A Wagner rarity: no wine, no women and no carnival either!

By Alexander Hall, 26 October 2015

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Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 25 October 2015

Wagner, Das Liebesverbot (The Ban on Love),

Chelsea Opera Group

Anthony Negus, Conductor

Helena Dix, Isabella

Elizabeth Cragg, Dorella

Kirstin Sharpin, Mariana

Toby Girling, Antonio

Peter Hoare, Claudio

Paul Curievici, Luzio

David Soar, Friedrich

Nicholas Folwell, Brighella

Piran Legg, Danieli

Chelsea Opera Group Orchestra

Nuns on the run: Le Comte Ory

Mark Pullinger, 25th June

Italian swagger and French farce combining to raise some much needed laughs despite the restrictions of a concert performance at Cadogan Hall.

***11

At it hammer and tongs: Chelsea Opera Group's Trovatore

Dominic Lowe, 28th February

A spirited performance of Verdi's beloved work highlighted the virtues of opera in concert.

***11

Ernani: Sweltering heat, Spanish passions

Mark Pullinger, 3rd July

Rarely performed, Verdi's fifth opera Ernani is full of fiery passions, with a relentless flow of melodic invention, as heard in this concert performance by Chelsea Opera Group.

***11

To Paradise and back: a thrilling Roi de Lahore

Mark Pullinger, 1st March

Chelsea Opera Group presents the strongest case imaginable for Massenet’s Le Roi de Lahore, with Michael Spyres, no less, as the King.

****1

Asmik Grigorian strengthens the Met’s revival of Eugene Onegin

Susan Stempleski, 20th April

The Lithuanian soprano’s riveting performance as the central character in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece lights up Deborah Warner’s mostly bland production.

****1

At half mast: Simon Boccanegra revived in Vienna

Orsolya Gyárfás, 19th April

Marco Armiliato's conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper's latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.

***11

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Das Liebesverbot: A Wagner rarity with no wine, no women and no carnival!