A celebration of hometown heroes in Prague

By Frank Kuznik, 25 September 2017

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“glowing strings, brilliant woodwinds and an effervescent sound”

Reviewed at Rudolfinum: Dvořák Hall, Prague on 23 September 2017

Brahms, Tragic Overture, Op.81

Dvořák, Te Deum

Dvořák, Symphony no. 6 in D major, Op.60

Brahms, Hungarian Dance no. 1 in G minor

Strauss II, Tritsch Tratsch Polka, Op.214

Tomáš Netopil, Conductor

Simona Šaturová, Soprano

Adam Plachetka, Bass-baritone

Prague Philharmonic Choir

Lukáš Vasilek, Choirmaster / chorus director

Vienna Symphony Orchestra

Resplendent Strauss from Canellakis and the Wiener Symphoniker

Mark Pullinger, 17th December

Leif Ove Andsnes joins the Vienna Symphony in the Musikverein's Golden Hall for a glowing account of Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto before a terrific Tod und Verklärung.

*****

Wiener Symphoniker parties in style at the Concertgebouw

Clare Varney, 3rd November

Jan Lisiecki joins Petr Popelka and the touring Wiener Symphoniker at the Concertgebouw for Grieg's Piano Concerto.

****1

Stefan Herheim’s bold Fledermaus at MusikTheater an der Wien

Chanda VanderHart, 13th October

Herheim’s Fledermaus is a risky experiment that, miraculously, works – at least in a city that knows it so intimately.

****1

Grigorian and Akhmetshina dazzle in a secular Norma

Chanda VanderHart, 19th February

In a week where Vienna welcomes two new productions of Bellini's Norma, MusikTheater an der Wien sets a high bar with Vasily Barkhatov's staging.

****1

A spectacular Freischütz in Bregenz

Thomas Schacher, 19th July

At the Bregenz Festival, director Philpp Stölzl gives us a radical updating of the classic, with an interpretation many miles away from Weber.

***11

Love in time of the drug wars: a contemporary Tancredi at Bregenz

Orsolya Gyárfás, 18th July

Anna Goryachova and Mélissa Petit shine as doomed lovers Tancredi and Amenaide, while Jan Philipp Gloger's contemporary setting has much to offer, but doesn't quite nail the landing.

***11

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.