as part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes festival.

****1

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

John Gilks, 25th April

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

Trojan’s Carousel: a magical night of dreams come true in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd April

A vintage opera at the National Theatre offers charming adventures for children and musical sophistication for adults.

*****

A sorta fairy tale: Sleepers Awake premieres at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 22nd April

A new opera by Gregory Spears subverts the Sleeping Beauty trope, with middling results.

**111

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Alan Yu

The first concert Alan attended was Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. For 7 years he presented classical music programmes for Radio Television Hong Kong, partly to pay his way through university. He attends concerts whenever he can and believes there is no substitute for the thrill of live performances. He writes here.

Jaap van Zweden blazes trail for the Hong Kong Philharmonic with Götterdämmerung