Bringing Downton Abbey to downtown Salzburg

By Jonathan Sutherland, 18 August 2016

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“Pisaroni has an impressive legato with refined phrasing and a strong top register”

Reviewed at Haus für Mozart, Salzburg on 16 August 2016

Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)

Dan Ettinger, Conductor

Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Director

Alex Eales, Set Designer

Mark Bouman, Costume Designer

Luca Pisaroni, Count Almaviva

Anett Fritsch, Countess Almaviva

Adam Plachetka, Figaro

Anna Prohaska, Susanna

Margarita Gritskova, Cherubino

Carlos Chausson, Doctor Bartolo

Ann Murray, Marcellina

Liliana Nikiteanu, Marcellina

Franz Supper, Don Curzio

Paul Schweinester, Don Basilio

Erik Anstine, Antonio

Christina Gansch, Barbarina

Concert Association Vienna State Opera Chorus

Vienna Philharmonic

Friedrich Rom, Lighting Designer

Ronny Dietrich, Dramaturgy

Ernst Raffelsberger, Choirmaster / chorus director

Lise auf Naxos: Davidsen makes a triumphant return to Ariadne

Mark Pullinger, 28th January

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to Sven-Eric Bechtolf's lean but polished production with an outstanding cast, outstandingly conducted.

****1

Sparkling new L'elisir d'amore from Latvian National Opera

Dominic Lowe, 23rd May

The leafy parks and cobbled streets of Riga’s old town are far removed from the intense heat of the little village in the Basque Country in which Donizetti set his L'elisir d'amore, but a new production at the Latvian National Opera captures much of the spirit of the work, adroitly balancing comedy with the joys and pain of love.

****1

Jessica Pratt sparkles in Strehler’s iconic Entführung at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 25th February

Young conductor Thomas Guggeis makes a rousing debut at La Scala leading a great cast in one of the greatest productions of the 20th century.

*****

Welser-Möst begins his Ring farewell with a rousing Rheingold

George Jahn, 21st June

Sven-Erich Bechtolf's staging of Wagner's Ring returns with Franz Welser-Möst at the helm for the final time, having recently announced his retirement of the cycle from his repertoire.

****1

Sir Bryn Terfel stars as Sir John Falstaff in a lively Zurich revival

Laura Servidei, 5th July

The Opernhaus Zürich revives Sven-Eric Bechtolf's 2011 production of Verdi’s last masterpiece with a solid supporting cast.

***11

Science goes screwball in Maggio Musicale's new Così fan tutte

Elena Luporini, 30th August

Sven-Eric Bechtolf's staging holds a balance between philosophy and humour, but Adam Fischer's vivacious conducting is the real star of the evening.

****1

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Jonathan Sutherland

Jonathan Sutherland is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is also an internationally renowned concert pianist specializing in the music of the 1930s. Jonathan’s first operatic experience was hearing Maria Callas sing Tosca in Covent Garden and he has since heard performances in all continents of the world including over 60 different productions at the Wiener Staatsoper. He has written for The Australian, Opera Today and The Opera Critic as well as Bachtrack. Jonathan speaks English, French, German and Italian fluently and is based in the south of France near Nice.

Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s new Figaro brings Downton Abbey to downtown Salzburg