A bite of the Big Apple: Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra in London

Joyce DiDonato, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra

Angel Blue and Russell Thomas

By Dominic Lowe, 01 July 2023

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“a masterclass in acting, her feelings raw, veering from savage, frenzied fury to a rending agony”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 29 June 2023

Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture

Aucoin, Lear Sketches

Berlioz, Les Troyens: Chers Tyriens

Berlioz, Les Troyens: Royal hunt and storm

Berlioz, Les Troyens: Ah! Ah! Je vais mourir! … Adieu, fière cité

Verdi, Otello (Act 4)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Russell Thomas, Otello, Tenor

Angel Blue, Desdemona, Soprano

Deborah Nansteel, Emilia

Michael Chioldi, Iago

Adam Lau, Montano

Richard Bernstein, Lodovico

Errin Duane Brooks, Cassio

Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-soprano

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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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.

A bite of the Big Apple: Yannick Nézet-Séguin brings the Met Orchestra to London