Vienna's “Lohengrin in Lederhosen” redeemed by musical performances

By George Jahn, 02 July 2021

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“it is difficult to imagine anything better than the inspired performance of Meister and his players”

Reviewed at Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna on 30 June 2021

Wagner, Lohengrin

Vienna State Opera

Cornelius Meister, Conductor

Andreas Homoki, Director

Wolfgang Gussmann, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Franck Evin, Lighting Designer

Werner Hintze, Dramaturgy

Klaus Florian Vogt, Lohengrin

Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, Ortrud

Kwangchul Youn, Heinrich der Vogler

Johan Reuter, Friedrich von Telramund

Sara Jakubiak, Elsa von Brabant

Adrian Eröd, The King's Herald

Concert Association Vienna State Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera

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

Anna Netrebko shines in Vienna’s timeless Tosca

Laura Servidei, 18th April

In a world where opera productions often stray into the abstract, the Wiener Staatsoper’s Tosca offers a refreshing return to tradition – and Anna Netrebko delivers a splendid performance.

****1

Tragedy in the mirror: Minghella’s Madama Butterfly in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 14th March

Ermonela Jaho returns to one of her signature roles as Cio-Cio-San, delivering a searing and deeply nuanced portrayal.

****1

Too much and too little: Jan Lauwers’ restless Clemenza in Vienna

Chanda VanderHart, 12th March

The creative team behind the new Staatsoper Clemenza is unwilling to trust that Mozart’s opera is interesting enough to stand on its own.

***11

An Idomeneo shattered to pieces at the Wiener Staatsoper

Orsolya Gyárfás, 23rd January

A committed cast struggles to lend a spark of life to Kasper Holten's static staging of Mozart's first mature opera.

**111

A holiday Bohème: Puccini, Zeffirelli and tradition in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 21st December

Giacomo Sagripanti conducts a luxuriant reading with a cast anchored by Juan Diego Flórez and Nicole Car, in Zeffirelli’s familiar, generous, unabashedly emotional production.

***11

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George Jahn

George Jahn is the former Vienna bureau chief of The Associated Press. During his 35-year career at the global news organization, he covered wars, politics... and opera, reviewing productions at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Bayreuth Festival and other houses in Austria and Germany. He has also written for Opera Now and International Piano magazines in London. Those he has interviewed include Matthias Goerne, Vesselina Kasarova, Thomas Hampson and Mariss Jansons. George holds or shares awards for his reporting on U.N. affairs and for his coverage of the Bosnian war. A Canadian/Hungarian citizen, he splits his time between residences in Vienna and Budapest.