Musical storytelling with Anne Sofie von Otter at Nordland Music Festival

By Aksel Tollåli, 13 August 2013

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Reviewed at Bodø Cathedral, Bodø on 10 August 2013

Programme to include:

Works by Stenhammar

Works by Alfvén

Henryson, Secret Love Songs

Works by Falla

Works by Barbara

Works by Trenet

Works by Drake

Anne Sofie von Otter, Mezzo-soprano

Mats Bergström, Guitar

Svante Henryson, Cello

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

A Baroque Netflix evening: Zurich’s star-studded Giulio Cesare

Mengguang Huang, 28th March

Davide Livermore’s high-octane production transforms Handel into a lavish blockbuster. While the superstars shine, the relentless entertainment-first approach often sacrifices musical refinement and dramatic logic for Netflix-style spectacle.

***11

Deconstructed within an inch of its life: a new Lulu in Vienna

Chanda VanderHart, 31st May

Marlene Monteiro Freitas directs her first opera, in which Lulu, if not buried alive, is certainly left completely unrecognizable.

**111

Au fait with Orphée: Salzburg celebrates Offenbach's bicentenary

Matthew Rye, 17th August

The Salzburg Festival's production of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld is another classic in the making from Barrie Kosky.

*****

Anne Sofie von Otter dominates the scene in Stockholm's Carmélites

Laura Servidei, 6th February

The Royal Swedish Opera revives Garpe’s production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites with a committed cast.

***11

Bernstein's Candide semi-staged by the LSO

Mark Valencia, 8th December

Jane Archibald gave possibly the most dazzling account of Cunegonde's music that I’ve heard.

***11

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Aksel Tollåli

Aksel is currently studying towards a degree in musicology at the University of Oslo. At the moment he is an exchange student at Goldsmiths College in London. He is also a choral singer and a trombonist. His musical interests include 20th-cenury French music, Baroque opera and the music of Richard Strauss.