A great night for a Gounod rarity in Leipzig

By Hugo Shirley, 22 May 2017

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“a smart staging that wisely plumps for clarity of action”

Reviewed at Oper Leipzig, Leipzig on 20 May 2017

Gounod, Cinq-Mars

Oper Leipzig

David Reiland, Conductor

Anthony Pilavachi, Director

Markus Meyer, Set Designer

Mathias Vidal, Le marquis de Cinq-Mars

Jonathan Michie, Le conseiller de Thou

Mark Schnaible, Père Joseph

Fabienne Conrad, Princesse Marie de Gonzague

Danae Kontora, Marion Delorme

Sejong Chang, Le roi

Sébastien Soulès, Le vicomte de Fontrailles

Keith Boldt, De Montmort

Sandra Maxheimer, Ninon de l'Enclos

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Oper Leipzig Chorus

Leipziger Ballett

Julia Grunwald, Choreography

Michael Röger, Lighting Designer

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Oper Leipzig

Mark Pullinger, 25th May

Two notable debuts dominate Oper Leipzig's notable Lady Macbeth revival: Kristine Opolais as Katerina and Andris Nelsons in the pit.

****1

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.

****1

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.

*****

An electrifying Carmen from Oper Leipzig

Gregor Forbes, 23rd November

With an excellent cast and sumptuous orchestral playing, Oper Leipzig delivers a vivid evening of enjoyment.

****1

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.

****1

Magnificent singers, orchestra and production in a Leipzig Siegfried

Ako Imamura, 1st July

Siegfried in Leipzig succeeds on all fronts: an engaging production, a great ensemble of singers and a well-conducted orchestra.

****1

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Hugo Shirley

Hugo Shirley is a Berlin-based writer and musicologist. He has written widely as a critic in the UK, including for The Spectator, the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, and has held editorial posts at both Opera and Gramophone. He was editor of 30-Second Opera (Ivy Press, 2015) and has a PhD in musicology from King's College London, where his thesis focused on Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.

“Nuit resplendissante”: a great night for a Gounod rarity in Leipzig