Witch-burning in Norway: The Witch Hammer at the Northern Lights Festival

By Paul Kilbey, 28 January 2013

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Reviewed at Kulturhuset i Tromsø, Tromsø on 25 January 2013

Rasmussen, The Witch Hammer (Heksehammeren)

Carlo Allemano, Tenor

Trond Halstein Moe, Baritone

Knut Iversen, Bass

Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra

Glyndebourne’s first Tosca: vocally strong but imperfect

David Karlin, 21st May

Ted Huffman brings some interesting ideas to his first Glyndebourne production. Excellent singing is let down by indifferent physical acting.

***11

The ears have it: Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas on the Cutty Sark

Mark Valencia, 21st May

Come away fellow sailors, your anchors be weighing! All board the Cutty Sark for a semi-staging of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists.

****1

Orlando revisited: Olga Neuwirth’s Woolf adaptation comes to Berlin

Elena Luporini, 16th May

The German premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Orlando at the Komische Oper cements it as a postmodern grand opéra – for better or for worse.

***11

The Drover's Wife brings Aboriginal Dreaming to opera audiences

Jeremy Eccles, 16th May

Emerging from different incarnations of Leah Purcell’s play, George Palmer’s opera develops traditional Dreaming elements from Aboriginal mythology, premiering in Brisbane.

****1

Anna Netrebko gatecrashes Riccardo Chailly’s La Scala farewell

Laura Servidei, 16th May

Riccardo Chailly’s final new production as artistic director is a celebration of Verdi and of a conductor whose relationship with the Milanese audience has clearly deepened over the years.

*****

Iolanta paired with Luonnotar in dramatic Helsinki double bill

No’a L. bat Miri, 15th May

In Helsinki, Antony McDonald pairs Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta with a staged version of Sibelius’ tone poem Luonnotar, brilliantly voiced by soprano Silja Aalto.

*****

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.