Passion, savagery and humor: Boston Symphony at Carnegie Hall

Andris Nelsons, Brenden Gunnell and the Boston Symphony

Kristine Opolais

By Susan Stempleski, 01 February 2024

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“embracing the music’s idiosyncracies and dynamic extremes, he shaped a thrilling performance”

Reviewed at Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium, New York City on 30 January 2024

Shostakovich, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (concert performance)

Andris Nelsons, Conductor

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Günther Groissböck, Boris Timofeyevich Izmailov

Brenden Gunnell, Sergey

Peter Hoare, Zinoviy Borisovich Izmailov

Kristine Opolais, Katerina Lvovna Izmailova

Maria Barakova, Sonyetka

Michelle Trainor, Aksinya

Matthew Dibattista, Schoolmaster

Alexander Kravets, Tattered peasant

Dmitry Belosselskiy, Old Convict

Anatoli Sivko, Police inspector

Goran Jurić, Priest

Patrick Guetti, Policeman

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

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

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

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.

*****

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

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Susan Stempleski

Based in New York City, Susan is a retired specialist in second and foreign language teaching and the author/editor of several professional books for language teachers and many widely used textbooks for English language learners around the world. An avid concertgoer, she spends her time attending operas and other classical music events in New York and Paris. Since 2002, she has regularly published reviews on Classical Source. A keen Francophile, she has a particularly strong interest in French music, literature and film.

Passion, savagery and humor: Shostakovich from the Boston Symphony at Carnegie Hall